Submitting
Your Web Site
to Search Engines
By Bethanny Davis
Ó2002,
Bethanny Davis
If
you want to get traffic to your web site, you need to get it listed in search
engines. Not all search engines are created equal, however. There are hundreds
of search engines out there, but you don't need to worry about all of them.
You'll get a lot more traffic from being listed in five or six large search
engines than dozens of small ones. Here is a list of some of the large search
engines, along with instructions for submitting to them.
Google
http://www.google.com/addurl.html
Just
type the URL of your main page into the "URL:" box and click on
"Add URL."
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/
First,
search on the title of your site to make sure it is not already in the
directory. Then return to the home page and scroll down to the "Web Site
Directory" section. Click on the appropriate category for your site. For
example, for my site (Bethanny's Crafts), I clicked on "Arts &
Humanities" then "Crafts." Once you find your category, scroll to
the bottom of the page and click on "Suggest a Site." Unless you want
to pay $299.00 to get your site listed right away, you should click on
"Standard Consideration." Click on "Continue." Fill out the
form and click on "Submit."
Open Directory Project
http://dmoz.org/
The
Open Directory Project is a web directory that is run by volunteers. Each site
submitted is checked by the category editor to ensure that it fits in that
category. Several other search engines use Open Directory listings to supplement
their own search results, so it is important to try to get listed here.
To
submit a site to Open Directory, first find the category that your site belongs
in. Now click on "add URL" at the top right corner of the page. Fill
out the form and click "Submit."
Inktomi and MSN Web Pages
http://submitit.bcentral.com/msnsubmit.htm
Type
URL and e-mail address into the appropriate boxes and click "Submit
Site."
Alta Vista
http://addurl.altavista.com/
Type
the submission code into the box. Type your URL and e-mail address, then click
on "Submit."
Hotbot
http://hotbot.lycos.com/addurl.asp
Pay-per-click Search Engines
If
you're not against spending a little money, I recommend experimenting with
pay-per-click search engines. This type of search engine requires you to open an
account and fund it with a minimum amount (usually $25 to $50) before creating
any listings. Once you have an account, you choose the search terms you want
your site listed under and enter a bid amount for each one. Every time someone
clicks on your listing, the amount you bid will be deducted from your account.
Since you are charged only for click-throughs, you can decide how much each
visitor is worth to you and bid accordingly.
Overture
http://www.overture.com/d/USm/about/advertisers/
Overture,
formerly known as Goto, is the biggest and best of the pay-per-click search
engines. Overture has agreements to share their top search results with Yahoo,
MSN, InfoSpace, Ask Jeeves, AltaVista, and Netscape. By advertising with
Overture, you increase your chances of being listed with these other search
engines as well.
For
best results, try to come up with as many search terms as possible and make sure
your site description accurately describes your site. Keep in mind that search
terms must be relevant to the content of the site in order to be approved by
Overture's customer service team. Your site description should be written with
the following objectives in mind:
1)
Convince those who might be interested in purchasing your book, services, etc.
to click on your ad.
2)
Avoid getting extra traffic from people who probably will not want to buy your
book or services. Remember, you are paying by the click, so more traffic is not
always better. If your description is clear, you are less likely to get click-throughs
from people who are looking for something completely different than you are
selling.
Keep
in mind that with Overture, there is now a monthly minimum as well as a minimum
bid amount. You must bid at least 5 cents per click for each listing, and you
must spend at least $20 per month. If your total click-throughs add up to less
than $20, you will be charged $20 for the month. There is a $50 minimum to open
an account. This is non-refundable, but is applied toward click-throughs and/or
the monthly minimum.
To
sign up with Overture, go to the above URL and scroll to the
"Self-Serve" section. Since you are all writers, I'm assuming you
won't want to pay extra to have Overture write your site descriptions for you.
Enter your search listings in the forms provided. This page expires after 90
minutes, so make sure you submit before then. You can always go back later and
add more listings. When you're done entering listings, scroll to the bottom of
the page and click "Next." Enter your contact information and click
"Next" again. You will be taken to the payment information screen.
Submit your payment information and you should be all set. It takes a few days
for your listings to be processed.
FindWhat
https://secure.findwhat.com/signup/signup.asp
FindWhat
is the same type of search engine as Overture, but the minimum bid is 1 cent per
keyword and there is no monthly spending minimum. If you aren't sure you'll get
enough traffic from Overture to cover the minimum bid, you might want to try
FindWhat first and see how you do here. The last time I was listed with
Overture, I was getting about 4 times as much traffic at Overture as FindWhat
for the same search terms.
To
open an account, go to the URL above and fill out the form. You will need to
make a minimum deposit of $25 to open an account. This amount is non-refundable,
but is applied toward click-throughs. I have had good results with both Overture
and FindWhat in the past.
Summary
There
are only eight search engines in this list, so it shouldn't take long to submit
your site. Having your site listed with the biggest search engines should boost
your traffic significantly and, hopefully, your sales as well.
Bethanny Davis lives in Michigan with her two children. She enjoys
writing articles, short stories
and poetry. Bethanny is the author of "The Single Mom's Survival
Guide," which is available at
http://bethanny.bizland.com/singlemom.html
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