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Technical FAQ
Getting Started:
 
I've made changes to my Web site and my search results pages aren't showing all of my changes.  How can I fix this?
 
When I do a search with my account, the search results don't come up in the order that I'd like.  How can I change this?
 
How can I add my search box to my site using my Web publishing software?
 
How can I add my search box to my Web community (such as Geocities, Angelfire, etc.) Web site?
 
There are pages on my Web site that I don't want to be searchable.  How can I exclude them from my search results?
 
How does the siteLevel spider handle my robots.txt file?
 
 
 
Optimizing:
 
How can I update my index?
 
How can I increase the page limit of my account?
 
 
 
Customizing:
 
How can I have the ads taken off my search results pages?
 
How can I change the appearance of my search box?
 
How can I edit the slices for my search box?
 
How do I customize the domain name of my search results pages?
 
 
 
Miscellaneous:
 
Can I view reports on my account's activity?
 
If I spider a password protected area of my Web site (by configuring the "Password Validation" setting with a valid username and password), will I be compromising the security of that protected area?
 
 
 
 
 
I've made changes to my Web site and my search results pages aren't showing all of my changes.  How can I fix this?
 

The updates that you've made to your Web site will not appear in your search results until you re-index your account.  You can re-index your account by doing the following:
 
1. Log into your account.
2. Click on the "Indexing" tab.
3. Click on the "Re-Spider Your Site (Update Search Index)" link.
4. Click on the "Re-Index Now" button.
 
The siteLevel spider will then revisit your site and update your searchable database.

 
 
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When I do a search with my account, the search results don't come up in the order that I'd like.  How can I change this?
 

You have quite a bit of flexibility in deciding how search results are ranked (the order in which they appear).  You can balance the weight given to different elements of each page in determining relevancy.  The page elements that you can adjust include the title, body, META description, and META keywords.  To modify how relevancy is determined for your account, do the following:
 
1. Log into your account.
2. Click on the "Indexing" tab.
3. Click on the "Relevancy Ranking" link.
4. You will now see a table with the weight settings for each of the page elements.
5. Once you have made the changes that you would like, click on the "update" button to apply your changes.

 
 
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How can I add my search box to my site using my Web publishing software?
 

You can view instructions for adding your search box with several different Web publishing programs.
 
Please click here to select the software that you are using.
 
 
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How can I add my search box to my Web community (such as Geocities, Angelfire, etc.) Web site?
 

You can view instructions for adding your search box onto several different Web communities.
 
Please click here to view the full list of Web community instructions.
 
 
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There are pages on my Web site that I don't want to be searchable.  How can I exclude them from my search results?
 

You can tell the siteLevel spider not only where to go, but also where not to go.  Simply place the URL(s) of the area that you would like to exclude in the Exclusion URL(s) form.  This form is included in the Account Confirmation process and in your Web Site Information settings (found under the "Account" tab).
 
 
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How does the siteLevel spider handle my robots.txt file?
 

You can toggle whether or not the robots.txt file of your Web site is obeyed by the siteLevel spider.  When your account is configured to obey robots.txt files, it follows the robots.txt file just like any other search engine spider.
 
To view and/or change this setting for your account, please do the following:
 
1. Click on the "Indexing" tab.
2. Click on the "Extra Indexing Options" link.
3. The check box (toggle) for "Obey robots.txt" is given on this page.  If you'd like to change this setting, click on the check box and click on the "Update" button.
 
Please Note: After changing this setting, you will need to re-index your account before your changes will take effect. 
Please click here to view instructions on how to re-index.
 
 
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How can I update my index?
 

To update your index (a.k.a. re-indexing your account), simply do the following:
 
1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on the "Indexing" tab.
3. Click on the "Re-Spider Your Site (Update Search Index)".
4. Click on the "Re-Index Now" button.
 
This will enter your account into the queue to be revisited by the siteLevel spider.
 
Please Note: This process can take anywhere from ten minutes to 24 hours to complete, depending on the number of pages in your account and the number of other accounts being spidered at the given time.

 
 
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How can I increase the page limit of my account?
 

Please contact us at support@siteLevel.com with your request, including how many pages you would like to index.
 
 
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How can I have the ads taken off my search results pages?
 

You can remove the ads on your search results pages by selecting to purchase the Premium Service.  You can view your current service option and purchase Premium Service by doing the following:
 
1. Log into your account.
2. Click on the "Account" tab.
3. Click on the "Account Service Options" link.
 
On the page that comes up, you will be able to view your current service option as well as upgrade if you would like.

 
 
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How can I change the appearance of my search box?
 

You can change the appearance of your search box by doing the following:
 
1. Log into your account.
2. Click on the "Search Box" tab.
3. Click on the "Customize Your Search Box" link.
4. You will now see a table with your search box properties.  Once you have made the changes that you would like, click on the "Update" button to apply your changes.
 
You will now need get the new HTML code for your search box and place it on your Web site. 
Click here for instructions on how to place your search box code.
 
You may also edit the characteristics of your search box directly with HTML.  Please note that this is only recommended for advanced users with a good understanding of HTML forms.

 
 
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Can I view reports on my account's activity?
 

Absolutely.  To view reports on your account's activity, simply do the following:
 
1. Log into your account.
2. Click on the "usage reports" tab.
3. Select a date range.
4. Select the report that you would like to view.
5. Click on the "Report" button.

 
 
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If I spider a password protected area of my Web site (by configuring the "Password Validation" setting with a valid username and password), will I be compromising the security of that protected area?
 

No.  The password protected area of your Web site would still be password protected, even if one of your visitors can view results for pages within that password protected area.
 
The only way that security could be compromised would be if you spidered password protected area of your Web site, and placed the search box on a non-password protected page.  The compromise (and the only compromise) to security here would be that the visitor would be able to see whatever text is given on the search results page(s).  Any link to a password protected area would still require a valid username and password for the visitor to actually view the protected pages.
 
If the above scenario is a security concern of yours, one solution is to only place a search box that includes password protected results on pages within that password protected area.  Then in non-password protected areas of your site, you could offer a search box that only includes pages that are not password protected.
 
It's worth noting, however, that if you sell access to premium information on your Web site, it can be an effective teaser to show search results for that premium information from search boxes on non-protected pages.  When the visitor clicks on a premium result, they would then discover that they must pay for access.

 
 
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