How Often Should I Submit My Website To The Search Engines?

You only need to submit your website to the major search engines ONCE!
Submitting your website multiple times has no effect on your position in the search engines, nor does it effect the frequency with which the search engines will visit your website. This may not be true for minor search engines, but for the crawlers that power the major search engines discussed below, you only need to submit ONE time.

What Search Engines and/or Directories Should I Submit My Website To?

The first question should really be, what are the major Search Engines and Directories? The top 5 search engines often comprise more than 95% of all traffic your website will receive from search engines. Below is a comprehensive list of the major players in the search engine scene.

Major Search Engines To Submit To-

1. Google (http://www.google.com)- Often called the greatest search engine on the Internet, it is also the most popular according to recent Nielson/NetRaitings polls. This search engine is entirely free for the primary listings, and offers paid listings at the top of the search results, as well as their AdWords program which shows small text banners on the right hand side of the search results. Google bases its search results on website content as well as their patented PageRank algorithm which factors in links from other websites to determining your rank in the search results. Submit to this website at http://www.google.com/addurl.html and your website should be in the index within a month, sometimes two.
   
2. Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com) - Second most popular, and probably the most famous of all search engines, this icon among web portals controls the search results on MSN.com, AltaVista.com, and Alltheweb.com in addition to its own search results. Submission is free, and I wouldn't recommend paying for inclusion in this directory at this time, though paying to be in the directory is a good idea if you can afford the $300/year. To submit your website to the search engine go here: http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request
   
3. MSN.com (http://www.msn.com) - The third most popular search engine, MSN, does not currently provide its own search results. The results found on MSN are actually provided by Yahoo!, and you can be listed in MSN by submitting through Yahoo! at the link above. MSN does plan to offer their own search results in the future, and I believe that they are using the old Inktomi index as their starting point so you might want to submit here: http://free.submit-it.com/msnsubmit.htm
   
4. AOL (http://www.aol.com) - This popular search engine uses Google search results as its primary and paid listings. See Google.
   
5. AllTheWeb (http://www.alltheweb.com) - Purchased by Yahoo!, this once promising search engine now uses Yahoo! results and will probably be used as a side project by Yahoo! for various purposes.
   
6. AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com) - One of the oldest search engines on the Internet, AltaVista was showing its age until Yahoo! purchased it in 2004. It now uses Yahoo! results and is basically just another portal for Yahoo!.
   
7. AskJeeves / Teoma.com (http://www.ask.com and http://www.Teoma.com) - The Teoma index powers both the popular Ask.com website and its sister site Teoma.com. You can only get into this index through being found by the Teoma Crawler, or via paid Inclusion which you can order through http://www.positiontech.com/askjeeves/index.htm
   
   The above are the main search engines on the web which you can submit your website to, if you know a website that is not on the above list, chances are it is using search results from one of the above search engines or indexes.

Major Internet Directories -

1. DMOZ.org (The Open Directory Project) - owned by AOL, and operated by a team of volunteers, the Open Directory Project or ODP is the largest FREE active Internet Directory. This is THE place to be for a website on the Internet. It is the definitive directory, and is referenced by all of the major search engines. The only problem is that there are 3 million websites in the directory, and more than a million in the que waiting to get in. Getting into this directory can take 3 - 6 months, and that's if you qualify. Make sure to read their guidelines for creating a Title and Description before submitting, and make sure you are submitting to the most relevant directory.
   
2. Yahoo! Directory - at $300/Year this directory carries a heavy price, but may still be worth your while. If you can fit it into your advertising budget I would recommend it, but usually only if you really have an extra $300 per year lying around. The benefit of this directory may increase as time goes on, but as of right now, this is probably not worth your time or money.
   
3. LookSmart Directory - This is actually a Cost Per Click service that looks like a directory. You'll pay $0.15 per click and you aren't guaranteed a position or click volume. If done correctly this directory might do well for your website since it does provide the main results for the third largest search engine on the Internet (MSN.com), but this is strictly a budget and judgment call as you can get similar results for free from Inktomi.
   
   -Other Good Free Directories With a Catch-
   
   
4. Gimpsy.com - Free directory with some weird requirements. The index tries to use "real language searches", for example "Compare Insurance Rates" would be a directory structure Compare >> Insurance Rates , Insurance Rates being the subcategory. A little tricky but worth submitting to.
   
5. GoGuides.org - A great free directory, the only catch is that they want you to become an editor. Which basically means that before you can submit a URL you will need to fill out an application. The bonus is that once you are accepted your link goes online immediately.
   
6. JoeAnt.com - Same deal as GoGuides.org. If you have the time to apply to become an editor, then you can list your site. Worth your time in my opinion, but its up to you.
   
7. Zeal.com - Great directory, which will get you into the LookSmart directory for FREE! The catch is that your website has to be strictly informational and non-profit. Some exceptions are made, but in order to get in you will either need to know an editor and ask them to submit for you, or become and editor yourself like with GoGuides and JoeAnt, however I hear the application process is more difficult.
   

 

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