Search Engine Submissions : Myths vs. Facts

Ok, so I started researching some of the other SEO companies, and over and over again I kept on seeing statements saying they will submit your site to 250 + search engines. (I seen a much wider and higher range of numbers, but for now I will just keep it at 250). First they are most likely using some automated software. It is advised that you not have this done with your site. It is always better to have your site submitted by hand rather that have an automated software tool do this for you. The majority of search engines do not like the use of automated software on their sites.

Next what you need to know is what search engines are currently attracting the most visitors, the actual percentage of visitors that each search engines gets. Search engine watch has a great article outlining exactly the top 15 search engines. The numbers below were taken directly from Search engine watch and the actual data itself is from Nielsen NetRatings Search Engine Ratings.

"Please note that the data below is from a panel of more than 42,000 home an work users. Because a web surfer may visit more than one service, the combined totals exceed 100 percent."

So as you can see with the information above, There are actually only 10 - 15 major search engines that actually really matter and really the majority of the traffic with regards to search engines will come from the top 5. So be weary of those claims of submissions to 250 + search engines.

Ok, next on the list is paying for resubmissions. If you are already listed in the search engines, then you do not need to pay for a resubmission. The truth is if you are listed in the search engines and you have incoming links to your site, the search engines spiders/robots will find your site no problem at all. If you have logs with your hosting company, just check to see when and what search engine spiders visited your site. For instance, with my site manningmarketing.com, I did not submit my site to Msn (MSNBOT), nor could I at this time, but I have incoming links, and because of those links, MSNBOT was able to find my site with no problem. For the record, as of writing this, MSN currently pulling its data from Yahoo/Inktomi database, and MSN is currently developing their own Search engine. So if you check your logs for the past month or two, there's a good chance MSNBOT has already visited your site, and best of all, it was free.

Here are some additional sources regarding the search engines and the percentages of traffic they receive.

http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156431 - comScore Media Metrix ratings for search engines, showing which search engines are most popular, based on search volume as of May 2004.

http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156461 - Shows how many searches are performed each day at some major search engines as if February 2003.

http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156451 - The latest Nielsen NetRatings statistics for search engines and portals, with a look at reasons for gains and losses as if Hyne 2004.

 Source can be found on http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156451

Gerard Manning
Search Engine Placement Specialist
Manning Search Marketing offering Managed Search Engine Marketing services