Your BEST FREE Online Advertising Option - Search Engines And Major Online Directories!

Why do we say Search Engines are your best FREE online advertising option? Because it's an easy task, done once per month (preferably less) that can result in a slow and steady stream of traffic to your web site.

In the "old days" (ahem, in Internet terms that would mean 5 to 6 years ago) it was recommended you submit your web site to the search engines at least once a week - more frequently if possible. DON'T DO THIS - EVER! Why? Because these days, that can be interpreted by most major search engines as spamming them - and can get you dropped in their directory, or even worse - BANNED from their directory.

Once you've been banned or blocked from a major search engine (or directory) such as Google for one example, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to ever get listed again.

You certainly don't want that happening to you!

So, now that you know the etiquette of search engine submissions, you now need to know your options plus how and what to submit, right?

That's the easy part! Here we go...

What To Submit To The Search Engines/Directories

Most major search engines will tell you the minimum amount of information they require right on their submission forms. Here's what you can typically expect:

• Your web site TITLE,
• Your web site URL (some engines call it your web site ADDRESS) 
• A brief DESCRIPTION of your web site (anywhere between 140 characters to as much as 250 characters or more, depending on the search engine),
• Some require a CATEGORY for your web site (such as "Business Opportunities"),
• A list of KEYWORDS pertaining to your web site (anywhere from 5 to 50 ...depending on the search engine),
• Your FULL NAME,
• Your E-MAIL ADDRESS (by the way, contrary to what you may have heard, some won't accept a free e-mail address),
• and in some cases YOUR POSTAL MAILING ADDRESS and PHONE NUMBER.

Tip: if you've included your full name in the personalized part of your web site, be sure to include it as one of the keywords in your search engine submissions. Don't ask why - just trust us on this!

How/Where To Submit To The Search Engines/Directories

With all the variables listed above, it may seem like some bulk submission software tools and/or sites are not very effective, right?

The truth is, many of them aren't very good ...some can even result in your site being penalized in the search engine results (meaning you show up way down low in the results pages when someone searches for a keyword that matches your web site listing - or you don't even show up at all - or worse, some will ban you from listing your site). However, there is ONE we highly recommend... and no, it's not free... but it gets you listed on some of the most important directories.

The submission Tool is Priority Submit and we've gone to some extra effort to be able to bring it to you as part of this Training Center. Click here for Priority Submit.

The FIRST place you want to use it for is: Inktomi

The Power Submit service has formed strategic alliances with AltaVista, whatUseek, WebWombat, Slider and the Inktomi network, which provides over 82 million searches per day, this includes sites such as About, LookSmart, Overture, Hotbot, MSN, Goo, Terra and many others.

Note: The Priority Submit online tool ensures that your URL is listed in the Inktomi search index within 48 hours. Inktomi is one of the few places that it's best to use an approved submission service in order to get listed or you could be waiting up to 9 months (or more) before you see results. They feed some of the LARGEST search engines online, so trust us on this, it's worth the few small dollars you'll spend to use the above tool... even if you only use it for Inktomi. Click here for Priority Submit.

List Your Web site Manually To These Search Engines/Directories

The above submission tool will eventually get you listed in most of the TOP ONLINE Search Engines and Directories. However, there are some you will want to go direct to add your site manually.

Here's a list of a few of those we recommend you visit and manually add your site information for listing:

• Yahoo
• Google ...you'll want to read more info on how Google works here.
• Dmoz Open Source Directory
• AllTheWeb
• AltaVista
• Searchhound
• ScrubTheWeb
• whatUseek Collection
• Splat - make sure you select the Submit Preview option and modify your web site information when listing here.
• Jayde.com - The B2B Search Engine (for those of you qualified)

IMPORTANT NOTE: once you have submitted your web site to the search engines it may take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months for your site to be listed (except when using the above referenced Express Submit tool). Keep in mind, it's FREE advertising - so don't expect FAST results. But, at least it has the chance of bringing SOME results, no matter how many - or few - and that's not bad for FREE, right?

Free is good, particularly if it's TARGETED traffic coming to your web site. Some search engines simply won't list your site, however, particularly if/when it has an opt-in form requirement.