Your website is done. Now you just need to let people know you're there. If your web designer has done their job right, your site is fully optimized for good placement in the search engines. The next step is submitting to the search engines.
Search engine submission is not brain surgery. There is a small learning curve, but it's not overwhelming. What it is, though, is time consuming, and most of my clients would rather pay somebody to do the job than do it themselves. If you decide to outsource this task, there are a few things to look out for.
HYPE --
When looking for a marketing service, there is one HUGE red flag that almost always presents itself. Both software and services tend to try to get clients and sales by hyping up the number of search engines and directories they submit to. "Hundreds", they say. Sometimes "thousands".
Finally, an article that tells the truth. In If You Build It, Can They Find It? Anne Stuart covers the basics of search engine marketing for the newbie, and especially addresses this search engine hype issue. In a quote from the article, Peter Kent, author of Search Engine Optimization for Dummies, says
"There are only a few worth worrying about," referring to the list of search engines and directories. Kent's must-have list includes Google , Yahoo! , AlltheWeb , AltaVista , Ask Jeeves , Inktomi , and the lesser-known Open Directory Project . "They're the only ones who matter because they feed everyone else who counts," he says. Directly or indirectly, he adds, those few sites provide data for 99% of all searches. For instance, Inktomi provides data to Microsoft's MSN Search and Yahoo's Overture, while the Open Directory Project feeds at least 300 others, including many specialized ones catering to particular industries or interests.
What about all those companies dangling tempting offers to list your site with 400--or even 4,000--search engines in exchange for what sounds like a reasonable fee? Rarely worth the cost, Kent says: "Sometimes what they're doing is submitting you to just a few sites, knowing that then those sites are feeding hundreds more." Worse, those helpful companies may list your site with bogus "search engines" that do nothing more than compile e-mail addresses for use by spammers, says Chris Sherman, associate editor of the industry information site and newsletter Search Engine Watch . "I would say they're not only not a good deal, they're the best way quadruple e-mail spam you get," Sherman says. A better strategy: Focus on getting listed with a few key search engines and forget about the rest.
Thank you Ann and Kent, for telling the truth! And shame on those services that indulge in hype.
"BEFORE AND AFTER" SERVICES--
A good service will evaluate your website before submitting, to make sure that your keywords are all in place, and provide you with some kind of reporting to show you where they've submitted your site. A really good service will offer some kind of ongoing program to help you track your search engine placement over time. If search engine traffic is important to your business, then this is a process that needs some care and attention. It's not a service you get done once a year like getting your car tuned up. If you don't have the time or attention to do this yourself, then hire a service that will monitor your placement over a period of time, make ongoing adjustments and resubmit if necessary.
"GUARANTEED" RESULTS --
Don't be fooled by hyped-up guarantees. The fact is that the internet is still a very fluid, very unpredictable place, and no website marketing service can absolutely guarantee specific results. Short of paying for top position, there is no way to absolutely guarantee your site will come up in the first position, or even on the first page, consistently. Somebody is always edging you out, trying for that top spot. You can't optimize your site on Tuesday, and leave it alone for 6 months and expect to stay at the top of the rankings.
That, of, course, is why big business went for banner ads and paid inclusion programs. Why waste all that time submitting, waiting to see what your position will be, changing your keywords, submitting all over again, waiting to see if you're bumped up or down? Just throw some money at it and then you're sure to be at the top.
Which leads right into the issue of free listings vs. paid listings. But that's a rant for another day.
