MSN SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Interesting discovery this weekend analyzing the back links of a few websites. This should have dawned on me earlier since msn is relatively new in the search game. It seems the key to MSN is simply the shear number of links. Get as many links as you can with choice anchor text and you'll dominate. On-page factors are still important but it looks like their algorithm is in its infant stage. So a good strategy would be to pay for a site wide link (make sure it's a short term contract), sit back an relax. Don't get to cushy with your top placement though. I guarantee they'll be updating soon.

MSN Optimization

Optimizing your site for MSN is similar to that of Yahoo but the good thing about MSN is that they don't allow paid inclusion which can make your job a little easier.

Here are the things to remember for MSN. Also see our On-Page Optimization guide.

H1 Tags - The main topic of your page should be your H1 tag, the closer to the top of the page, the better.
Title Tags - 2-3 of your main keywords should appear in your Title Tag per page. Make sure each page has unique title tags. The first words of your page title count the most.
Bold, Underlined, and Italic Text - Don't overdue it, but try and utilize these features throughout your website. One of each will suffice per page.
Keywords in the URL - MSN seems to favor hyphenated URL's, for now at least.
Keywords in the filename - MSN also loves keywords in the filename of the interior pages of your site.
Meta Keywords - Almost a non-existent dinosaur of search ranking factors. Meta tags are still used mostly by MSN and Yahoo. Don't expect much from them, but you can still use them to adjust your keyword density.
Alt Image Tags - Mainly used for the visually impaired. Alt tags can be used to increase or decrease the keyword density of a page. Some say it carries a lower weight in MSN's algorithm.
Keyword Density - MSN likes keyword rich content. Don't pack it in. Keep it at reasonable levels. 7%-10% is great. A good rule of thumb. Write the content naturally and then use the tags above to adjust the density.
Link Anchor Text - Just like all other search engines, MSN will rank you higher for a specific keyword if you have those keywords in the link or anchor text of the inbound link. Probably the most important ranking factor for all search engines. If you have a choice. Try to get as many variations as possible.
Inbound Links from Varying IP's - Get as many as you can but make sure the links you get aren't largely based on one set of IP addresses. In other words, if you have a bunch of sites only link them together where it makes sense. Themed related links seem to get the most value.
Site wide links - MSN seems to reward inbound links from multiple pages of one site. Google will only regard the first, but MSN seems to tally all of them equally.
Strong Internal Link Structure - MSN loves sites that are easy to crawl and thematically related to the content of the receiving page. So create a site that allows SE spiders to jump in and out easily. Internal links can become very powerful with the right amount of inbound links.
Smaller Sites - Google loves large established sites. With MSN you can get away with a smaller site just remember to use the tools above.
Zeal/Looksmart Directory - MSN gives a good amount of weight to a site if it's listed in this directory. It's free so it's worth getting listed. It's sort of their version for DMOZ. There is a test though and it can be tough if you don't sit down and read their guidelines. Took us about 5 tries to get the required 90% pass score.
Original Content - Don't copy text from other sites. Take a look at the competition for ideas but stay away from copying even whole sentences. SE's are cracking down on duplicate content and you'll be penalized severely.
Proper Coding - Although not highly regarded. MSN has indicated that proper code is a factor in their algorithm. Here's a great validation tool www.w3.org/People/Raggett/tidy/

Submitting Your Site To Yahoo

Not necessary. It takes from 6-8 weeks for this to work. A faster way to get your site indexed is to get an inbound link from another site. A simple email will do.

SEO - Search Engine Optimization Main