Increasing libraries' content findability on the web with search engine optimization
| Published date | 01 March 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378831311303958 |
| Date | 01 March 2013 |
| Pages | 87-108 |
| Author | Daniel Onaifo,Diane Rasmussen |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Increasing libraries’ content
findability on the web with search
engine optimization
Daniel Onaifo and Diane Rasmussen
Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario,
London, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of search engine optimization (SEO)
as a mechanism for improving libraries’ digital content findability on the web.
Design/methodology/approach – The study applies web analytical tools, such as Alexa.com, in
the collection of data about Canadian libraries’ visibility performance in the ranking of search engine
results. Concepts from the Integrated IS&R Research Framework are applied to analyze SEO as an
element within the Framework.
Findings – The results show that certain websites’ characteristics do have an effect on how well
libraries’ websites are ranked by search engines. Notably, the reputation of a library’s website and the
number of its search engine indexed webpages increase its ranking on SERPs as well as the findability
of its digital content.
Originality/value – Most of the existing works on SEO have been confined to popular literature,
outside of scholarly academic research in library and information science. Only few studies with a
focus on libraries’ application of SEO exist. No known study has applied an empirical approach to the
examination of relevant libraries’ website characteristics to determine their visibility performance on
search engine result pages (SERPs). This study identified several website characteristics that can be
optimized for higher SERP rankings. It also analyzed the impact of external links, as well as that of the
number of indexed webpages by search engines on higher SERP rankings.
Keywords Public libraries,Academic libraries, Content findability, Search engine optimization,
Social media optimization, Informationseeking, Information retrieval,Canada
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The practices involved in information access, acquisition, and use have evolved
significantly since the advent of open web information retrieval systems or search
engines. A little over two decades ago, a typical information search would require a trip
to the library, a chat with a librarian, and most likely, a foot search through the shelves
of printed volumes. The advent of search engines, as the new channel of search, has
revolutionized information seeking and retrieval. Search engines provide increased and
convenient access to huge amounts of information, eliminate the need for human
intermediaries in the information seeking and retrieval process, and enable significant
decrease in information retrieval time. According to McGee (2010), users conduct over
one billion daily searches on Google, and about 92 percent of all current internet
activities involve the use of search engines to find information (Pew Internet Project,
2011). The central role that search engines now play in information seeking and
retrieval has resulted in the increased importance of maintaining strong visibility on
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Libraries’
content
findability
87
Received October 2012
Revised November 2012
Accepted December 2012
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 31 No. 1, 2013
pp. 87-108
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378831311303958
search engine result pages (SERPs) by web organizations. The process, as well as the
activities, that organizations undertake in order to secure a top place on SERPs is
referred to as search engine optimization (SEO).
The concept of SEO can be analyzed within the sub-domains of information seeking
and information retrieval. According to Ingwersen and Ja
¨rvelin (2005), information
seeking involves human behaviors that are related to information searching via such
information sources as search engines. Information retrieval, on the other hand,
according to the authors, entails the processes involved in the “representation, storage,
searching, finding, filtering and presentation of potential information perceived as
relevant to a user” (p. 385). SEO projects are developed based on the understanding of
certain human information searching behaviors, and consequently influence the way
information is represented, searched, found, and presented through search engines. As
search engines continue to play an important role in information seeking and retrieval,
the phenomenon of SEO needs to be examined for its role in the process. Particularly, in
an era characterized by search engines’ substantial influence on users’ information
seeking behavior, it has become important for studies within library and information
science to focus on examining the adoption of SEO strategies by libraries.
This exploratory study is aimed at examining the phenomenon of SEO as a
mechanism for improving libraries’ website usage. Given that most libraries do not
have a clear-cut strategy on using SEO for better web visibility, this study also
examines the application of major SEO techniques in enhancing libraries’ content
findability through search engines. Findability, according to Morville (2005, p. 4), is
“the degree to which a particular object is easy to discover or locate.” The degree to
which libraries’ digital content can be found on the web is highly dependent on how
well their webpages containing such content are ranked on SERP listings. This study
examines a number of website characteristics that can affect webpage ranking on
SERPs, and applies statistical methods to test the SEO assumptions that the number of
backlinks or the reputation of a website (measured by the number of external or
incoming links to a target website) affects its ranking on SERPs. It also tests whether
the total number of pages of a website indexed by search engines affects the number of
daily page views (daily user visits) it receives. Since this study appears to be one of the
first to apply empirical methods to examine libraries’ utilization of SEO, it adds to the
understanding of SEO, and provides a valuable contribution to the discussion of
whether libraries should adopt SEO in an effort to attract more online users.
In the next section, a review of the relevant literature will be presented. This will
include a brief overview of libraries and applicable SEO techniques, and the
conceptualization of SEO from an information seeking and retrieval theoretical
framework. Finally, the methodology, results, and discussion will be presented.
Literature review
Despite the significant impact of SEO on information seeking and retrieval, interest in
the phenomenon has largely only occurred in the popular literature. The existing
studies on SEO in this review will be grouped under those that focus on general SEO
techniques and practices (Coopee, 2000; Dimitroff and Zhang, 2005a,b; Malaga, 2008;
Dover, 2011), and those that look at SEO within the context of libraries (Bell, 2004;
Brophy and Bawden, 2005; Rushton et al., 2008; DeRidder, 2008; Cahill and Chalut,
2009; Beel et al., 2010; and Arlitsch and O’Brien, 2012).
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