Linden Lab Official:Search Guidelines
Since the launch of the new search, we've had lots of Residents ask for more tips and information on how to improve their search relevance and ranking within the results in the Search window's All tab. Over the last few months, we've compiled some of the best practice tips and guidelines to help improve the relevance for your listings.
- Keywords Matter - Think about which words Residents might type to find your listing or products and make sure to include these words in your listing. Include various forms of your keywords and emphasize specificity. For example, if you're selling swimming pools, include "swimming pools, hot tubs, diving boards, pool supplies, fountains" instead of just "pools".
- Phrases Matter - Phrases count; "pool, swim, board, dive" is not as good as "swimming pool, diving board". Be specific -- if you sell "Olympic sized lane pools" say so!
- Grammar Tips - Avoid using all caps or non-traditional spellings. Also, be sure you've got the correct spelling!
- Search is Smart - There is no need to include both "pool" and "pools" because our search appliance does stemming and automatically adds -s, -ing, -ly and similar to search terms.
- Exclude Unwanted Keywords - When performing a search, add a minus sign (-) before search terms to remove them from search results. For example, if you want to search for dogs but not cats: "dog -cat".
- Lying Sucks When you're writing keywords for your listings, don't deceive your potential customers by listing things that have nothing to do with what you actually sell by providing deceptive descriptions in your keyword listings. An example of this would be to use a popular keyword, such as "dancing", to describe your dance-free pool store.
- Traffic Matters... Kind Of - Traffic is a number for each parcel which is based on the amount of Residents who visited, and the time spent on that parcel out of their total time inworld that day. It's calculated using a complex algorithm. Read What is traffic (formerly known as dwell)? for more details. Traffic is still used to help determine relevance with the new Search, but not as much as in the old version.
- Picks Matter - Having links in other Residents' Picks tab counts, but creating bots/zombies stuffed with top picks doesn't help. The more Residents' Picks that reference your parcel/profile, the more relevant your listings will be in the overall search.
- Branding is Important - If you haven't already, think about creating a specific brand for your inworld business, including a unique name and/or logo to draw new customers. When thinking about branding, keep in mind that some words are used frequently in the title or description of objects inworld ("object" or "perm") and try to avoid incorporating these words into your brand. Also, be sure to include your avatar name in your parcel description or classified ad, as this may help increase its relevance (it also helps people find your store if they remember your avatar name, but not your store name); this is especially important if your parcel/store is owned by a group. Read the Second Life Grid site for more tips on starting a Second Life business.
- Advertising Works - Don't underestimate the power of advertising in the virtual world. In addition to the official Second Life Classifieds (which run alongside all relevant search results), some Residents have also set up advertising services inworld and you can work directly with them. A simple google search returned the following services: OnRez, SLExchange, SLads, Subscribe o Matic, SL Agency, though there are probably others.
- Classifieds - Classified ads are currently served alongside all relevant search results, sorted by amount paid. We hope to offer further improvements to the Classified system in the future.
- Be Careful when Dividing Land Parcels - As previously reported in the official Second Life blog, changing the boundaries of your land parcel can impact your ranking; remember, when joining two parcels, the largest parcel keeps the parcel ID/rankings.
- Internationalize - Don't forget that many Second Life Residents do not speak English as their native language. You may want to use non-English words and phrases for your product or service.
- Learn More - Read the New Search FAQ or watch Torley's great search-focused Tip of the Week videos here and here.
Do you have other tips and tricks for working with the new search? Send them to search-feedback@lindenlab.com.