TIP 99

Submit your website to Google, Yahoo & MSN

Getting listed in Google and the other popular search engines is one of the most effective ways of directing free (well unpaid), targeted traffic to your web site. You don'thave to pay a penny to get into any of the major search engines so beware seo companies with unethical promises.

It's also an excellent way of determining the accessibility of your site. If a search engine can dig deep into your website quickly and easily, then chances are, so can most other people.

And remember! It's statistical fact that unless you're a brand name, or promote your website through the line, most of your website traffic will enter pages other than your home page.

How Search Engines Determine Your Rank

Before you try to add your site to the search engines, you should understand what they look for when they decide how to rank your site. Just because you're listed doesn't mean you'll get traffic. You have to make sure your site is search engine ready.

The general rule of thumb is that most engines use a "formula" to determine keyword relevancy. The technical term is called an "algorithm", and each search engine has its own unique algorithm that it uses to rank pages.

Generally, this magic formula consists of your page title, overall body content and the number and quality of links pointing back to your site, etc.

It's important to note that every engine is different. Some may look at meta tags, some may ignore them and just place emphasis on your body content. These days, meta tag content is becoming less and less important.

Because of SPAM abuse, many search engines no longer use these tags to help rank pages, but you should still include them because they do use them to display information about your site.

For example, whatever is inside the <title> tag is what the search engine will use as the title of your site in the search results.

The easiest way to get into all the major search engines is to be linked to from a site that already appears in, for instance, Google and Yahoo.

But remember to follow search engine rules, and if you are interested in learning about SEO....

NEXT > .< BACK