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Friday, November 17, 2006

"Internet search rivals unite to make websites easier to find

SAN FRANCISCO AFP 17/11/2006 02:57

Internet search rivals Google, Yahoo and Microsoft formed an unusual alliance to support a shared standard regarding how websites are pinpointed for their indexes.

The "joint initiative" was intended to make it easier for webmasters, or website creators, to let Internet search engines know what their online pages contained, according to Google was.

Search engines could use the information gathered in the "web crawl" process to better tailor results for their users.

Yahoo and Microsoft announced they would each support Google's "Sitemaps 0.90" protocol instead of using different standards for submissions by webmasters.

"The launch of Sitemaps is significant because it allows for a single, easy way for websites to provide content and metadata to search engines," said Yahoo Search director of product management Tim Mayer.

"Sitemaps helps webmasters surface content that is typically difficult for crawlers to discover, leading to a more comprehensive search experience for users."

Google launched its first Sitemaps protocol in June of 2005.

A Sitemap is a website file that acts as a marker for search engines to "crawl" certain pages. It allows webmasters to list their online addresses, called "URLs," along with data such as the last time the page was updated.

The Sitemaps protocol used by Google has been widely adopted by many Web properties, including sites from the Wikimedia Foundation.

"At industry conferences, webmasters have asked for open standards just like this," Search Engine Watch editor-in-chief Danny Sullivan said in a release.

"This is a great development for the whole community and addresses a real need of webmasters in a very convenient fashion." ..."

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