Subheadings below on this page:  background || what to do || top 10 search engines/directories || organized submit sites

background

Once your Web site is published to the Web, you will want to register it with search engines and directories so that people searching for a certain subject, or item your business provides, can find your Web site.

Your site must be designed with search engines in mind, and prepared properly so that a person searching for key words associated with your business will find it.  Simply being listed with the search engines is not enough!  This can not be stressed enough.  A good way to start designing your site is to first come up with key words you want to focus on.   What is your site about?  What terms might people search for if they are interested in a business like yours?  Be sure these words are incorporated properly in your site as it is designed.

Proper titles, keywords, meta-tags, alt-text, relevant content, etc., must be designed into your Web site so they are there for the search engines to find. When this is accomplished, you are ready to submit your site to the engines and directories.

Search engine placement - - getting a site to come up in the top 10 and 20 listings when a term is searched for is an industry of its own.  Individuals and companies are devoted to just this one issue. There are web sites just for this subject, e-mail discussion lists, books, and so on.  People are out there studying search engine algorithms, trying to learn and keep up with exactly how each engine works.  It's a very complex and competitive issue, and should not solely be relied on for your site's exposure.  However, it certainly can be done. (I have done it.)

Many companies that offer to register your site with search engines, will also, for a fee, help you with this to help you be successful with search engines.  Depending on your business and your budget, you may want to hire a search placement consultant to optimize your site.  

Registering with search engines can easily be accomplished for free, but -

A cost can come in for two reasons:

1) registering individually with many engines and directories is time consuming, so others will charge to do this for you. The registration is free; you just pay for someone's time to do it.  Some services offer Web pages with convenient forms for all of the search engines.  In this case, it may still take you some time, but you pay for the convenience and organization.

2) you may decide to pay a consultant to optimize your pages, and submit them to the search engines.

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search engine watch
Everything you ever wanted to know about search engines.  Who they are, how they work. 

 This is the Web's definitive authority.

Register your domain name and take your first step on the Web!

When selecting a Web designer, be sure to ask if they will design for search engines, and if they are familiar with search engine/directory practices. 

Most search engines and directories will allow you to register your site with them at no charge. You can visit each search engine's site, find their "add URL" link and individually, personally, register your site for free with each of them.  It's not difficult; it just takes time.   Check it out!  If you are very serious about your placement, it is generally thought to be better to submit individually than to use an automated service.

Since 85 to 95% of all searches on the Web are accomplished with the top 7 to 10 search engines, think twice before paying a lot of money to register with the Top 400 or 500.  Anything over 50 should be unnecessary unless your Web site is the sole provider of your products and they are sold over your web site.  There probably aren't 200 engines worth registering with.

Be sure proper titles, keywords, phrases, meta-tags, alt-text, frame considerations, and proper content are incorporated into your Web site - by your Web designer, a service, yourself, or someone you trust to do it right.

Be sure to change your keywords if necessary when you make changes or additions to your site, and be sure to resubmit your site to search engines after significant changes.

You must at a minimum register with the "top 10" and later you might decide to check out some of the companies that will help you register with up to 40 and 50, or devote a weekend to it, and do it yourself.

Top 10 Search Engines/Directories

Register your site with the Top 10 to start, either by yourself or through a reputable service.  (The Top 10 are rated here by the number of visitors each month, not by performance.)

The top 8 musts:   (Sept., 1999)  (I'll try to update soon.  For now, 2002, it's google, google, google.)

Two good choices for 9 and 10:

You must try to get listed at the Open Directory Project www.dmoz.org 

AOL Netfind's millions of users which also include CompuServe customers, actually search the dmoz Open Directory Project.  And,  Lycos and HotBot supplement their searches with the Open Directory Project.   Yahoo is also using Google, and returns results from this database after searching its own directory.  Google searches the Open Directory Project, but also has its own database.  

By submitting to number 3, Netscape, you are actually submitting to dmoz - The Open Directory Project, but you should also go to http://www.dmoz.org/, select a different category if possible, and submit your site. 

Well, it does get confusing!

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Pay to register your site at:
www.owlsnest.com/
www.uswebsites.com/

If you decide not to do it yourself, a few good companies worth checking out that will register your site are:

www.owlsnest.com/intro.htm will register your site with 50 search engines/directories for $85.   It depends on your budget!

www.USWebsites.com/submit/ will register your site with 30 of the top search engines in return for your placing their logo and a link to their site on your page - no money.

Have fun, and don't obsess about this subject.

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Proceed to article 4 ->> maintenance to keep your site accurate and current

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