*Note this is an older article that has been archived for reference purposes
only. To receive up to date articles every two weeks subscribe on the right or
send a blank email to subscribe@surf22.com.
As the search engines and portals struggle to survive, tracking
them can be much like watching an American soap opera with each one exchanging partners looking to find the right mix that will
allow them to rise above the competition.
The need to become profitable has opened the doors for companies offering paid submissions like Looksmart and GoTo that were once
laughed at. Today their combined listings appear on almost every major portal and search engine in some form.
But What Does All This Mean For Webmasters Today?
The situation is fairly complex with all the links between
portals but looking at each one individually shows the following:
Yahoo
Free submissions take extremely long, with little chance of
success. Paid listing is the way to go for sites that can afford
it otherwise secondary results are provided by Google.
AOL Search
Sponsored listings come from GoTo. The key is to get listed in
the Open Directory and Inktomi.
MSN Search
Get listed in Looksmart (Paid submission) and Inktomi. Additional
results come from Direct Hit.
Lycos
Offer a free submission (that takes time but does work) and
feature GoTo Listings.
AltaVista
Offer a free submission, feature GoTo Listings and draw from the
Looksmart Directory.
Excite
Offer a free submission, FindWhat Listings and draw from the
Looksmart Directory
Netscape
Main listings are from the Open Directory. Sponsored listings
from GoTo and secondary results from Google
NBCI
Offer a free submission, feature GoTo Listings.
Iwon
Top GoTo Listings with Inktomi powering secondary results.
Looksmart
Paid Submission for directory with Inktomi powering secondary
results.
GoTo
Paid Submission with their pay per click model and Inktomi
powering secondary
Google
Only offer free submission or option to purchase Adwords or
sponsored listings.
As you can see there are many ways to get your site listed on the major search engines and portals. GoTo still offer the most
diverse listing with their Pay Per Click model and Premium listings that appear on many search sites. Yahoo remains the
single most important place to get listed but you have many options you need to explore if you really want to cover all your
options.
Want access to all the Internet marketing articles and information you
need to succeed online? Get access to the Marketing
Insiders Vault
Access the list of archived Internet Marketing articles here.
