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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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