Frequently Asked Questions

About searching and search engine ranking

• Where can I learn how to search the Web?
• How do I find persons, phone numbers and email addresses on the Net?
• Where can I search for current news?
• Where can I find advice on books about searching?
• Where can I discuss searching with other people?
• Where can I find a collection of the best search engines and directories?
• Where can I learn about search engine optimization?
• My site has been removed from Google/Yahoo!/Ask/MSN. What do I do to get back in?
• Where can I read the latest search engine news?
• Where can I search for good bargains on the Web?

About Pandia

• What is Pandia?
• Who are the people behind Pandia?
• Who is the lady in your logo?
• Can I submit my URL to your site?
• May I include a link to Pandia on my own web-pages?
• How do I make Pandia my home page?
• Can I include the Pandia search form on my site?
• Do you have a privacy policy?
• Where can I find the Pandia T-shirts, mugs and mouse mats?
• May I reproduce parts of the Pandia site?
• Are any of your recommendations sponsored?
• May I write for Pandia?
• Do you have an RSS feed?
• Can I advertise on Pandia?
• May I follow Pandia through Twitter?
• Do you have a newsletter?

What is Pandia?

Pandia is a site devoted to effective Internet searching and search engine optimization. Hence the inclusion of a special Internet Search Tutorial. We have found that although there are a lot of search sites on the Net, few of them give you access to all the search engines and directories you need for more specialized searching. By using Pandia Powersearch, you gain easy access to all the tools you will ever need to find information on the Net, and we teach you how to use them. Moreover, Pandia is packed with search engine news, tools and reviews.

Pandia was established in late 1998, and is therefore an old site by Internet standards.

To secure fast and easy access for our American users, our server is situated in Florida, which is why some observers believe Pandia is an American site. It is actually Norwegian.

Press release about Pandia.com.
Contact information.

Who are the people behind Pandia?

Pandia is owned and edited by Per and Susanne Koch, a married couple from Oslo, Norway.

Per M. Koch (born 1961) has an MA in the History of Ideas, History and English. He worked for nine years as a science and technology policy adviser in the Norwegian Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs. Apart from taking part in the development of Norwegian research, innovation and ITC policies, he was also part of the editorial team of the magazine Schola, being responsible for the Web version and its Internet column.

He is currently Director for Analysis and Strategic Development at the Research Council of Norway.

Per Koch's home pages (in Norwegian and English)

Per Koch's personal blog

Susanne Koch (born 1969) is a Master in Christian Studies, and have studied Pedagogy and Russian. Hence it is no wonder that she is now working as a senior engineer (!) for web communication and Web supported learning at the University of Oslo.

She has a wide experience from research and information management.

Susanne Koch's home pages (in Norwegian)

Susanne Koch's personal blog

Who is Pandia?

Pandia was a Greek moon-goddess of light and enlightenment and daughter of Zeus and Selene. She was reckoned to be one of the most beautiful goddesses on the Olymp. There is a particular Homeric hymn that gives us the story about Pandia. Then again, others say that Pandia is the daughter of the Hindu god Krishna.

Who is the lady in your logo?

We like to think of her as Pandia. However, some of you may recognize her as Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine. Visit The Web Museum to see the whole painting.

Can I submit my URL to your site?

The Pandia Web Search engine (the default search option on the Pandia home page) is powered by Google. If you get listed in Google you will be included here as well.

If you own -- or know about -- a site that you think should be included on the Pandia Powersearch, People Search, News Search, Shopping Search or SEO pages , please send us a mail. The address is . You may also use our contact form.

Please note, however, that these pages only include high quality search engines, directories, resources and lists of general interest. We do normally not include directories for special disciplines or interests. We are, however, interested in sites covering special types of media, especially those that are not covered by the main search engines.

You can use the same mail-address or contact form if you want to inform us about a site that includes general information on Internet searching, and that you think should be mentioned on our page on Internet search resources and the Search Engine Detective. The same applies to search engine news for our Search Engine News column and Pandia Post Newsletter.

May I include a link to Pandia on my own web-pages?

Of course you can. As a matter of fact, we encourage you to do so! Please go to our special link-page for the relevant HTML-code, buttons and banners.

Put Pandia on your Bookmarks or Favorites list

Alternatively you may just make a bookmark. Go to the relevant page under Pandia. In Netscape, choose "Add Bookmark" or "Add Current Page" in the Bookmarks menu. In Explorer choose "Add to Favorites" from the Favorites menu. Or you may use a keyboard shortcut. Go to the relevant page. In both browsers hold down Ctrl and B if you use a PC, Command and B if you use a Macintosh.

Can I include the Pandia search form on my home page?

Yes, you can. Go to our page containing search form HTML code.

Do you have a privacy policy?

Yes. Read our Privacy Statement.

Where can I find the Pandia T-shirts, mugs and mouse mats?

The Pandia Store can offer T-shirts, mugs, mouse mats and more with our Leonardo lady logo.

May I reproduce parts of the Pandia site?

No, apart form quoting no more than two paragraphs, you may not. The Pandia site is the intellectual property of Per and Susanne Koch, Oslo, Norway, and all rights are reserved.

If you want to use parts of the Goalgetter search engine tutorial for non-profit educational purposes, you request a permission to do so for free. We normally grant such requests, provided that the name, URL and copyright notice of Pandia are included in the material. See our copyright and illustration notice for more details.

Feel free to make a link to any page on Pandia without asking for permission. Se our link page for the relevant HTML-code.

Are any of your recommendations sponsored?

In order to pay our expenses, Pandia will take part in affiliate programs relevant to books and ebooks on web searching and search engine promotion. If you click on a link to the Amazon.com bookstore, Pandia will, for instance, get percentages of the sale, so by using these links you are actually supporting the continuous existence of the Pandia site.

We do realize that this policy may lead some visitors to question the independence and neutrality of the editors. However, if you visit the Pandia Books section, you will soon find confirmation of our commitment to give relevant, impartial, and unbiased reviews of the products presented.

May I write for Pandia?

If you are experienced in the fields of search engine marketing or Internet searching and research and know how to write a short, focused, and -- above all -- understandable article, we would certainly like to hear from you.

Send us the article or propose a topic you would like to write about. We will look at it and give you a quick reply.

Before you power up your text editor, however, you should be aware of the following:

Pandia is for all practical purposes a non-profit adventure, and we cannot afford to pay you a fee for your work. We will however, allow you to add a short presentation of yourself, your site and your business. Hence you will get both kinds of PR.

We are looking for original material. As a general rule we do not publish text that has been published elsewhere.

Click here for our contact page.

Do you have an RSS feed?

Yes we do. You can subscribe to our news headlines through various online services and by using newsreaders.

See our RSS page for more information.

Can I advertise on Pandia?

You will find that we have included Google AdWords text ads on a large number of pages, either in one of the page side columns or below the text in news stories. These ad section normally includes a link called "Advertise on this site" which gives you access to a page where you can sign up for ads on Pandia. There is one such ad in the left hand column of this page.

Can I follow Pandia via Twitter?

Yes you can. If you have a twitter account, search for pandianews and add us as a friend. We will send you a message every time we add a new article or news item.

Do you have a newsletter?

We have two. The Pandia Post is a bimonthly review of search engine news and reviews. Pandia Search World gives you a weekly presentation of our latest news and articles.

Go to our newsletter page to sign up!

We can also send you an email every time we publish a new article (on average two to five times a week).

Click here to go to sign up for our Feedburner email update!

On search engines, searching and search engine marketing

Where can I learn how to search the Web?

Pandia has a very popular short and easy search tutorial that teaches you how to become a better searcher. It also includes an introduction to advanced Internet searching. Our resource section has a list of online search tutorials.

How do I find persons, phone numbers and email addresses on the Net?

We have gathered some of the best facilities for finding people, addresses and companies on our People Search page.

Where can I search for current news?

The Pandia Newsfinder provides a popular search engine for news articles from a wide array of high quality resources. This page also includes a topic directory and links to other news resources.

Where can I find advice on books about searching?

You will find reviews of books on Internet searching and research in our book section.

Where can I discuss searching with other people?

Where can I find a collection of the best search engines and directories?

Go to our all-in-one Powersearch page.

Where can I learn about search engine optimization?

We have added a section for search engine optimization, i.e. on how to get a good ranking in the search engines. Pandia SEO has a large collection of resources and tools for search engine promotion.

For a beginners' guide to search engine optimization, see our Search Engine Marketing 101 tutorial.

If you are looking for a more extensive introduction to search engine optimization, we recommend Planet Ocean's book on Winning the Search Engine Wars. It is not free, but you get a lot of updated and valuable information for your money, as well as a free subscription to their search engine optimization newsletter. See our book section for other good SEO guides.

My site has been removed from the Google/Yahoo!/Ask/MSN index. How do I get back in?

If you have had pages listed in the search engine index before, and most or all of them have been removed, this is normally because the search engine believes you are spamming the index, i.e. using search engine optimization techniques that go beyond what is considered acceptable.

Check whether you, someone else in your organization or your search engine marketing firm have broken some of the rules. Our Banned by Google Survival Guide tells you all about it.

Where can I read the latest search engine news?

Pandia has its own search engine news column, bringing you the latest from the world of search engines.

If this is not enough, you can use our Search Engine Detective, a page that lists all the essential search engine news sites, blogs and discussion forums.

How can I search for bargains on the Web?