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End of the Free Ride; Many Top Search Engines & Directories Switching to Pay Model

Search engines are in a constant state of change.
Just when you think you've got the rules down, someone ... and changes them.
If you've been paying ... lately, you'll notice that many of Search engines are in a constant state of change.
Just when you think you've got the rules down, someone comesalong and changes them. If you've been paying attention lately, you'll notice that many of the top searchengines and directories are now charging for website submissions.
What was once totally free now could cost you$199.00. The submission price is not for a top position, it's simply for a listing in the index itself.
Believe it or not, some of them will take your money,guaranteeing only that your site will be reviewed -- notlisted.Some of the search engines and directories that were once independent have been bought out by other companies or borrow their search results from them to display on theirown site. Keeping up with who owns what and who's chargingfor admission could drive you crazy.
Come along withme for the latest updates in the insane world ofsearch engines as I review the major players in thegame today.1) EXCITE: http://www.excite.com/info/add_urlNow partnered with LookSmart by submitting you'll alsoget listed with LookSmart's Network of partner sites such as Alta Vista, MSN, WebCrawler and Magellan.Offers three levels of submission services. Expresssubmit gives you a guaranteed review within two businessdays for $199.00.Basic Submission is $99.00 but takes longer, withsites being reviewed in approximately eight weeks.Excite still offers a free service with no guaranteeof a listing: Go to http://www.excite.com/info/add_url_form2) ALTAVISTA: http://doc.altavista.com/addurl/As one of LookSmart's partner sites, here you'll be presentedwith the same submission prices as at Excite.
Prices are $199.00 or $99.00. They do allow you to submit your sitefor free with no guarantee of a listing.
Go tohttp://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=addurl#form3) HOTBOT: http://hotbot.lycos.com/addurl.aspThe link above will submit your site to the Inktomiweb page database which is HotBot's partner. Anotherway of getting listed here is to submit your site to"The Open Directory Project" which is our next stop.Submission is still free at this time.4) THE OPEN DIRECTORY PROJECT: http://dmoz.org/add.htmlA good reason to get listed here is the size and number ofother search engines and directories that feed off its contents, such as AOL and Hotbot.Remember it's a directory and all submissions are reviewed by a human.
When submitting, you need to find theappropriate category for your site and then click the "add URL" atthe top of that page. Submission is free.5) NORTHERN LIGHT: http://www.northernlight.com/docs/regurl_help.htmlStill the same after all these years.
They won't ask foryour money, but they also won't make it easy for you tofind the submission page either. Why they want to makeit so difficult is beyond me; as a searchengine you'd think they would want you to submit your website.Free if you can find it....I've made it easy for you.6) LYCOS: http://home.lycos.com/addasite.htmlFree to submit to but it can take up to 2 or 3 weeksfor your URL to show up in their index.
What do youexpect for nothing?7) YAHOO: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/The king of directories no longer allows free submissionsof commercial websites. Business Express listing is $199.00with adult sites being charged a whopping $600.00 for the same privilege.
Sites are reviewed within seven dayswith no guarantee of a listing even after they've reviewedyour site. So be prepared to lose your money if they don'tfeel your site is worthy enough to be listed in their superior directory.8) INFOSPACE: http://www.infospace.com/info/submit.htmFree to submit to but you'll need to fill out a prettylengthy form to get listed.
Infospace also borrowsresults from The Open Directory Project and Inktomi'sdatabase.9) GOOGLE: http://www.google.com/addurl.htmlFree to submit to with no guarantee of a listing.This is an important one as Yahoo pulls resultsfrom Google's directory as well as their own.10) ASK JEEVES: mailto:[email protected] directory allows people to search by asking questions. Since it's backed by humans, you need to submit yoursite by email along with its URL and short description.Some suggest you also include a question that someonemay type in when looking for a site like yours.
Noguarantee of a listing but definitely worth a shotdue to Ask Jeeves' popularity.So there you have it; the top ten search engines anddirectories and their latest guidelines for submitting.By concentrating on getting your site listed withthese major players you'll know your site is every-where it needs to be for optimum search engine traffic.Now getting it listed at the top is a whole differentstory, and the subject for another article. Article Tags: Open Directory Project, Search Engines, Open Directory, Directory Project Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .