QUICK FACT: There are hundreds of search engines on the Internet. 80% of the users on the Internet use the top 5.
DRIVING TRAFFIC TO YOUR STORE
Registering with search engines is the most effective way to promote
your online store. Every Internet user relies on a search engine to
find what they are looking for. Therefore your very first step in online
promotion of your store should be search engine submission.
There are hundreds (if not thousands) of search engines on the Internet.
Registering your site with every single one is not practical or necessary.
Start at the top and work your way down. Yahoo, Excite, MSN, Lycos, and
AltaVista are the most important. Submission to these is free and can be
done by YOU from their website.
Registration of your site is pretty simple once you learn how to do it.
Although registration is different on each search engine, instructions
and guidelines can be found on their site. Follow the directions and
you can’t go wrong.
Keep in mind that this is not a one-time process. Search engines
host billions of links. All maintenance is automated including deletions.
Always keep your listings updated with the most current information.
If you feel you are unable to submit or maintain your own registrations,
there are alternatives. There are many companies who offer site submission
software and/or services. Be careful, as many of these companies are
unmanned and do not offer service level guaranties. As a guideline,
do not pay for any software or service that does not guaranty submission
with the top 5 search engines and have a contact telephone number and
address published on their site.
Some search engines support the use of Meta tags. Meta tags are not
a magical solution, rather a useful way to control keywords and the
display of your summary on search results pages. If you are fluent
in HTML you are familiar with the use of Meta tags. If not, there
is Meta tag generating software available for free. Exercise the same
precaution mentioned earlier – do not pay for any software or service
that does not have a contact telephone number and address published on their site.
Search engines often have premium services available to enhance traffic
to your site. For instance, Yahoo! sells keywords. If you sell
helicopters pictures on your site, you can purchase the keywords
"helicopter pictures" for a monthly fee. Your site would then be
at the top of the list when someone searches on "elicopter pictures".
Other search engines like GoTo.com have a bidding system where your link
is displayed based on bid. You are then charged according to your bid,
as someone clicks on your link. While this could get costly, both increase
your listing rating and are the best way to increase your site’s visibility.
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