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Earn A Fistful Of Dollars – A Review On Getting Your Website Listed In Search Engines

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etting listed in search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and AOL is essential! But increasing search engine rank can be complex for small business owners. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview on getting listed in search engines. We'll discuss the different types of free and paid options for getting listed in search engines, and leave pay-per-click advertising, using search engine keywords in marketing, and other forms of online advertising for another day.

Why Are Search Engines So Important?

Plain and simple, if your company isn't getting listed in search engines, you're either losing business or not maximizing your opportunities. A study by search engine research firm comScore Media Metrix, reported Americans conducted 14.3 billion searches in May of 2009. Let's repeat that again... 14.3 billion searches in only one month! Search engine usage statistics are staggering! If your small business isn't getting listed in search engines, or if you're asking yourself "do I need a website," you're signing your own death warrant.

The Basics Of Getting Listed In Search Engines

Today, human editors still review website submissions, but the majority of listings are generated and indexed via automated programs, commonly referred to as spiders, search bots and crawlers. In order of least to most-expensive, there are three options for getting listed in search engines and submitting your website for inclusion:

1. Let The Search Engine Find Your Website

The first and easiest method for getting listed in search engines is to let the engines' web crawlers find and index your site for you. This option takes no effort (other than Keyword and site optimization), but your listing may not appear for a couple of weeks or more if you don't do anything to promote your website online.

2. Manually Submit Your Website To Search Engines

A second option for getting listed in search engines is to manually submit your site to each search engine. Manually submitting your website to search engines has two benefits over automatic spidering. First, your website will be reviewed quicker -- getting listed in search engines can take a couple of weeks or less via manual submission. Secondly, manual submission gives you a bit more control over how your site is listed. Most of the secondary search engines allow you to provide your own keywords, titles and website description -- which can help you improve your website's search engine rank.

3. Pay For Search Engine Review

Getting listed in search engines can be as simple as writing a check. Although paid review is becoming less common, a few search engines will manually review and list your site for a fee. Costs can range from $100 to $300, depending on the search engine. What's the benefit from having someone review your website? Speed is one. After submitting your site, the review and listing is typically completed in seven to ten days. In addition, human reviewed websites generally achieve better inclusion in secondary communities, such as local and business directories.

What Search Engines Should I Submit My Website To

So who are the big players and where should you focus your attention for getting listed in search engines? Google holds the lion's share of online searching, followed by Overture Networks, which is composed of Yahoo, AltaVista, AllTheWeb and Overture. Those two are musts for getting listed in search engines. However, don't forget the other power players like Bing (Microsoft), AOL (America Online), and Ask (formerly Ask Jeeves). There are also thousands of small, niche-topic and local search engines you may want to consider.

Michael Borowiecki