Prof Melius Weideman, an acclaimed researcher in the Information and Communication Technology field, has recently authored a book that provides an in-depth look at website visibility.
The 222-page book, titled Website Visibility: The theory and practice of improving rankings, was officially released on 1 October 2009.
Aimed at students, academics and practitioners, the book focuses on identifying and evaluating the elements which contribute to an increase in ranking on a search engine result page.
Prof Weideman, who is the Head of Research Development in the Faculty of Informatics and Design, said: “The fight for the top spots in search engine result pages is intense - research has shown that 67% of users on average click on the first two results of a search engine result page.”
By securing one of the top spots on a search engine result page, website owners can be assured of increased exposure.
Although several books have already been published on the topic, this is the first one that marries the academic to the practical side of website visibility.
The book, which was published by Chandos Publishing of Oxford, UK is also the first sole-authored, fully peer-reviewed research book from inside the CPUT community.
Each chapter has been peer reviewed by two individuals. In addition, the book as a whole has been peer reviewed by another three experts.
The 10 reviewers were academics and practitioners from South Africa, the UK and the USA.
The book contains several real-world case studies and research on website visibility elements, and their effects on rankings.
Prof Weideman said it can be used as a research resource, a course textbook at a higher education institution or a guide to top management of a company with a commercial web presence.
The book, which took Prof Weideman two years to write, is a result of many years of research on website visibility and search engines.
During the past few years he has also authored several journal articles and delivered conference papers on the topics of website design and search engines.
This includes a Keynote Tutorial (July 2009) in Cambridge, UK, on website design for Visibility and Usability.
However, Prof Weideman said writing a book is a “venture not to be taken lightly.”
“The scarcity of focused academic books is proof of the difficulty of finalising this kind of task. However, it provides a vehicle for channeling one's research work and results into a highly useful product,” he said.
Parts of the book were written while lying in hospital after a high-speed crash during the 2008 ABSA Cape Epic extreme mountain bike event.
Some chapters were edited on his cellphone, while spending many hours on buses and trains in Munich during his 2008 three-month Fellowship at the Munich University of Applied Sciences.
""Some of the final proofreading was done with a headlamp at night, after eight or nine hours of hard cycling, lying in a small tent during the 2009 Cape Epic. This time I completed it after much suffering but without medical problems,” he said.
Prof Weideman said although the writing process was challenging, it was a good experience. He said CPUT academics with some accredited research outputs must consider this avenue of publication.
For more information on the book and to order a copy, please visit http://www.book-visibility.com.
By Candes Keating
Written by CPUT News
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