Search Engine Optimization Basics Part 5 – Submissions

As part of the continued series "Getting Back To Search Engine Optimization Basics", Andy Beal takes a closer look at search engine submissions. How do you get your site listed in the search engines?

By Pandia Guest Writer Andy Beal

(July 2003, updated by the editors May 2006) Do you remember when a website needed to be submitted every day in order to get listed on the search engines? Or the time when we all needed to submit our sites to over 50,000 search engines in order to achieve traffic?

Well, actually we never needed to do any of the above, but in a rush to achieve top search engine positioning, many businesses were convinced that submitting often and to thousands of search engines would bring that pot of search engine gold they so desperately wanted.

Fast-forward to today and the concepts behind submitting your website have dramatically changed.

While many people believed that the submission process played a large part in the search engine ranking achieved, most businesses now realize that the submission process is merely a means of delivering optimized pages to the search engines.

I often find analogies to be beneficial, so lets try this one. If your optimized website was this summer's blockbuster movie, then the movie theatre's projector would be the submission process.

You want to make sure that the movie is shown using the best projection methods possible, but the actual projector does not make the movie a blockbuster. However, without the projector, your movie would not be seen. With search engine optimization, it's the changes to the website that ensure top positioning, but without correct submission to the search engines, no one will see them.

Still with me?

So now that you've started to optimize your website, how do you make sure that your "blockbuster" reaches its target audience? No doubt, you can name the most important search engines and I would hazard a guess that you could name many of the smaller ones too.

Which ones are important and how should you submit to them? Let's take a look.

The Big Four

Google 29.5% of searches* [2006: 48%]

Google is everyone's favorite search engine, but how do you get your website listed? First there is the submission form, located on their website. The instructions provided by Google are pretty straightforward: submit your top-level page and Google will spider the rest of the website.

However, submitting your website this way does not guarantee that you'll be indexed. Google has always preferred to find new websites by spidering existing sites in its index and following new links from there.

If you want to increase your chances of seeing your website indexed, find some quality websites or directories to link to your new site now. You don't need hundreds of links, but 3-5 quality links at this stage will encourage Google to index your site.

Google typically updates its full index once a month, so do not panic if 4 weeks have gone by and theres still no sign of being indexed. However, if after 6 weeks, you site is still not indexed, concentrate on adding more quality links and work on getting listed in the Open Directory. See below.

Yahoo 28.9% of searches [2006: 22.5%]

Up until about 18 months ago, the best way to get listed in Yahoo was by paying the annual $299 fee to be listed in their directory. However, at this time, Yahoo gets its results from the Google index and a directory listing is no longer vital (although many like having the directory listing as well).

So for the time being, I recommend concentrating on getting your website listed in Google, and that will take care of Yahoo (although with Yahoo acquiring the Inktomi, AltaVista and AlltheWeb search engines, this could soon change).

MSN 27.6% of searches [2006: 11%]

[Removed text on the Inktomi search engine, which powered MSN Search in 2003, The Editor.]

[MSN Search now has its own search engine, and you can submit to it using their special submission form.

MSN is now also powering the web search function at Amazon.com and the A9 search engine. The Editors.]

AOL 18.4% of searches [2006: 6.6%]

The submission process for AOL, is well, non-existent. AOL uses the results from Google, so obtaining a listing at Google is important if you wish to be shown in AOL.

* NetRatings for January 2003. Results do not add up to 100% as some searchers use more than one search engine. [For 2006 statistics, see this Nielsen Report (PDF)]

The Directories

The Open Directory

The Open Directory is also referred to as ODP or DMOZ. It is a vast directory updated and maintained by thousands of volunteer editors. The directory is used by a large number of search portals, including AOL and Pandia.

To get your website listed in the directory, simply find the most appropriate category for your website and click the "add url" link. Follow the instructions carefully. Not only are there standard instructions for each category, but also some editors have their own quirky set of guidelines.

Do not be tempted to write a description that is full of dozens of keywords. Pick 3-4 of your most important keywords and write a 20-30-word description that includes these terms.

DMOZ editors are known for changing the descriptions submitted by website owners, so make sure yours is well written so that you reduce the chance of it being edited; it could be your keywords that are edited out.

Remember, editors are unpaid at DMOZ, so don't expect to see your website listed after just a few days. It could take weeks or even months. You can read further instructions at the DMOZ site.

Looksmart

[Since this article was written LookSmart has turned into a text ad advertising company and its directory is no longer of great interest. In 2006 Looksmart also closed down its volunteer based Zeal directory for non-profit sites. The paragraphs on Looksmart has been removed. The Editor.]

The Crawlers

There are many other search engines that you should consider. So that we are not here all day, let's take a brief look at the best way to submit to each of them. [Text on Inktomi has been removed. The Editors]

Ask.com

Ask.com [previously known as Ask Jeeves] is a growing search engine with many loyal users.

[The only way to get listed is for them to spider your website from another page that is already in its index, so you better get that inbound link. The Editors

[Removed text on paid inclusion. Ask has abandoned paid inclusion as the company felt it reduced the quality of search results. The Editors.] [Removed text on Fas, AlltheWeb and Lycos. AlltheWeb si now part of the Yahoo! search engine, as is AltaVista. The Editors.]

Yahoo!, Google and MSN Search

[The Yahoo! search engine (as opposed to the Yahoo! Directory) is now powered by their own Yahoo! Search Engine.

As for Google and MSN, the best way to get included is for the search engine spiders to find your web pages on their own, following inbound links. There is, however, also a free submission service.

There is also a Google submission form and one for MSN.

Netscape and iWon

Both Netscape and iWon receive their crawler results from Google.

In Summary

Now for some caveats and clarification on the above. While some search engines offer free submission services and others will index your site eventually if you have inbound links, the advice above concentrates on the quickest and most effective means of getting your website indexed.

In addition, I have not delved into the realms of "Direct-Feeds" or Pay-Per-Click which would need articles in their own right.

However, for most small to medium sized businesses looking to follow the best methods of submitting a website, the above information should be enough to ensure that your site is indexed. If youre ready for your website to be the next "blockbuster," then following the guidelines above will help ensure your success.

See also the Pandia Search Engine Marketing 101 tutorial and Pandia's all-in-one search engine submission page

Read also the rest of the"Getting Back To Search Engine Optimization Basics" series

Andy Beal Andy Beal is president and CEO of Fortune Interactive, a full-service interactive marketing agency specializing in search engine marketing. Considered one of the world's most respected interactive and search engine marketing and experts. Andy has worked with many companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Quicken Loans, DeWALT, NBC and Smarter.com.

Andy Beal is constantly keeping up-to-date with search engine news and online marketing developments and has appeared on CNBC and NPR (National Public Radio) and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and many other publications. Often approaching search engine marketing from a unique, easy to understand perspective, Andy Beal has also been invited many times by SearchEngineWatch.com to speak at the Search Engine Strategies conferences held around the world. Andy has also received a nomination for the 2006 Fast 50.

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