Submit to Search Engines

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Add URL, Suggest a Site, Submit Link it all means the same thing . submitting your site to search engines. Until someone tells the search engines about your site the search engines won't know it's there. Before you can submit to a search engine you must know what a search engine is and how to submit to them.

There are many companies and programs that claim they submit to thousands of search engines. Unfortunately, there are not thousands of search engines. There are, however, hundreds of search directories, hybrid search engines, free-for-all pages and classified ad sites. Submitting to free-for-all pages and classified ad sites is a major mistake that you will regret later.

Before you run off and submit to search engine directories you need to know what they are and what they are not.

Types of Search Engines

Submitting to Search Directories

Search engine directories are not free-for-all or classified advertisement sites. These two types of sites allow you to submit to them and have your site indexed within minutes. The problem with these types of sites is they take your personal information and sell it to make money. Originally they didn't have terms of service or notifications of what they would do with your personal information. Currently, many disclose their intentions.

While it might seem a great idea using these services are actually more harmful than helpful. People that visit these sites don't visit them to find other sites; they visit them to submit their information as well. So, as more people submit their information your site is pushed off the list requiring you to submit again putting you into an endless, fruitless loop of futility.

Other search engine directories are actually more like Yahoo Directory. Yahoo Directory is not the same as Yahoo Web Sites. Yahoo Directory requires a submission fee of $299 just for the privilege of having Yahoo's editorial staff review your site for acceptance. While it might seem useful you must understand that Yahoo Directory does not crawl your web site; they take the information you submitted or create their own about your site.

Search directories aid in matching your site to appropriate topics. The links you gain from directories will help you with search engines. Additionally, the topical matching will help you with Google's Topical Match.

Search directories link only to your homepage. They give you the opportunity to provide personal information, the domain name, keywords and description. However, search directories will not index your site to revisit it. Once you have submitted to a directory simply go to the next and keep going ... don't look back.

Submitting to Hybrid Search Engines

Hybrid search engines are actually directories that use spiders to index the pages you submit to them. Before Yahoo purchased HotBot, AltaVista and Inktomi they were actually hybrid search engines. You paid for inclusion of your various pages. In return they would send their spiders to your site and crawl only the pages you submitted to them.

Paid inclusion is an expensive option for large web sites. However, it is important to get your web pages indexed. The balance between cost and benefit must be evaluated to determine real value.

While Yahoo purchased the largest hybrids they still have their Yahoo Web Sites search engine. Yahoo Web Sites offers the option of paid submission if you want your web pages indexed quickly. When you pay for submission and get approved Yahoo also has a cost-per-click charge.

Yahoo Web Sites, also, uses a regular search engine spider.

There are minor hybrid-search engines with spiders. These minor hybrids accept recommendations and use their spiders to crawl the domain submitted. They typically index only the home page. And some will only accept your submissions if you pay their fees.

Submitting to Search Engines

Search engines use spiders to find, and I emphasize find, web pages to index. They find your web pages through links you have acquired from other sites. So, it is important to submit to search engine directories and hybrid-search engines.

The major search engines that use spiders are Google and Yahoo. MSN has a search engine spider.

While both Google and Yahoo Web Sites accept submissions, Yahoo charges a review fee and then a cost-per-click. You can get into Yahoo Web Sites without paying a fee. You can get listed in Google for free. However this does require gaining links from other sites.

It is no longer required, as it once was, to submit to Yahoo or Google.

Submitting to Search Engines Summary

Companies and services that claim they submit your site to thousands of search engines use automated tools such as WebPosition Gold, WebCEO and Submit Wolf. Both are great programs, but using them for submission is simply errant concepts. bCentral is an online service similar to these products.

Search directories, hybrid search engines and search engines all provide a purpose and means for others to find your web site. Understanding how to submit to them can help your site succeed.

Contact us today at 405-329-8500 or use our contact form to schedule a demo and learn if Merchant Metrix is right for your business.

articles » online marketing tutorial