Search
Engine Submission
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Search Engine Submission?
Why should I use Search Engine
Submission?
Where can I see a list
of all search engines and directories submitted to?
In which search sites and
portals is my site guaranteed to appear in?
How will I know if my non-guaranteed
submissions succeeded?
How long should I wait before
seeing results from search engines not on the guaranteed
list?
What are search engines and
how do they work?
How search engines rank sites?
What are Meta Tags and why
are they so important?
How do I improve rankings?
What other factors determine
my site's ranking?
Are their restrictions on
the type of sites I can submit?
How can I confirm that my
Web page has been submitted?
What do I do if my Web page
is not on the search engines?
Can I get a refund is my
Web page is not indexed successfully?
What is Search Engine
Submission?
The most effective way to generate traffic for your site is to submit
your domain to the search engines and directories that people use when
searching the Web for a product or service. Search engine submission
is your most cost-effective form of marketing. 85% of Internet users
use search engines to find websites. We can promote your site effectively
by automatically advertising your URL in hundreds of search-engine and
directory sites.
With Search Engine Submission, you can be certain that
your Web pages will be found within 48 hours in the world's
leading search services, powered by Inktomi, such as AOL,
MSN, HotBot, LookSmart, GoTo, iWon, About.com, NBCi, Canada.com
and FreeServe. You'll get the assurance that your Web pages
are included in Inktomi's search index within 48 hours,
it's that fast! And, since your Web page is re-indexed
every 48 hours, you won't have to wait long for changes
you make to your Web page to be updated on the search sites.
Why should I use Search
Engine Submission?
Search Engine Submission submits your site to over 400 of the most popular
search engines and directories, considerably increasing the chances of
someone visiting your site. A Search Engine Submission subscription ensures
that your URL gets in and stays in. It gives you the confidence that
your Web site is in an index that powers the world's most popular search
sites-- the Inktomi index. The regular automatic submissions are essential
to prevent newly submitted competitors from taking your place on search
result pages.
Where can I see a
list of all search engines and directories served by
Search Engine Submission?
Alphabetical
Search Engine Submit List
In which search sites
and portals is my site guaranteed to appear in?
Your Web site will be included in 125 search sites powered by Inktomi.
How will I know if my
non-guaranteed submissions succeeded?
We will send you monthly reports after the completion of each submission
to all search engines.
How long should I wait
before seeing results from search engines not on the
guaranteed list?
If you have only recently signed up for Search Engine Submission, you
won't find your domain name in these search engines right away. Your
site may show up within 1-3 weeks, but the average is 6-8 weeks, with
some taking 10 weeks or more.
Important Note: Since September 2000, there has been a tremendous
increase in the time that it takes search engines to list websites in
their databases. Currently, it is taking as long as 3-4 months to get
listed on many engines and directories.
What are search engines
and how do they work?
The term "search engine" is often used generically to describe
both true search engines and directories. They are not the same. Search
engines, such as Google, Excite or AltaVista, create their listings automatically.
Search engines spider (or "crawl") the web to find new sites.
The spider returns to each site on a regular basis, such as every month
or two, to look for changes. Then people search through what they have
found. Page titles, keywords, body text, your code and other elements
all play a role in determining your site's position and displayed result.
Directories such as Yahoo, DMOZ.org and Looksmart depend
on humans for their listings. You submit a short description
to the directory for your entire site, or editors write
one for sites they review. A search looks for matches only
in the descriptions submitted. Directories include far
fewer sites than search engines and some of them (Yahoo,
Looksmart and NBCi) are unlikely to list you unless you
pay a consideration fee of £150 for each directory.
How search engines rank
sites?
Whenever you use a search engine, you're asking the search engine to
sort through the millions of websites it's indexed, and try to find those
sites that are related to your search words. Once the relevant sites
are selected, the search engine will rank these sites in order of relevancy,
using a formula that varies for each search engine. As a website owner,
there is a lot that you can do to improve the chances that a search engine
will recommend your site. One of the areas to focus on is Meta-tags.
What are Meta Tags
and why are they so important?
The importance of Meta tags for your website can't be emphasized enough.
A search engine doesn't read through your page to index your site - it
usually uses keywords and short phrases ie. meta-tags.
The Meta tags include several pieces of information:
Title: The title is probably the most important
part of your site to evaluate, as it is the most frequently
searched component by search engines. It should state
exactly what your site is about, without use of any hype
or superlatives. To get high rankings, the title must
include your most important keywords.
Meta Tag Description: Your website description
should be a tight 12 to 18-word summary of the content
of your site. This description should contain some of the
keywords and be sure to avoid hype or marketing language.
Example of Description: "A full service provider of
interior design services - decorating, painting, furniture,
and color schemes for your house".
Meta Tag Keywords: The Meta Tag Keywords should
be those words or phrases that you think people will use
when trying to look for a site like yours on search engines.
Incorporating keywords in your site's body text: To
rank high on search results, your website must have a focus
and the text should emphasize it. Incorporate your Meta
tags within your site's first paragraphs (60 words) and
repeat them throughout the text.
How do I improve rankings?
We cannot guarantee that your Web page will appear at the top of the
search results for any particular keyword. But we might be able to
help you improve your chances:
- Choose keywords that people will associate with your
Web site.
- Make sure your keywords are phrases and not highly popular words
such as 'internet'.
- Make sure your Web content mentions those keywords near the top
of the page. For instance, place the keywords in the headline or
in the first paragraph on the page.
- Mention keywords more than once within your Web page.
- Include the keywords in the TITLE, DESCRIPTION and KEYWORDS meta-tags
in the HTML coding of your Web page.
What other factors determine
my site's ranking?
When someone enters a keyword to conduct a search, Inktomi looks for
the presence of that keyword on your Web page. If the keyword is on your
Web page, your site will be included in the search results. If the keyword
is near the top of the page, in a headline or title, in the meta-tags
in the site's HTML coding, and/or appears frequently on the page, your
site will appear sorted higher in the search results. Instead of trying
to determine which specific keywords are relevant to a Web page, Inktomi
indexes both the full text of the Web page you submit as well as the
meta-tags within the site's HTML. For example, when a searcher enters
a keyword to conduct a search:
- Inktomi will first look for the presence of that keyword
on your Web page.
- If the keyword is present, your site will be included in the search
results.
- If the keyword is near the top of the page, in a headline or title,
in the meta-tags in the site's HTML and/or appears frequently on
the page, your site will appear sorted higher in the search results.
Are their restrictions
on the type of sites I can submit?
Before you subscribe, please make sure your URLs and the corresponding
Web pages meet the following Editorial and Technical Guidelines. Any
URL/Web page may be removed (without refund) from the index for any reason
including without limitation to the following:
Editorial Guidelines:
- The posting of content or the offering of products
or services that may be or are illegal.
- The fraudulent use of the Service.
- The infringement of the rights of a third party.
- In response to a court order or other judicial or governmental
request or action
Technical Guidelines:
- The URL must resolve to an operational Web page. It
may not generate error messages such as "File not
found".
- The Web page must be accessible and not require a username,
password, cookie or other authentication in order to access.
- The Web page must not be on a secure server (i.e., https).
- The Web page must permit so called "spidering" technology,
such as not using a "robots.txt" file.
- The Web page must contain visible text (not graphics
only).
How can I confirm that
my Web page has been submitted?
Just visit www.msn.com, one of the search sites served by our service,
and enter "domain:yourdomainname.com" in the Search entry box.
For example, if you subscribed to Inktomi Search/Submit for your Web
page located at draysondesign.com, you would enter "domain:draysondesign.com." Then
click the Search button and MSN will display your listings from the Inktomi
index.
What do I do if my
Web page is not on the search engines?
Most sites are submitted successfully within 48 hours. There should be
no problem if you follow the Technical and Editorial guidelines. If you
still encounter a problem, contact us, and we will look into it for you.
Can I get a refund is
my Web page is not indexed successfully?
Charges for Search Engine Submission are non-refundable. Please make
sure your Web page meets the Technical and Editorial guidelines before
you purchase this service.
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