How to Get Your Site Listed in the Major Search Engines,
by Herman Drost.

Also try this page. Getting your web site listed in the major search engines is an absolute necessity. Why? Because 80% of all people on the Internet use them when searching for information.

Finding the correct information on major search engines can be very frustrating. Search engines keep changing their strategies. Some which were free, are now charging high fees. Previous ones, have been bought out by others.

This article will give you the most current information concerning the major search engines since these have the most searches. Some of them are still free, whereas others are fee-based. Pay per click search engines will be addressed in future articles.

1. AllTheWeb.com (Fast Search): www.alltheweb.com/add_url.php
   This is one of the largest indexes on the Web. It takes 2 weeks for your site to be indexed and there is no guarantee of inclusion.

2. Alta Vista: www.altavista.com/addurl
   Free - this gives you a basic submission. You can add up to 4 URLs and be considered for inclusion in 4-6 weeks. There is no guarantee of inclusion.

   Paid - Alta Vista Express Inclusion. Guaranteed submission within 48 hours. Price $39. 1 URL for a 6 month subscription.

3. Ask Jeeves: http://static.wc.ask.com/docs/addjeeves/submit.html
   This is powered by Ask.com and Teoma.com and it takes 1 week to be included.

   Pricing:
   1 URL: $30.
   2 - 1000 URL's: $18. each.

4. Google: www.google.com/addurl.html
   Google is the top choice for searchers. It is free to submit but there is no guarantee of a listing. Allow 1 month for your listing to appear.

   About the Google Adwords Program:
   This is where you purchase highly targeted advertising based on the keywords and phrases you select. When a person enters that keyword you selected, your ads are displayed.

   Pricing:
   $15. / thousand ads shown for position 1.
   $12. / thousand ads shown for position 2.
   $10. / thousand ads shown for position 3.
   $8.  /  thousand ads shown for positions 4 through 8.

5. Infospace: www.infospace.com/info/submit.htm
   Free to submit, however you need to fill out a form to get listed.

6. Inktomi: www.inktomi.com/products/web_search/submit.html
   Inktomi's search engine has an extensive network of Web search partners, including AOL, iWon, MSN and HotBot. It refreshes your site every 48 hours, to keep your content up to date in the index.

   Pricing:
   First URL costs $39. / year.
   Each URL thereafter costs $25. / year.

7. Looksmart: www.looksmart.com
   The LookSmart Network consists of partner sites that use the content of the LookSmart directory in their directory search results. Partners include more than 370 ISPs and the following top portals: MSN, Alta Vista, Netscape, Infospace, CNN.com, CNet. According to their web site, they reach 77% of all Internet Users.

   To submit your site, go to the bottom of the page, where it says "Submit a Page".

   Pricing:
   $49. Listing Set-Up Fee.
   $150. minimum refundable deposit for new customers.

   LookSmart tracks the number of clicks your listing receives across the LookSmart Network. Every click received by your listing results in a $0.15 deduction from your account balance.

   It takes several days for your site to appear, longer for Looksmart's partners.

   Non-commercial sites can be submitted at no charge through www.Zeal.com. Sites listed in Zeal will be distributed across the LookSmart Network.

8. Lycos: http://home.lycos.com/addasite.html
   Free submission of one page of your site. Takes 4-6 weeks and is not guaranteed. You need to fill out a form to sign up.

   Pricing - $18. / year. Cost per URL - $12. Guaranteed submission within 48 hours.

9. Netscape: http://digitalwork.netscape.com/onlinead/registersite
   Your site will be submitted each month to major search engines such as Google (used by Yahoo!), AOL, Excite, MSN and HotBot.

   Pricing - $100. / year.

10. Northern Light: www.northernlight.com/docs/regurl_help.html
    Northern Light only has free submissions. Only submit one page from your web site. Their spider will crawl through the rest of the pages.

11. The Open Directory Project: http://dmoz.org/add.html
    A directory is different to a search engine, because the submissions are reviewed by real people, not machines. When submitting, search for the appropriate category for your web site, then go to the top of the page where it says, 'Add URL'.

    This is a great free directory to get listed in because you will also be listed with its partners which include: AOL Search, DirectHit, HotBot, Google, Lycos, Netscape Search and others. It takes 2 weeks to several months to get listed.

12. Yahoo!: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest
    Yahoo! is the most popular search engine service. It also uses actual people to compile its listings. It partners with Google when search results fail to find a match within Yahoo.

    This directory has only fee-based inclusions for business sites, called Yahoo Express. Your site will be reviewed within 7 business days. Keep in mind that payment DOES NOT automatically guarantee inclusion in the directory.

    Pricing - $299. non-refundable, recurring annual fee per submission, for initial consideration in the Directory.

Tips

1. If you want to get traffic to your site, make sure you get listed in all or at least a few of these major players. Make sure your web site is optimized before you do your submissions (read 'How to Use Keywords to Optimize Your Site for Search Engines - www.isitebuild.com/keywords.htm). This will vastly increase your chances of getting listed.

2. Getting massive amounts of traffic doesn't guarantee sales. Your web site copy must pull your visitors through the page for them to take action. Get others to read your copy and ask for their opinions. (read, 'How to Avoid Sloppy Website Copy' - www.isitebuild.com/copy).

3. To achieve higher rankings (and therefore more traffic) in the search engines, you need to continually refine your web site. Monitor your site rankings by adjusting the keywords used in your meta tags and web site copy, the submit again.

4. Search engines should be only one of your marketing strategies. One week you could be at the top of a search engine, the next week your site may disappear. Use other ods to drive traffic to your site, so you don't just rely on the search engines.

Herman Drost is a Certified Web Site Designer, owner and author of iSiteBuild.com Affordable Site Design, Hosting and Promotion Packages www.isitebuild.com.

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