In the digital age, understanding the intricacies of search engine submission is crucial for enhancing your website's visibility. This process involves more than just sending your site's URL to various search engines; it requires a strategic approach to how these platforms function, their differences, and which ones are worth your time. Additionally, it's essential to discern whether paid submissions are necessary for your online success.
Search engines and directories are two distinct entities that play significant roles in how your website is discovered online. Recognizing their differences is key to optimizing your submission strategy.
Search engines, such as Google, utilize automated robots or spiders to crawl the web, indexing websites into their databases. These listings are generated based on the content found on your site's pages. Websites can be indexed either through random web searches or direct submissions.
In contrast, directories like Yahoo! are curated by human editors who review and categorize each submission. The description you provide when submitting to a directory is critical, as the tactics for achieving high search engine rankings do not apply here.
Knowing where major search engines and directories source their information can save you time and money. Many search engines and directories obtain results from third-party providers, which can be other search engines or directories. Submitting to one platform may result in your site appearing on another, potentially avoiding fees.
For instance, Google, the most popular search engine, supplies primary results to AOL Search, Netscape Search, and Yahoo (which has a fee-based service). Google also relies on the Open Directory for backup results. The Open Directory, or DMOZ, provides directory backup results for several search engines, making a listing there highly beneficial.
Understanding the relationships between search providers is essential. For example, AltaVista uses its crawler for indexing, with paid listings from Overture and secondary results from the Open Directory. AOL Search's primary and paid results come from Google, while secondary results are sourced from the Open Directory.
Ask Jeeves features paid results from Overture and secondary results from Teoma, with directory results via Teoma from the Open Directory. Google provides its primary and paid results, with directory results from the Open Directory.
LookSmart, a directory, offers paid results and secondary search results from Inktomi. Lycos, a search engine, gets primary results from the Open Directory, secondary results from Fast, and paid results from Overture and its fee-based submission program.
MSN Search, a directory, sources results from LookSmart, with paid results from Overture and secondary results from Inktomi. Netscape Search pulls primary results from the Open Directory, secondary results from Google, and paid results from Overture.
Overture, a pay-per-click database service, is not a search engine but provides paid search results for many major search engines, including All the Web, AltaVista, AskJeeves, Excite, iWon, MSN, HotBot, Netscape, Lycos, and Teoma.
The Open Directory (DMOZ) is a human-edited directory with content from direct submissions. Yahoo!, a directory, offers paid submissions from its fee-based program and Overture, with secondary search results from Google.
For more detailed information on the complex relationships between search engines and directories, refer to the following resources:
Larry Poch, the owner of Momp's Web Design and the MWD News newsletter, offers web design services and a reference library for webmasters. For more information, visit Momp's Web Design and subscribe to the MWD Newsletter. To contact Larry, email momp@mompswebdesign.com.
In summary, search engine submission is a nuanced process that requires a deep understanding of the digital landscape. By recognizing the differences between search engines and directories, and the relationships between various search providers, you can strategically enhance your website's online presence.
