At long last, google knows

[vinteuil]

Upon searching for Sheet Music, Free Sheet Music, Music Scores, and just about any piece you care to name (try "mozart requiem sheet music," etc.), IMSLP was on the first page of google results, at long last!
Thoughts?

[jujimufu]

Google is not something entirely solid. Results vary according to your preferences (if you are logged on), and according to where you're accessing google from (google.com shows slightly different results than google.co.uk, for example).

google.com:

"free sheet music" -> 32
"online music scores" -> 3-4
"free music scores" -> 4-5
"music scores" -> 4-5
and
"sheet music" -> 72

google.co.uk:

"free sheet music" -> 37
"online music scores" -> 2nd non-commercial (i.e. non-ad)
"free music scores" -> 5-6
"music scores" -> 3-4
and
"sheet music" -> 53


"Bach/Mozart/Beethoven sheet music" did not bring up IMSLP in the first page of search results, nor did "bach goldberg variations sheet music"

I don't say - we are doing pretty good, but I think we should be doing a lot better. I don't understand why we aren't! Maybe it's because we don't have "free" enough in the site; we promote "public domain", "creative commons", "online", "library" etc, but not "free". Which is why I think we should have a small phrase to accompany the site's title, something like "Free music for free individuals" or whatever (just put any cliche line there), which will also give us more hits.

Which google were you using?

[vinteuil]

.com logged in on a friend's account...I'm going to talk to them...they "hate" classical music

[kalliwoda]

Well, not so good
if you search for "sheet music free download" (google.de) imslp is hit Nr. 84...
only with "music scores free download" its Nr. 8
and still many musicians in the amateur orchestras here in Berlin have never heard of imslp.
Those that have, mostly think its only scores, no parts whatever

[Philidor]

Thoughts?

IMSLP needs a search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy! The portal page - http://imslp.org - is a (fantastic) page rank 6 but is unoptimised for search engines. Which means IMSLP is losing out on thousands, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of monthly hits. It's like owning a Rembrandt but hiding it in the attic! Just one example:

IMSLP Front page basic SEO report: http://imslp.org



There are SEO problems with this page, e.g.

- better title tag needed containing more keywords
- description tag missing
- keywords tag missing
- H1, H2 and body text need looking at to ensure they hit the keywords

The same analysis is needed on each existing imslp.org page. For example, http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page is missing a descriptions tag; likewise the Telemann category page - http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Telemann,_Georg_Philipp - whose title is also too long. Again, the body text and H1/2 tags need looking at. I'd also expect to see Google Analytics installed on every page. Without GA it's hard to plan a SEO strategy. Here's a well optimised page:

Brightcecilia feature basic SEO report: http://www.brightcecilia.com/features/t ... chord.html



Notice the green lights and 100% hits?

A SEO strategy would (a) optimise existing IMSLP pages and (b) ensure that future pages are not uploaded unless they conform to the strategy. As mentioned above, a page rank 6 site is fabulous. The CEOs of many major corporations would sell their grandmothers for a PR6 corporate website. IMSLP is PR6 partly due to the quality content, partly because Google loves Wiki, and partly owing to the tremendous linkage - 2,562,719 back-links. I suspect the front page should be a PR7 or 8, and would become so once the site's optimised.

The advantage of a PR6 site is optimised pages go up Google like a rat up a drainpipe. So the optimisation work would be satisfying. You'd see immediate results. Google wants to rank a PR6 site high. But you must press the right buttons. That's the SEO expert's job. So a strategy's needed. It doesn't need to be complex or long-winded and (this goes without saying) can all be done legally, ethically and within Google's webmaster guidelines. If you want help designing it, just say. It shouldn't be done on a public forum.

[imslp]

Nice analysis Philidor!

Fixing all pages might be hard... also I think Google Analytics charges for sites with more than 5 mil hits per month, and IMSLP is way past that (currently getting 2.5 mil per day).

However, if it is possible to fix up the portal page such that it will rank high in general sheet music searches, I'd be happy. I cannot do it myself, but I'd certainly encourage it if someone cares to take the time to fix up the portal page and send me the code (or even paste the changes on the forums so people could comment on it, since it would be public anyway). I have to remove the IMDBP entry anyway, so now would be a good time to fix up anything else on the page.

[Philidor]

Fixing all pages might be hard...

You bet it would be hard. But the longer you leave it the worse it gets. I say bite the bullet. IMHO.

also I think Google Analytics charges for sites with more than 5 mil hits per month.

Correct. So you fall back on server logs.

However, if it is possible to fix up the portal page such that it will rank high in general sheet music searches, I'd be happy. I cannot do it myself, but I'd certainly encourage it if someone cares to take the time to fix up the portal page and send me the code (or even paste the changes on the forums so people could comment on it, since it would be public anyway). I have to remove the IMDBP entry anyway, so now would be a good time to fix up anything else on the page.

What are your main keywords and phrases? On a well SEOd page everything - title, description, keywords, H1s/2s, body text, alt-tags, image urls etc - should be built round those. You may not have an up-to-date list - keywords/phrases change over time. In which case some analysis is needed to determine the best current words. Again, in a SEO-driven redesign that's the first job. Like building a house, the keywords & phrases are the foundations (or the bedrock on which the foundations sit).

[imslp]

I'll defer the fixing of the portal page to the community.

Regarding fixing all pages, I'm not sure how it can be done in the wiki context. Does Wikipedia have this on all of their pages? (I don't think so but I haven't checked.) I'm also not entirely sure it is worth the effort, as Google seems to be able to parse wiki pages adequately, considering the Wikipedia exposure...

But in any case, this is not something I will have time at this point to work on. I see a thread has opened for fixing the portal page, and if the community decides on something, I will put it on the server.

[Philidor]

I'll defer the fixing of the portal page to the community.

Regarding fixing all pages, I'm not sure how it can be done in the wiki context. Does Wikipedia have this on all of their pages? (I don't think so but I haven't checked.) I'm also not entirely sure it is worth the effort, as Google seems to be able to parse wiki pages adequately, considering the Wikipedia exposure...

But in any case, this is not something I will have time at this point to work on. I see a thread has opened for fixing the portal page, and if the community decides on something, I will put it on the server.

Fair enough. I've done some basic keyword research which I'll post on the other thread.

[steltz]

This goes along with the other thread about a favicon, and other general logo advertising, but what about putting a catch phrase with the logo or favicon that contains the most important keywords? Something either alliterative or rhyming that is catchy, like:

"IMSLP: More free scores"