Submitting to Search Engines
Search engines are simply Internet directories, designed
to make your site easy to find and easily accessible to Internet users (a link
to your site is included with each directory listing). Without your listing in
search engines, it would be like conducting business in a community and not
being listed in the telephone book.
It is a well known fact that a
website needs exposure and traffic to succeed. If you're wanting to grow your
business using the Internet, you absolutely must better understand search
engines and begin using them.
"Search
Engines Explained" is a massive Free tutorial published on the Newbie Club
Website. If you think search engines are a mystery, you really should check out
this simple tutorial.
I really like search engine traffïc because
visitors search you out, rather than the other way around. Would you rather
talk to people who ARE looking for you... or chase after people who may or may
not have a serious interest?
While there are many search engines on the
Internet, getting listed on the most popular search engines will generate the
most traffic to your Web site. Over 90% of search engine traffic comes from
Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
Following are the most popular search engines
you'll want to submit to. Visit each site and find the "add your URL" link
found somewhere on the site. Then simply fill in the requested information.
- Google
It is very easy to submit your web sites to the
Google search engine. Enter the full URL (web address) of your site in the box
provided. example: http://justfollowourlead.com/ReplaceYourIDnumberHere
Don't worry about putting anything in the comments. Type in the magic code
displayed on the page and click "Add URL" That's it... takes just a few seconds
to do.
- Yahoo
Here's where you can manually submit your web site
to the Yahoo directory... Very simple process that takes less than a minute.
- MSN
- ExactSeek
- ScrubTheWeb
There are hundreds more you can submit to if you have the
time and the desire. However, do you want to work hard? Or would you prefer to
work smart? The smart way is to not waste allot of time submitting to the
multitude of smaller search engines... rather focus your attention on the most
popular search engines listed above.
SelfPromotion.com is an amazing, wonderful, incredible
resource for submitting your websites to many of the popular search engines.
You can use it for free to register your site with all the important search
engines and indexes, and THEN decide if and how much you want to pay to support
the service. There are some pretty cool tools with the paid version to help you
optimize your pages for better search results.
Since each search engine
catlogues the web differently, it is helpful to understand the individual
search engines and how they "look" at your page. As you better understand each
of the search engine's requirements you will have much better results in your
placement.
I do not recommend using a "free submission service" for
your primary search engine submissions. If you're focusing on the major search
engines, it's simple enough to manually complete their on-line forms, and I
believe you'll get better results.
FreeWebSubmission.com provides free manual and auto
submission to the highest-rated, Free Internet Search Engines and Directories.
The Search Engines and Directories are all ranked according to popularity. This
is a very useful site with links to the manual submissions pages for the more
popular search engines.
SEO Editorial Listings: This takes longer but is
the most cost-effective and longer-lasting approach to search engine
visibility. You can speed up your campaign with paid inclusion programs (some
guarantee a listing in 48 hours) and directory submissions.
- Keyword Research.
Start by identifying the words
that your target audience will use to find you by performing keyword research
on the search engines and by examining your Web logs. Most people use 2 to 5
words in a search query. [Good Keywords is a free Windows software for finding
the perfect set of keywords for your web pages.]WordTracker is an
excellent tool for keyword research and offers a free trial.
- Copywriting.
Use your strategic keyword phrases
several times in your Web page copy, but don't overdo it and don't repeat the
same word consecutively. Your most important text is that in your title tags
and in the visible text at the top of each page. This is the first thing your
audience reads so it must be compelling for customers and keyword-optimized for
search engines.
- Site Design Tips.
Ensure that your site is legible
with good navigation and consistency in layout. It should load quickly and
permit users to find information easily. Navigation is particularly important
for both customers and search engines. Search engine spiders can benefit from a
site map (a list of links to all the important sections of your site). In sum,
search engine spiders like keyword-rich text, navigation that's easy to crawl,
and quality content that attracts in-bound links.
- Directory Submissions.
Submit first to the
directories, namely
Yahoo! and
ODP (Open Directory
Project. This is advantageous because search engine spiders crawl the Web
to index sites from directory databases.
LooKSmart is also an option with PPC pricing.
- Manual Submissions.
Submit manually to major search
engines like
AllTheWeb,
AltaVista,
AOL Search -
(through ODP), Google,
Lycos,
and MSN - (through Inktomi or LookSmart). Each engine has its
guidelines, which should be followed closely. Maintain a record of the dates
and details of your submissions.
- Verification.
Monitor your listings, which should
start appearing in four to six weeks. If you're not listed in six weeks,
re-submit and check monthly until you can verify your listings.
- Link Popularity.
It's important to have a number of
quality sites linked to yours. This is accomplished a lot easier if your site
is well designed and displays relevant content. Seek links from sites offering
information of interest to your target audience.
Using "Pay-Per-Click" Search
Engines
Pay-per-click search engines allow you to buy your position in
the search results. Find out what key phrases people use to search for the type
of products or services that you sell. Then work at getting your site listed on
the first few pages (preferably the first page) of the search results. The good
thing about PPC campaigns is that you'll get instant traffic and you only pay
for click- throughs to your site - so if no one clicks, you don't pay.
- Keyword bidding usually starts at $0.05 per click with
a $50 minimum. Create an account online, write your ad, and voila -- you're
listed. You only pay when people click.
[Good Keywords is a
free Windows software for finding the perfect set of keywords for your web
pages.]
- When writing your ad, editorial rules vary for
acceptance. Google allows 25 characters in the title and 35
characters each in two lines of description.
- There are copywriting guidelines as well. Google doesn't like a
generic call-to-action like "click here," so be specific. Also avoid
superlatives, exclamation points, and unnecessary caps. Google wants your
landing page to be relevant to the terms in your ad.
- You can set a fixed monthly budget for your PPC
campaign. If you exceed your budget before month end, your listings will drop
and reappear next month.
Track your costs for PPC and SEO editorial listings. As
your campaign progresses, you'll find that many of your "free" listings will
reduce the need for PPC listings. You might find that an Yahoo or Google PPC
listing appears in addition to a regular editorial listing. So cancel the PPC
ad, you don't need to appear twice. Once in place, the editorial listing can
last forever. That's the advantage of SEO over PPC. It takes longer to
establish, but is worth more over time.
Read More About Search Engines
Check
Search Engine Watch for details and the latest information
on the various search engines. This site has some of the most comprehensive
information about search engines and is highly recommended if you're wanting to
improve your results.
Here is some more good information on submitting
your web site to the search engines.
http://www.ictks.com/strategy_promote_search.html |
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