Microsoft has recently re-launched its search engine under the name “Windows Live Search.” Previously known as MSN Search, Windows Live isn't as popular as Google but it has a large enough market presence to warrant careful optimization efforts.

So what does Windows Live want from the sites in its index? Here are some guidelines:

First, review the general guidelines for all search engines

Limit web page size
MSNbot prefers short HTML pages with about one topic per page. According to Windows Live guidelines, an HTML page without images should only be 150 KB. This is a good guideline to follow for search engines in general. Keeping your pages focused on one or two specific topics is more likely to achieve high rankings for the keywords on those pages.

Flat navigation
Windows Live Search prefers sites with a flat navigation, which means that all pages are fairly easily accessible from the main page rather than hidden in a deep hierarchy. Try to make your web pages no more than three links away from the main page of your site.

Review your web site description
If your site is listed in the Open Directory Project (DMOZ), Windows Live will display the description you have on ODP for your site in its search results. If you want to prevent this from happening, use the following tag:

<META NAME="msnbot" CONTENT="NOODP">

If you includes

If you include the above tag on your web site, make sure you create a good meta description tag with relevant keywords as an alternative.

Update your site often
An extra tip for Windows Live: Keep your site fresh! MSNbot tends to re-index sites with frequently updated content more often.