Internet search engines

copywriting

Internet search engines:

  1. International and UK internet search engines and directories
  2. Paid listing/indexing for International and UK internet search engines and directories
  3. Pay for high ranking internet search engines and directories

1. International and UK internet search engines and directories

Part of your strategy to capture search engine traffic will require you to get listed in the right places. International search engines and directories will pick up a lot of US traffic. Then there are country specific operations for UK and many other countries, which may be independent or subsidiaries of international brands (like Alta Vista or Yahoo). The international brands do not all operate in the same manner from one country to another, or take feeds in the same way.

Remember that your ranking can change for the following reasons:

  • Other web sites have been added to the search engines database.
  • Web sites already in the search engines database have been updated.
  • The search engine has adopted a different method for assessing web sites.
  • Your server could have been down or there could have been another reason why your website was not responding when the search engine came to visit to take the information it requires (called 'spidering').

See the search engine relationship chart here! The chart explains the syndications, suppliers and partners of all the major players in the global search engine market.

2. Paid listing/indexing for International and UK search engines and directories

Search engines and directories have been under pressure to show a profit to shareholders and have begun to move more and more towards the model of paid submission/inclusion. This means that you pay them money for considering a listing in their engine or directory.

A common misconception is that this means that you can pay for a specific position on a list. In most cases you are simply paying for the search engine staff to consider your request. The rank your site achieves is still very much dependent, in most cases, on the construction of your pages (see search engine optimization).

The three largest engine/directories that offer paid listings are Yahoo, Inktomi and Looksmart. Others are available but may not be suitable for all businesses and should be treated with caution. There are advantages and disadvantages - depending on your budget.

Yahoo.co.uk - In the US and now here Yahoo, the best known of all the internet engine/directories, has rolled out its paid inclusion system.
You are paying for a member of the Yahoo staff to consider your site, but they do not make any guarantee about actually listing it or the ranking it will achieve if it is listed.

Inktomi UK - Inktomi provides the information on which many search engines base their results. A good listing in Inktomi can significantly impact upon your rank or even presence in MSN, Looksmart, Freeserve, AOL, Hotbot, Goto and many other less well known engines. It is absolutely vital that the pages you pay to submit on Inktomi have been properly optimised. If this has not been done then you will be listed, but so far down the rankings that you will have wasted your money.
It is also possible to obtain a free listing but it is much more difficult and Inktomi gives your site a rank penalty that pushes you below your competitors. Additionally, the search engine seems to go through a process of deleting web pages and even whole sites for no particular reason. The paid inclusion overcomes this; albeit only for the page you have paid for.

Looksmart UK - Looksmart was one of the first directories to break ranks and start a paid submission service. They do have free listings, taking these from the Inktomi database, but the only way to be sure of a listing is to pay for its consideration. A good listing in Looksmart can influence your presence or rank in: MSN, AltaVista, and others.
As Looksmart is a directory and moderated by human editors it is not important what is contained within the site as far as ranking goes. What is important is that the submission process is followed properly, and you provide the editors with the information they need and that reflects your keywords and keyphrases.

3. Pay for high ranking search engines and directories

There are a number of 'pay for listing' engines and directories.
This is where the distinction between a search engine and an advertising tool becomes blurred, yet they are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a measurable and highly effective way to attract targeted traffic.

Specialist directories: Very often these exist for specialist industries or market sectors. We would recommend you consider these as they can be excellent value for money; although there is no guarantee. However, the costs involved are generally so low that its worth the risk. Alternatively, strike a deal with the directory owner for a free 'monthly trial' on the basis that if you receive the promised hits you will sign up for the service. If the owner is sufficiently confident of his/her directory thay are unlikely to turn you down.

'pay-for-position': Overture is currently the best known 'pay-for-position' search tool and it has become more popular in the UK because it supplies results to top searchengines such as Freeserve, AltaVista and Excite. You simply choose the keywords that your customers might use and then bid money for them. The site that bids most for a term will be ranked first, and so on. You can add a title and description related to each search term bid, whilst the flexible account management tool allows you to make alterations when necessary. You can bid on as many terms as you want from as little as 5p. The beauty of the Overture service is that your account is only debited once someone clicks on the link to visit your site - and then it's down to you to convert a prospect to a customer. (see sales leads)

Advertising panels: Another option to consider is advertising panels, or small banners that appear in relation to a keyword search. Google is one of the best offers. You can buy a small panel that will appear to the right of the searched results, once your targeted keywords are searched for. Up to 8 panels can be listed, ranked in order of popularity.
Costs will depend on the number of times your 'ad' is displayed not the number of times it is clicked to get to your site. For those websites that can't otherwise achieve a top ranking through optimization, this scheme is an alternative way of gaining visibility with your target customers.

Conclusion: As the commercial realities of the Internet continue to impact on searchengines and directories, there can be benefits for your website if you have the budget available. Choosing the best option for your market can be difficult. All the paid routes described here should be considered as it means that you can achieve visibility almost immediately, rather than wait for several months by using the traditional free submission route. However, remember that you will still need to optimise your site and directory description to get the most for your money.

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The following are a number of testimonials from satisfied clients. We are really pleased to receive these testimonials, and proudly list them here.

Thanks for the website Ian.
As you stated, I have had a steady stream of enquiries since setting me up on the internet.
Simon
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Morning Ian, just a short note to say 'thankyou' for the work on my website. Not only am I pleased with the way it looks, but I could not believe it when I got my first enquiry from it only a few days after its completion. All you said would happen has indeed happened.
Regards
Glenda
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Thank you very much for your kind help. It is really a good advice for my marketing plan.

Thanks and best regards,
Thi
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Hi Ian Just a short note to tell you we have had a very good season, an excellent sales increase so we should be ok now the autumn is here and going very soon into Winter.. . . . . . . . .
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Thanks Ian. The website has certainly increased our Bookings and we look forward to next year.
Best Wishes
Sue
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I am not really interested in getting back in to PPC as it cost a lot of money last time for not a lot of return. We have been without it for over a year and what you are doing is still increasing visits and turnover on the site.
Regards
AJ
Director
Sports Outlets
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Just a quick note to say I’m very interested in maintaining the website you have completed a marvellous job of so far. We are already noticing a complete change and receiving a lot higher internet inquires.
Thanks Ian
Marie
Director
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Hello Ian, came across your website via a Google search and wanted to say how impressed I am! The marketing plan template arrived within seconds of my request - it is clear, tremendously helpful and has provided me with the structure I desperately lacked as I prepare to kick off my new business on 1st September! A really super service, am sure I will be in touch again over the coming weeks to discuss other elements of your offer.

Thanks and regards
Sarah
Director
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....... I have also noticed the success of extra clicks! Business is also up by at least 15 percent from last year. Regards
Simon
Owner (Dry Cleaners)

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I would just like to bring a ray of sunshine to your day (well it did for me).
Since we started to work with Ian Smith, our Adwords guru, our results have improved impressively. These figures are the average across the board, ..
Our Click through rate has gone from 1% to a very credible 4.5%
Our average cost per click has dropped from 87p to 63p (just remember some clicks are still £2+).
Our average position has gone from 5.4 to 4.6
So all in all a very good result and with further input we hope to do even better.
Chris
Interior Design Retailer
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