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The startling FACTS about
Internet Marketing
Enter the World of Paid Submissions...once you
understand the rules, you may really like the advantages.
Part 1 - By Robin Nobles, Director of Training, Academy of Web Specialists
From Yahoo! and LookSmart to Inktomi, the directories and search
engines are entering the paid submissions phase of the indexing game.
In light of this development, we have to ask ourselves several questions.
- Can we expect other search engines to follow suit?
- Is paying to submit your site worth the cost?
- How does this affect us - the search engine optimizers?
After all, if all we have to do is "pay," then is optimizing necessary?
Here's an obvious question...
"Will other engines adopt the 'paid submission' or 'payinclusion' model?"
Certainly! within the framework of the search engines, Inktomi tested the waters, and GO.com quickly followed the leader. Now that a workable model has been created, you should expect the other engines will certainly jump aboard. The question is "when, "not "if."
Since paying to submit is clearly a reality, the question becomes,
"Is it worth the cost?"
Shortly, we'll examine each of the engines and directories that are currently charging for submissions, and we'll outline the benefits involved on a case by case basis.
So, in light of paid submissions, is it still important to optimize a site?
Yes! ... actually, more than ever. Getting a site into a search engine or directory is only a tiny portion of the battle. The fact that we can now PAY to guarantee indexing is a blessing to those of us who are tired of having our so-called free submissions ignored. Now that getting IN is guaranteed (in exchange for a fee) we can get on with the REAL battle, which is... getting our site to the top of the rankings!
Now, let's look at the individual engines and directories to see how they're handling pay submissions.
Inktomi
Advantages:
- Pre-spidered to see if the page is "Inktomi material"
- Accepted into the index within 48 hours
- Re-spidered every 48 hours, which means you can make optimization changes and see the results of those changes within a day or two
- Indexes dynamic URL's and cloaked pages
Jim Stob with Position Technologies, Inktomi's partner who is handling the pay submission program, adds, "I think one of the most interesting things about the program is how many are submitting URLs which are excluded by either a robots.txt or META noindex. These people would be pulling their hair out if they had used the free submission."
Cost (non-refundable):
Number of pages/Price per URL
1st Page $30.00
Pages 2-20 $15.00
Pages 21-1000 $12.00
You can still submit through their free Add URL form, but your rankings may suffer temporarily. Inktomi has stated that they'll be discontinuing their free Add URL service in the future. By the way, to submit through their pay service, go to...http://www.positiontech.com
Is it Worth it?
In my opinion, (resoundingly) yes. Inktomi is a major player, and there's no disputing that fact. Being able to get your site into the index within 48 hours and having it re-spidered every 48 hours is a major plus for any Web site.
Plus, with Inktomi's impressive number of partners, being listed in that index increases your visibility across numerous engines -- something that can add substantially to your link popularity.
According to WebSnapshot
(http://websnapshot.mycomputer.com/searchengines.html),
a number of Inktomi powered engines are in the top 20 for
popularity, including #1 MSN, #4 AOL, and #12 HotBot.
Additional Notes:
When Inktomi re-spiders your site every 48 hours, does it pick up new links and spider those?
Jim Stob answers, "No, it will only spider the page submitted."
As mentioned above, HotBot is one of the engines using the Inktomi database. However, another pay-per-click method for building a stronger presence in HotBot is through GoTo. GoTo's top results now appear above the regular search results in HotBot under "Featured Listings."
Yahoo! Directory
Advantages:
At the present time, all commercial sites must be submitted through Yahoo! Business Express service. So, if you have an online business and want a presence in Yahoo! Directory, you don't have a choice -- you have to pay.
Cost: $199 (non-refundable)
For information, and to begin the process of "suggesting" a site, go to: http://add.yahoo.com/fast/add
For frequently asked questions, visit: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/faq.html.
Is it Worth it?
According to Web Snapshot, Yahoo! is the #2 most popular search engine/directory, following on the heels of #1 MSN. Assuming that you are in business to make money, yes, paying $199 for probable inclusion in this all-important directory is definitely worth it.
LookSmart
Details:
If you want to be listed in LookSmart, you have to pay. Cost (non-refundable): Their Express Submit service is $199, and it guarantees a site review within 48 hours. The Basic Submit has risen to $99, offering a site review in approximately 8 weeks.
To submit, visit: http://submit.looksmart.com/info.jhtml
Is it Worth it?
LookSmart provides directory results to big players like AltaVista, Excite, MSN, iWon, and more. According to LookSmart, they, and their partners combined, reach over 83% of the Internet users compared to 65% with Yahoo, 64% with AOL, and 43% with Lycos. Source: http://submit.looksmart.com/info.jhtml
According to Web Snapshot, AltaVista is the #5 most popular search engine, and Excite is the #9. Not bad.
As a general rule, yes, it's worth it. Taking into account the reach of its partners, LookSmart is a major player.
In Part 2 of this article, we'll discuss some of the other engines' plans for going with pay inclusion programs.
This article was written by Robin Nobles, Director of Training at the Academy of Web Specialists http://www.academywebspecialists.com. Over the past few years, she has trained over 1000 people in her online and onsite courses in search engine positioning strategies and has written three books that can be ordered through Amazon. Visit the Academy's training Web site to learn more about their onlinecourses: http://www.onlinewebtraining.com.