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 Part 1: The Quest |
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Search Engine Marketing, Finding Them Finding You Part 2: The Search Engine List |
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Hi. I'm Matthew, and I'm back for Part Two of "Search Engine Marketing, Finding Them Finding You". After developing Creative Graphic Solutions.BIZ, which I first put online in 2007, I naturally wanted to get listed on some search engines. However, I had been having a hard time finding major search engines I could submit my site to. Not wanting to go up against an overwhelming number of websites on a small playing field, the need to promote my business would become a mission to find the finders. After seeking out and reviewing a number of search engines, I compiled a list of the ones I thought had value or potential. I have made this list available here in Part Two of this article- but hold on before you rush to start submitting that site you want everyone to know about. Make sure you've read Part One, in which I offer excellent advice and strategies to make your efforts more successful. About the Search Engine List While not all of the search engines listed may meet all my standards, I complied this list with the desire to find those search engines that:
Matthew@CreativeGraphicSolutions.BIZ Avoid Spam Never use your primary email address when submitting your site to search engines. Some search engines (even ones that look legitimate) may use your address to flood you with spam. Use a free online email account, or ask your service provider to set up a second address for you. If the spam gets out of hand you will be able to shut down this account. In the meantime you will need to respond to search engines that require email verification. Some search engines also ask for your name, address, and phone number. In the case of your name you may want to use an alias, an initial, or a misspelling, (perhaps you've done this before with promotions through regular mail). Later on, if you find your name spelled a certain way on an advertisement you will a least know where it came from. You want to be fair to the honest search engines, but you also need to protect yourself from those that aren't. Keep Track of Things In Part One of this article, you created a document on your computer to help with your search engine submissions. Copy your disposable email address and company information into this document. Use this document to record what pages you submit to what search engines and when. Use this document to save user names and passwords for search engines that require them (as long as the account is not associated with sensitive information). Lastly, use this document to list search engines you come across that you do NOT want to use, (search engines that charge for listings but aren't up front about it, that display offensive content, or that have a bad reputation). As you continue to find new search engines, submit new pages, and resubmit old ones, this document can help you save time by avoiding duplicate submissions, (which are often prohibited) and by keeping you from unknowingly reviewing the same search engines. When to Start Submitting Your Site Having read Part One of this article, you know that a lot of work is involved in preparing your site for an effective search engine campaign. Some search engines may take a long time to include a new website in their database, so you may want to begin submitting your pages once you have a good start on things. If you wait until everything is just perfect, that time my never come. You can improve your website and your marketing as you go, and resubmit pages that you change or add. Finding More Search Engines To Submit Your Site To How do you find the search engines that are out there? Use a search engine! A search for "Add URL", "Submit your site", and similar phrases will bring up numerous links to other search engines. Some will offer free site submission. Others will not. Some search engines will be worth your time, while others may ask you to register with them and tell you only later that you have to pay if you want a listing. You will come across sites on the internet that offer to "automatically submit your site to 50 search engines!!!". I'm not recommending that you use such services, but these sites often list the search engines that they use. If you'll take the time to review these search engines, you might find a number of them you would like to add to your own list. These sites may list only the names of search engines without their links, in which case you'll have to type the name of the search engine into your browser's location bar and hope it matches its web address. Internet directories that are regional or service-specific should be taken advantage of. Such directories may offer valuable listings because of their targeted audience. Here are some examples of internet searches you can do to find these directories: A search for "find a web designer" or "find a contractor" should give you a list of online directories that a web designer or construction company (respectively) could submit their site to. An internet search for "business directories in Knoxville" should help you find business directories for that city. Small search engines can be much easier to get listed on than a big one, so don't disregard them if they are offering a real service. A search engine may be small because it serves a small internet community, which is fine. It may be small because it is a new company, in which case you'll be glad you were able to get in on the action if they grow to reach a much larger audience. Locating the Submission Form Once you've found a search engine, finding the page that lets you submit your site can be more difficult. (It's a crazy world.) The first thing to look for is an "Add URL" or "Submit Your Site" link. If this can't be found look for a "Contact Us", "About Us", or "Advertise" section. If this doesn't help try performing a random search- an "Add URL" option may be available on the next page. If you're in a directory-based search engine, try navigating to the specific sub-directory you would like to be listed in. If you are at least able to find a pay-based submission form, scroll down to see if there's a free submission form or other information listed below. One Last Word You may be thinking now about how much work there is to do, and about how many other sites you'll have to compete with. It's true that the internet is a big place, yet the number of online competitors may not be quite as indomitable as you suppose. How often do you find just what your looking for on the internet? Those searches with less than ideal results might just be waiting for a site like yours. Your opportunity is calling. Get out there and make it happen! Copyright Dec 2008, Matthew Shockey. (Search engine list updated October 2009.) |
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The Search Engine List directory. classifieds1000.com Directory listing. Optional reciprocal link for priority listing and screen shot. After submitting your site you may complete an online "interview" for their blog. ScrubTheWeb.com You are allowed to submit one URL per day. NetInsert.com One free page submission per domain name. Requires a simple meta-tag in your HTML code. Cuil.com New engine boasting a larger search index than Google. WebSiteFocus.net Directory of Internet business development resources. Free domain or sub-domain submission. WebdesignFinders.net Directory of web designers. Listing requires username/password. a2zwebdesignsource.com Directory of web designers and resources. Listing requires username/password. Killersites.com/directory Directory of web design firms. Listing requires username and password. Myahint.com Free URL submission. This search engine does not sell higher placement. SearchSight.com Decent looking search engine with thumbnails. You may submit 5 pages per day. Submissions are human reviewed. Cipinet.com Free top level page submission, (their crawler will find the rest). directory.Cipinet.com Searchable directory. Entireweb.com Nice looking. Homerweb.com Free non-guaranteed listing within 6-9 months. Instant listing if your provide a reciprocal link. BusinessSeek.biz Business Directory A "Search Engine" link at the very bottom of this site brings up a page with links for "Directory Submission" and "Search Engine Submission". The search engine has a simple submission form, while the directory has strict guidelines for submitting your home page, (requiring a minimum-length site description, username/password, etc). Searchme.com Visually impressive search engine. Displays screen-shots of web pages in search results. 01webdirectory.com Searchable directory. Free URL submission to deep level sub-categories- listed at the LEFT on this site. Domaining.in Searchable directory. Free domain submission. Dramba.com Directory. DirectoryStorm.com Directory listing. One free URL submission per site. AllBusinessDirectory.biz Searchable business directory. Requires username/password. A Yahoo email address is not accepted for verification. BizHwy.com Business directory. You can get a free listing, but a reciprocal link is required for a listing in the "Business Links" section of BizHwy.com. Requires username/password. Reallybigsearch.com Good search engine. Interesting free bidding system. Requires username/password. Jayde.com Search engine. Submitting your site automatically signs you up for an email newsletter. FyberSearch.com Easy site submission. Geona.net Free homepage submission. Human reviewed. LookClick.com Nice search engine. Only top-level or index page submission is necessary. Search-o-rama.com This search engine displays thumbnails next to their listings. They also have a new feature (in the testing stage) to allow you to upload a custom thumbnail. Easy submission form. Exalead.com/search A nice looking search engine with thumbnails. Their submission page says that "only the home page of your website needs to be submitted". SonicRun.com Nice search engine. Simple and efficient. NetSearch.org Search engine. To get to the free submission form, click the "About" link, then the "Add Url" link. intelseek.com Directory. Free domain submission. After submitting your site you'll need to rate it for verification and placement purposes. |
Part 1: The Quest Creative Graphic Solutions.BIZ Design, Web, and Print Services  |