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Web indexing (or "Internet indexing") includes back-of-book-style indexes to individual websites or an intranet, and the creation of keyword metadata to provide a more useful vocabulary for Internet or onsite search engines. With the increase in the number of periodicals that have articles online, web indexing is also becoming important for periodical websites. An index is a detailed list, usually arranged alphabetically, of the specific information in a publication, whether a book, periodical, database or multimedia collection. ...
A website (alternatively, web site or Web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the Internet. ...
An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity to securely share part of an organizations information or operations with its employees. ...
Metadata is data about data. ...
The success of the Google search engine was mainly due to its powerful PageRank algorithm and its simple, easy-to-use interface. ...
Back-of-the-book-style web indexes may be called "web site A-Z indexes." The implication with "A-Z" is that there is an alphabetical browse view or interface. This interface differs from that of a browse through layers of hierarchical categories (also known as a taxonomy) which are not necessarily alphabetical, but are also found on some web sites. For the science of classifying living things, see alpha taxonomy. ...
Web site A-Z indexes have several advantages over Search Engines - Language is full of homographs and synonyms and not all the references found will be relevant. For example, a computer-produced index of the 9/11 report showed many references for George Bush, but did not distinguish between GB senior and George W. In an environmental text, the phrase "lead users" will refer, not only to users of the metallic element, but also to early adopters of technology. Some hits will be time-wasting references, such as looking up “teaching children” and finding only the statement saying "... the above is not relevant when teaching children". Possibly more concerning, Search Engines may miss information – looking up the Dardanelles and missing references to the Hellespont or Çanakkale Boğazı, or seeking information about population and missing discussions about the number of people living in the area. A human-produced index has someone check each and every part of the text to find everything relevant to the search term, while a Search Engine leaves the responsibility for finding the information with the enquirer.
Although an A-Z index could be used to index multiple sites, rather than the multiple pages of a single site, this is unusual.
Metadata web indexing involves assigning keywords or phrases to web pages or web sites within a meta-tag field, so that the web page or web site can be retrieved with a search engine that is customized to search the keywords field. This may or may not involve using keywords restricted to a controlled vocabulary list.
See also Information architecture (IA) is the art and science of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. ...
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. ...
A typical search results page Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via natural (organic or algorithmic) search results for targeted keywords. ...
Search engine indexing entails how data is collected, parsed, and stored to facilitate fast and accurate retrieval. ...
Further reading - Glenda Browne and Jonathan Jermey, Website indexing: enhancing access to information within websites, 2nd Edition, ISBN 1-875145-56-7
- Beyond Book Indexing: How to Get Started in Web Indexing, Embedded Indexing, and Other Computer-Based Media, edited by Marilyn Rowland and Diane Brenner, American Society of Indexers, Info Today, Inc, NJ, 2000, ISBN 1-57387-081-1
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