Search Engines:
Should You Pay?

Not too long ago, getting a high ranking an a search engine or directory depended on how well a page was "optimized." A page is optimized when the phrase someone types into a search engine is found in the page title, headlines and several times in the text. In addition, some search engines reward a site for having other sites linked to it. So, if you had a well-designed page and other sites linking to you, you would have had a high ranking in the search engines.

Now a new factor is complicating the lives of business owners everywhere. Many search engines and directories have started charging for their services. Should you pay to be included in a directory, or to be ranked high in a search engine? Will you get enough visitors to your site if you don't? If you're hoping to get lots of new customers who have found you on the web, these are important questions.

You & the Engines: Working Together

It may help to know that web site owners and search engine operators have a similar goal. Both want to have search words matched to relevant sites, with no extraneous listings.

As a web site owner, you don't want to be pushed down the search list by web sites that aren't in your category. If they were eliminated, you would move up.

The search engine operator wants to make good matches as well, because if they return a lot of off-target sites to a searcher, that person isn't likely to use them much. And no matter what their business model is, they all need to increase the number of visitors and page hits they get. The best way to do that is by only listing sites that are relevant to the search phrase used.

Pay for Inclusion

One model for ensuring a good match is charging web sites a fee to be included in a search engine's data base. If you don't pay them, you won't show up in searches there. The theory is that only serious competitors will actually invest any money to have their site listed.

Yahoo is the prime example of this model. Technically not a search engine, Yahoo is a directory, set up in a cascade of ever-narrowing categories. To submit your site, go to their home page, click on the name of the general category most likely to hold your competitors, and continue to make choices on each page. When you've drilled down to the page your site should be on, click the Submit a Site link, and get ready to pay a nonrefundable $299.

This fee ensures that an actual human will visit your site and make sure it's complete, well-made and in the correct category. Since they don't guarantee a listing if you don't measure up to their standards, make sure you follow their guidelines closely.

Pay Per Click

Another business model gaining in popularity among search engines is known as "Pay per Click." This means you don't pay until someone actually clicks on your link.

The best known of these engines is Overture. Once you get to the page where your competition is listed you'll see a price next to each web site. This is how much the web site owner is paying for each click. When you submit your site, you get to choose how much you're willing to pay.

Since you've seen what others are paying, you can determine exactly where you will be listed for that search phrase. Outbid everyone and you'll be listed first. Generally, for a lot less per click you can get listed on the first page of search results.

However, there is a benefit to being in the top three or four, since these are included as "sponsored links" at the top of the page in several other search engines, including Yahoo, MSN Search, Altavista and Ask Jeeves.

Engines with Options

Several search engines give you the option of free inclusion, or paying a fee (usually around $30 - $40) for faster processing. This can get you listed much quicker than the four to eight week delay that is common among free services.

Search engines that allow you to pay for speedy inclusion include Altavista, Ask Jeeves, Lycos and Inktomi.

Google, one of the most respected and successful engines, offers a choice of free inclusion or their version of a "Pay per Click" program called "Ad Words Select." The top three ads are also displayed as sponsored links on AOL and in August 2002 will be listed in Netscape's search results as well.

Isn't Anyone Free Anymore?

Besides the players who offer a free option, the only major engines still offering free placement are HotBot, All the Web, and the Open Directory Project, which places search results in Google, Lycos, Altavista and others.

Bottom Line

If you're in a hurry to get listed, buying your way in is the only way to go. For everyone else, taking advantage of the few remaining free inclusions programs should be a given. Determining whether to pay, and if so how much, will depend on your business goals on the web and what your competitors are doing.

If you expect a lot of action from the search engines, spending $300 a year to be listed in Yahoo may be a bargain. Of course, you'll still need well-optimized pages to get a decent ranking.

Also, be sure to check out some of your key search phrases in Overture and see what it would cost to get in the top three. Because of the guaranteed high listing in so many other places, this could end up putting your name in front of hundreds of potential new customers every day.

How to Keep Up

The information presented here was accurate as of late May 2002, but as fast as the field is changing, you should know about a couple of sites that are contantly monitoring and commenting upon the search engine wars. Among the best are:

Search Engine Watch
Search Engine Guide
Search Engine Marketing

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