Okay, so the cards are on the table. There is basically no way into the top Search Engines
without paying for it in SOME way.
I know, I know, Search Engines are supposed to be free and everyone has a level playing field
when it comes to listings and "He (or she) Who Has the Best Meta Tags" wins. But, it’s now
more than that. Your well developed Meta Tags still count for a lot, but if you even want them
looked at, you’re going to have to pay for it.
Two Search Engines (Yahoo! & LookSmart) ask for money just to be considered for inclusion,
others offer ways to ‘buy yourself to the top’ or additional advertising in your categories or
through your keywords.
You could say that you’re standing firm, and refuse to give in to the extortion, and keep
submitting the regular, old fashioned way, through the free submission pages or by using
submission software. But, at this point, with some Search Engines actually blackballing you
from using their own submission pages (e.g. Inktomi), you have an uphill climb on your
hands.
So, if you are trying to decide where your money should go, and what the best
Return-on-Investment (ROI) is, and who to give your hard-earned money to, there are few
must-do submission payments you should make:
1.Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com)
– Yahoo!’s $199 for submission is the ONLY way you’re going get into their top-level
categories. Even though they say that the money only guarantees ‘consideration’ for
your listing, it’s a pretty good bet that you’ll get into their directory if you do it
correctly. (For Yahoo! Submission tips, please see my page
http://www.keywordmarketing/yahoo.asp)
2.LookSmart! (http://www.looksmart.com)
– With 75% of Internet Search traffic, and alliances with: MSN, Alta Vista, Excite, Iwon
& CNN, $199 (or $99 for a basic submit, which can take up to 8 weeks) is also an
excellent investment of your marketing $$.
3.Inktomi (http://www.positiontech.com/inktomi/)
Formerly one of the largest Search Engines out there, Inktomi now has secure listing
results coming up in over 125 Search Engine partners, including: AOL, iWon, MSN &
HotBot. For $20 per URL (& $10 for each additional page per URL) you will be listed in
the directory in 24-48 hours, and they will RESPIDER your page every 48 hours.
4.NBCi
(http://www.nbci.com/LMOID/resource/0,566,home-1078,00.html?fd.ft.su.s-ld.s-1078)
– While NBCi (formerly Snap – a VERY popular Search Engine) doesn’t charge to
‘submit’ your website, they are now offering a "Promote Your Site" option. For $199
(after March 1, 2001), they will guarantee that one of their live editors will review your
website for inclusion in their ‘recommended sites’ listings. Since NBCi is a
human-edited directory, your placement improves greatly if a live person has a hand in
your listing..
The above are a few "must do’s" for today Search Engine submissions, and please take note
that "inclusion" in the Directory does not guarantee Top Placement. The only way to insure
#1 positioning is through good Meta Tags & in the fast growing case of Pay-Per-Click &
Sponsored Listings. But, that’s another article.
Additional Note about Yahoo!: Once you’re in the directory, Yahoo! also offers the
opportunity to "Sponsor" your category. For prices ranging from $25 - $300/month (more for
REALLY popular categories), you can have a text ad running in the Sponsored Sites area
above the regular results. This is great if you’re one of only 5 sponsors for that category.
When the cateogry has over 5 sponsors, and the ads are rotated each time the page comes
up. At Keywordmarketing.net, we’re still testing the results of these Sponsorships and will
know more in a few weeks
About the Author
Alison Berke Morano, owner of http://www.keywordmarketing.net, is an
Inernet Marketing expert with 6 years of experience in Search Engine &
Website marketing.