The Effect of syntax on the indexing & ranking of Metadata Records by the Web Search Engine: a Comparative Study on MARCXML and DCXML Metadata Records

The aim of this research was to find out the status of indexing and ranking MARCXML and DCXML metadata records based on the linking approach by Web search engines. 100 XML-based metadata records in two groups (50 DCXML metadata records in the first group and 50 MARCXML metadata records in the second group were analyzed through a comparative-analytical approach. The records were published on an independent website (http://www.aghaabedi.com), and were introduced to Google and Yahoo! search engines directly. Then using search strategies, the indexability and ranking of the published metadata records were examined. findings show all the metadata element values were indexed by Google and Yahoo!, and all the metadata records were ranked in the search results. Based on the research, all the metadata records are retrievable in Web search engines environment by the element values. There was no significant difference between two groups’ indexing and ranking. Implementing metadata records in XML syntax improves the indexability of them. This feature helps users to retrieve the content objects by Web search engines, but does not affect the ranking of the metadata records and the DCXML and MARCXML records were ranked equally.