This article provides a detailed guide on how to submit your website to search engines and build links to your site. It covers the importance of a top twenty listing, the different types of search engines, and the criteria for getting a good listing. It also provides tips on how to optimize your site for search engines and the importance of resubmitting your site regularly.
Submitting your website to search engines can be a tedious task, but it's a necessary one. A top twenty listing on a search engine like Webcrawler can bring in up to 50 visitors a day to your site, making the effort worthwhile. There are numerous search engines available, but only the top 15 or so generate significant traffic for most sites. Many of the smaller search engines are 'meta search' types, which get their results from the larger engines.
Search engines fall into two main categories: Directory-based and Spider-based. Directory-based engines, such as Yahoo, Looksmart, and the Open Directory Project, are typically added manually. An editor for the chosen category reviews your site and assigns it a position based on its quality. Spider-based engines, like Lycos, Inktomi, and AltaVista, use robot browsers to index sites based on pre-programmed criteria.
To secure a good listing in Directory engines, you need to impress the editor with your site's appearance, ease of navigation, and content. Ensure your homepage loads quickly, as this is a crucial factor. If necessary, create a simple 'Welcome' page that loads swiftly and serves as a gateway to your more graphic-heavy pages.
Avoid overloading your site with images or clutter. Editors review hundreds of sites daily and prefer to judge your site on its merits rather than your taste in art or music. If your site features midis, ensure you include an "off" control to avoid penalties.
Spider-based engines are more predictable. They scan your pages for keywords, count the frequency of these keywords, and measure it against the overall length of your text to determine your site's relevance to the keyword. Your keywords should be set in the keywords meta tag, included in your description, and appear at least once in the first 200 characters of text on your page. Stick to one specific topic per page to maximize relevance.
Once your site is optimized, it's time to start submitting. Submitting to FFA (Free For All) Links pages is a good idea, as most spiders rank your site higher if they find many other sites linking to you. After submitting to any Spidered Search Engine, add your site to as many FFA pages as possible, once per day, for about two weeks. Be prepared for a lot of junk mail in response to these submissions, but most can be automatically deleted using filter settings.
The Inktomi database and the ODP (Open Directory Project) offer the best value listings. The ODP database is particularly important as it's the only way to get listed in the AOL net search. AOL uses spiders to index sites found in the ODP directory, highlighting its importance.
After all your hard work submitting your site, don't neglect it by hoping you will stay on top - you won't! You must resubmit your site at least every 4 weeks. There are many programs and sites that can submit your site for you, so be sure to bookmark at least three if you don't have submitting software.
In terms of link building, aim to get as many sites as possible to link to you. Exchanging a banner ad on your site for a link from a high-quality busy site can be extremely valuable. However, be mindful that banners can clutter a web page, increase load time, and potentially redirect your visitors away from your site.
Link exchanges may not generate many visitors, but they can improve your search engine ranking. Many search engines, especially second-generation engines, use site popularity as a ranking factor. Therefore, a site with 100 links will rank higher than a site with only 5 or six.
In conclusion, website submissions and link building are crucial for driving traffic to your site. By understanding the different types of search engines, optimizing your site accordingly, and regularly resubmitting your site, you can improve your search engine ranking and attract more visitors. For more information on how search engines rate sites and other tips, visit Search Engine Watch.
