How FAST ranks?

[billy_t9]

Just a fresh report of how FAST ranks.

[heini]

FAST ranking - the basics:

- DMOZ listing
- linkpop
- reasonably high KW density
- short better than long
- solid basic optimizing: do metas, do good titles, do good headers

building pages optimized for single kw combos is a good strategy - IF those pages are not standalone pages. Huge sites with content broken down to many specialised but well linked pages tend to do well.

[papabaer]

- short better than long

uh... sounds like a personal problem. Daily affirmations? ;) (sorry!)

Seriously... are you refering to page size?

[heini]

>page size
you bet

Page size is by no means an absolute in ranking, but in combination with other parameters like kw density it helps to have smaller pages.

[lazerzubb]

- DMOZ listing

From what i know, a dmoz listing wont do anything for your ranking except the value of the inbound link.

[heini]

Well - Fast uses several parameters in ranking. It's certainly possible to get on top without an ODP listing...

[DrCool]

I have had good luck on Fast with pages I have designed for Inktomi. Just simple, small pages with a fairly high density seem to work well in Fast. Incoming links will enhance the ranking but they are not as vital as they are in Google.

[mr_dredd2]

from what i can see fast favors keywords in the url more than other engines.

also, link pop in fast = quantity and not quality.

[Ove]

There have been doubt about odp is important for ranking in fast.
In my opinion its very important i have submit some sites in a local directory for the union were i live for the search on the union name they all came up on the first page they are not optimized for the union name they are selling pruduct that are not related to the union.
I think its scary how important odp is to get a decent ranking in the SE.
Maybe iam wrong just a feeling that you have to be in odp for succes.
/Ove

[lazerzubb]

According to Fast employee, DMOZ doesn't matter when it comes to ranking (etc, for the ínbound link).
They only use DMOZ data to find other sites within the category search.

[heini]

Fast-employees would be exFast-employees pretty quick if they ran around giving details about Fast ranking algo ;)

[NFFC]

>According to Fast employee

Marketing or engineering?

[lazerzubb]

It was the Director of Internet Business.
(this was in december)

[heini]

Fast uses ODP data as a basic structure for building their taxonomy. Sites are grouped and related based on this taxonmoy.
So if and where in ODP a site is listed has a major influence on where that site is returned on Fast's serps.
This is additional to the sheer power of an ODP link.

[glengara]

-if and where in ODP a site is listed has a major influence-

Heini, would that mean how deep in the directory the category is, or where a site appears on a DMOZ search?

[heini]

No, what I meant is: title of the cats, plus listings in the cat. I think it kinda defines the field in which a site is put.

[McMohan]

Logic continues to beat mind!! Was just doin a search for "erm..widgets?". Why is site ranked one, ranked so? Can't see any reason behind. Anyone out there help me find one?

sorry - no specifics por favor

(edited by: heini at 8:03 pm (utc) on April 5, 2002)

[Ove]

Welcome to wmw
We dont useally dont discuss site searches check your stickymail on the top of the page it says You have mail.

/Ove

[keywordbuys]

It's kind of funny (not really)that as soon as Lycos came out with Lycos Insite Select and partnered with FAST that all of a sudden my rankings dropped. I paid for the Lycos inclusion...amazingly I start pulling for some of the keywords I use to...I'm not sure of the exact link between the two, but I don't feel my only paid page should have a better ranking.

[Rumbas]

Paid and free pages are subject to the same algorithm and FAST will rank a page the same way, no matter if it's paid or pfi.

It would be nice if paid pages got a boost, but I don't think that is going to happen ;)

[mr_dredd2]

in my experience they don't get a boost. A number of results had dropped - paid to lycos - they get back in. now, however, they have gone again.. sigh.

[heini]

mr_dredd you say your PFI pages have been dropped - they are not in Lycos anymore, not in Alltheweb? For how long? Did you contact Lycos?

[dvduval]

I am starting to think the title is more heavily weighted than other search engines. Our company name is 3 words. For example:
Ron's Blue Widgets
Since we specialize in certain type of widget, I list our title as:
Ron's Dancing Blue Widgets

All the other search engines list us as #1 for both phrases. Not FAST. It only lists us for Ron's Dancing Blue Widgets even though Ron's Blue Widgets is not very competitive. Of course, Blue Widgets and Dancing Blue Widgets and Dancing Blue are competetive, hence the reason for the title. As a result, I am not getting listed by FAST for the company name, even though the there are hundreds of incoming links, and a DMOZ listing with the company name as the link text.

[Marcia]

>It only lists us for Ron's Dancing Blue Widgets even though Ron's Blue Widgets is not very competitive

That makes it sound like it's important to have the exact phrase, with the words in exact sequence.

[heini]

I'd suggest playing around with the advanced search features, changing from "all words" to "any words" to "exact phrase", grouping parts of your 4 words phrase together etc: that should give you some idea what's going on with your phrase in Fast's ranking.

Really important however is the way Fast's partners pull and group the results from Fast.
How is the site doing at Lycos.com?