Should developers be paying more attention to MSN optimisation?

[Amnezia]

If you're anything like me then most of your optimisation is geared towards google. why? Because google drives the most traffic, in the uk around 70% of all searches are done via google. But with the launch of ms windows vista things might begin to change.

A key feature of vista will be integrated desktop search..

"Microsoft has been getting its lunch handed to it by Google and Yahoo on the desktop, but Vista could change all that. The new OS tightly integrates instant desktop search, doing away with the glacially slow and inadequate search function in XP. Powerful indexing and user-assignable metadata make searching for all kinds of data--including files, e-mails, and Web content--a lot easier. And if you're running Vista on a Windows Longhorn network, you can perform searches across the network to other PCs."

Reference

With a much better integrated search function the number of users at msn search is bound to increase.

 

[WhiteWebServices]

How much does MSN optimisation differ from Google optimisation? Radically different techniques? Or can a single page be optimised for both?

 

[Amnezia]

How much does MSN optimisation differ from Google optimisation? Radically different techniques? Or can a single page be optimised for both?

its not so much individual page optimisation as much as overall SEO strategy...

If you look at link value between msn and google there is a huge difference. Msn tends to pay more attention to the number of backlinks where as google pays more attention to the quality of the back links. We all know that in google 50 PR5 links are worth more than 500 PR 0 links. But in msn 500 backlinks tends to be worth a lot more than 50 backlinks. Google also places alot more emphesis on the age and duration of backlinks

Another thing you might look at is anchor text of links. If 100% of your links have the same anchor text eg "WIGET" then you are likely to rank very well in msn for a search containing "WIGET". In google search if you anchor text is all the same then google more often than not decides that the page is spammy and may filter the page or worse still, apply a penalty.

There are quite a few other differences between "the big 3" but obiviously i dont wanna give all my secrets away for free :hehe:

 

[WhiteWebServices]

Thanks for the hints. Its good to know that it's possible to target both search engines with a single page (which you seem to imply).

 

[Shorty]

I think any SEO is applicable to any search engine really. However if ever a conflict arises and you have to choose between appealing to Google and appealing to MSN, I would still favour Google.

 

[SiteBroker]

In my experience you dont need to optimize towards msn at all, with it being so easy to rank first page just do your stuff aimed at google and youll notice results in msn anyway.

 

[Amnezia]

In my experience you dont need to optimize towards msn at all, with it being so easy to rank first page just do your stuff aimed at google and youll notice results in msn anyway.

yes but some of us arent content with just first page, we want the #1 spot and that often requires a little tinkering, especially on a competative keyword.

 

[markkk]

If you have huge IBL.. I think its enough to get higher rank at MSN. unlike Google that your site must have quality IBL and not just quantity.

 

[TWM]

You know,
I have found out after optimizing and promoting over 300 websites that if you optimize for google, MSN just happens. I couldn't keep my site off MSN if it meant my life. Basically, i can always count on msn to index me no matter what i do, so i rarely think about it... its basically just implide for me that my sites will be listed in msn.

Anyone else experience this?