Getting Listed in the Top Three Search Engines for Free

The search engine wars are on again.

In an effort to beat each other for the number one position,
each of the big three search engines is changing its search
engine model or changing its site.

THE SCOOP

In the number three position is Google. In their bid to compete,
they have changed their model from just a search engine to
becoming a world class portal. Adding services like free email
and groups, as well as offering a free blog at Blogger,
http://www.blogger.com, Google is seeking to attract more users
to their site by making it sticky. There's also Froogle,
Google's version of an online catalog where you can buy just
about any kind of product.

Number two is MSN. Not content to be in the number two position,
Bill Gates, the richest man in America, is adding a spider
search engine to his site to offer a much larger segment of the
Internet.

For some time now, the only way to get into MSN was to pay for
it. MSN was part of a network of sites including Looksmart,
which lost a lot of its popularity when it switched to a paid
model.

In the number one spot is Yahoo. Over the last several years, if
you wanted to be in the Yahoo directory, it cost $299. Until
recently, Yahoo's backend results came from Google until they
split. Now Yahoo has acquired Altavista, AllTheWeb, Inktomi, and
Overture. Yahoo now has its own spider search engine, and you
can get listed free.

SUBMISSION

Submission to the the major search engines is easier than ever
now because all of them have, or are, building spider search
engines.

Note: A spider search engine is different from a directory.
Sites offering spider search engines actually "crawl" the site
and add all of the pages on your site to the engine provided the
pages aren't too deep. With directories, human beings usually
review the sites before adding them to make sure sites are added
to the correct category.

Times can vary on when your site will be accepted.

For Google, it can take as little as three days to 30 days.
Google reserves the right not to accept your site.

You can submit to Google here: http://www.google.com/addurl.html

Make sure that you read all of the instructions on this site to
make the most of submitting your site to the this search engine,
as well as get additional tips about search engine submission.

MSN's search results are currently powered by the Inktomi Search
Index. MSN is currently working on its own version of a spider
search engine.

There are no guarantees your site will be accepted or that your
site will be accepted in a certain length of time.

You can submit your site here:
http://www.submit-it.com/msnsubmit.htm

Yahoo recently created its own version of the spider search
engine. It's free to submit, but you have to have to sign up for
an account with Yahoo to access the site. The account is also
free. It takes about 30 days for Yahoo to spider your site, and
there are no guarantees you will be accepted.

You can submit to Yahoo here:
http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request

There are also several other search engines I recommend that you
submit to that will bring you some excellent results.

DMOZ - http://www.dmoz.org - DMOZ is actually a directory, not a
search engine, but it provides backend results for Google.

Exactseek - http://www.exactseek.com - This site is part of the
Jayde Online Network and includes GoArticles, Site Pro News, and
FreeWareFind.

Alexa - http://www.alexa.com - If you're looking for sites that
are comparable to yours, or you would like to see how you rank,
submit here. You can also gather some excellent statistical
information about your site, including who is linking to you.

Spider Hub - http://www.spiderhub.com - Although this is a
fairly new search engine, it boasts that you can get spidered by
Google in three to five days by being included in this
directory. It also only takes about two days to get added
provided you have placed the small spider on your site.

SOME TIPS

1. You are more likely to be included in Google and rank higher
if you are linked to other sites and "enter the back door" of
Google. Link to sites that are already included.

2. You can also get included in MSN by being linked to other
sites included in MSN.

3. Submit only the top level page, i.e. domain, for your site.
The spider will take care of the rest and grab the other pages.
For example: http://www.yourdomainname.com

4. Turn your sites into a network of sites. I currently own four
domains, and I have noticed that since I linked all of my sites
together, I am getting more traffic.

5. Link to other sites. You want to choose sites that
complement, and not compete, with yours. Search using key words
similar to yours to help you find other sites to link to.

6. Don't submit affiliate pages. Search engines usually only
accept top level domains now and will not accept mirror pages.

7. Optimize your key words, description, and title. This is
often the most overlooked step, especially by newbies. Key words
are less relevant than the description and title as Inktomi is
the only one that usually uses key words for indexing sites.

A well designed site with relevant key words and rich content
will go a long way to helping you get successfully submitted to
the search engines. A good linking strategy, as well as
submitting to the search engines regularly, and you have a much
better chance of being found by the potential customers looking
for you.