MSN- Improving rank

May 27th, 2005, 4:39 am

I realise that there are no easy answers to these questions but I would appreciate any help.

Has anyone any idea about the MSN algorithm; how are they 'searching' and what I need to do to get good results?

I am getting good ranking on Google using the usual seo techniques, constantly updating links and content but I am finding my msn rank incredibly difficult to improve upon.


I am new to all of this and the postings by Ozzu members and moderators are a great information resource, thank you

May 27th, 2005, 5:10 am

What I found was a few weeks ago the msn crawler was visiting different pages a few times a day. They've recently released their new algo so really difficult to say. Before the change it was very similar to that of Yahoo where keyword density is important. Where as goggle is more interested in the back links.

May 28th, 2005, 6:03 pm

msn has not recrawled my index page in some time..it used to recrawl very often but not so much anymore..i also notice weird results with my stats. sometimes I will get a substantial amount of hits from diff keywords for a few days in a row from msn, then it just stops..and my clicks from msn go way down..then after a week or so they go up again..then down..my LP is checked very often and rarely changes with MSN..any ideas what could be causing this rollercoaster ride with getting hits from msn?

June 10th, 2005, 8:56 am

I wish I knew, it can be maddening how it seems to be playing with your site and the results. Maybe it is some sort of lottery system Midwest- a friend of mine gets good rankings but for obscure terms completely unrelated to her site!

I know I need to improve my content and update it- that is ongoing and my backlinks are substantial and are being added to on a daily basis. The results that are shown on msn can be bizarre with the content of the sites not keyword rich, the links paltry compared to others etc. Other sites move plenty but i never seem to feature.

Maybe I'll just stick to my Google watching and keep focused on it. I can't help thinking that there is so much more to come from msn and it could become a major source for much of my traffic. I just want to get some sort of grasp on what I might do to improve on it.

June 11th, 2005, 7:18 pm

Taken directly from MSN:

Quote:

* se only well-formed HTML code in your pages. Ensure that all tags are closed, and that all links function properly. If your site contains broken links, MSNBot may not be able to index your site effectively, and people may not be able to reach all of your pages.
* If you move a page, set up the page's original URL to direct people to the new page, and tell them whether the move is permanent or temporary. For more information, see What to do when your site moves.
* Make sure MSNBot is allowed to crawl your site and is not on your list of web crawlers that are prohibited from indexing your site.
* Use a robots.txt file or meta tags to control how MSNBot and other web crawlers index your site. The robots.txt file tells web crawlers which files and folders it is not allowed to crawl. The Web Robots Pages provide detailed information on the robots.txt Robots Exclusion standard. This site may be available in English only.
* Keep your URLs simple and static. Complicated or frequently changed URLs are difficult to use as link destinations. For example, the URL http://www.example.com/mypage is easier for MSNBot to crawl and for people to type than a long URL with multiple extensions. Also, a URL that doesn't change is easier for people to remember, which makes it a more likely link destination from other sites.

Content guidelines for your website (back to top)

The best way to attract people to your site, and keep them coming back, is to design your pages with valuable content that your target audience is interested in.

* In the visible page text, include words users might choose as search query terms to find the information on your site.
* Limit all pages to a reasonable size. We recommend one topic per page. An HTML page with no pictures should be under 150 KB.
* Make sure that each page is accessible by at least one static text link.
* Keep the text that you want indexed outside of images. For example, if you want your company name or address to be indexed, make sure it is displayed on your page outside of a company logo.
* Add a site map. This enables MSNBot to find all of your pages easily. Links embedded in menus, list boxes, and similar elements are not accessible to web crawlers unless they appear in your site map.
* Keep your site hierarchy fairly flat. That is, each page should only be one to three clicks away from the home page.

Items and techniques discouraged by MSN Search (back to top)

The following items and techniques are not appropriate uses of the index. Use of these items and techniques may affect how your site is ranked within MSN Search and may result in the removal of your site from the MSN Search index.

* Loading pages with irrelevant words in an attempt to increase a page's keyword density. This includes stuffing ALT tags that users are unlikely to view.
* Using hidden text or links. You should use only text and links that are visible to users.
* Using techniques to artificially increase the number of links to your page, such as link farms.

That cleared everything up for me the first time, should do the same for you.

June 14th, 2005, 1:35 am

cool. good findings there.

March 11th, 2006, 3:30 pm

i think these guidelines are very similar to those of Google and Yahoo etc...

June 5th, 2006, 12:42 am

I want to say one thing that now MSN change their strategy and updates himself daily because it makes up his mind to beat google. That's why now we saw many change in its SERP.

June 8th, 2006, 12:37 am

Submit articles to article syndication websites to get important links back to your site. This will help ranking and page rank (only in Google, obviously).

June 10th, 2006, 4:24 am

MSN considers backlinks will give ranking. So for ranking high in MSN just concentrate on your backlinks. Try to get more backlinks. Update content regularly, add fresh content, submit your site in directories, prepare blog & use targeted keywords in your content. All these points will help you in getting more backlinks & this helps in getting high ranking.

August 31st, 2006, 3:54 am

Hi all .

MSN will never be able to take on Google!

July 11th, 2007, 8:26 pm

welcome,i am a new one too,i am a chinese, i feel foreign formula is better,but my work would make me unwelcome

August 13th, 2007, 2:51 am

Hi. My sites are almsot unknown to MSN and not sure if it is still there in the reckoning.

September 1st, 2007, 11:18 am

To get top ranking on MSN is to use the keyword frequency and keyword prominence. If you wan to know more , you may click the link http://www.marketposition.com/blog/arch ... top_r.html

September 5th, 2007, 5:18 pm

Thanks, This information is helpful for newbie like me.