Paid-for Submission options for UK websites

Yahoo is the most successful search Directory on the Internet by far.
Launched in 1994, Yahoo is usually essential for a business website.

You can submit for free from the UK, but the risk is that your site won't be included for months, if at all.

The Business Express Service offers optional submissions.

UK websites offering Business-to-Business or Shopping and Services can pay for their site to be reviewed within 7 days for a one-off fee of £199.

This doesn't guarantee a listing - your site must meet the strict Yahoo criteria of submission, the hardest directory to get accepted - so it's worth getting someone with experience of submitting to Yahoo; though an appeal can be made if the site description is not accepted.

When your site is accepted, the investment can pay off within weeks - or days for some sites - due to the increase in web traffic it can generate. 

The $299 charge for US Yahoo has become a renewable annual fee - so make the most of the UK advantage still being a one-off charge.

Looksmart, launched in 1996, is one of the most popular web directories, as well as supplying listings for major partners including MSN and Alta Vista.

 and accepts paid submissions only, from commercial sites.

Looksmart UK  charges £149 for a once-only listing fee which guarantees a review within 7 days but, like Yahoo, doesn't guarantee a site will be listed - so make sure to meet their editorial guidelines by getting someone with experience to apply.

Note. Editorial descriptions applied to sites can sometimes be different to those submitted, although the editors are open to appeals. 

The UK version of LookSmart is not as comprehensive as the US version - which now uses an unpopular pay-per-click system - but a listing here is still important as it covers several popular engines.

Google is now probably the leading search tool on the web.

Launched in 1998 and known for fast accurate results, it is probably the most important search tool now being used globally  by Yahoo,  Netscape Search, and AOL and additionally Freeserve and BBCi in the UK.

Google offers two paid options -

AdWords Programme is when you write a small text panel that appears next to the results when a chosen search term matches your site. 

Prices are based on a 'pay-per-click' and popularity system. This can make budgeting difficult, but does offer some very good listing options.

'Sponsored Link' is when your site appears at the top of the results list. 

Obviously, this is quite an expensive option but offers a very prominent position, so consider it if your web site optimisation alone can't achieve a high  enough ranking.

Inktomi uses spiders on the web to provide an index to key Search Engines like HotBot and MSN. 

Free listings are option, although waiting for a site to get indexed by Inktomi without paying a submission fee can take a long time and even then it is unlikely that many pages within a site will also be indexed.

Inktomi is the first of the leading search tools to offer a paid-for package which guarantees your site will be indexed by the Inktomi spider every 2 days for a year. The level of ranking you can get will depend on how effectively your pages are optimised for key words, so spend time on this aspect to get value for your fee.

This will get your web site appearing on MSN, HotBot and AOL, as well as 100+  partner sites that use Inktomi.

You can still submit for free to get your site indexed on HotBot but this may take considerable time. 

The package can be purchased through Inktomi partners.

Overture is a  major paid-placement search tool covering Alta Vista, MSN, Yahoo and Ask Jeeves and is one of the leading 'pay-per-click' (PPC) companies, apart from eSpotting, which represents a similar level of service for Europe. Costs will be variable, but it's best to decide on your budget.

Pay-per-Click means that a Company 'bids' on relevant keywords with either a pre-set or open budget. Basically, the Companies with the highest bids get to the top of the list of 'sponsored results' displayed on the search partner results - usually the top 3 get best exposure and most traffic.

Payments - at the bid rate -  are deducted from your set-up account when a user clicks through to your web site.

These schemes offer flexibility - bid amounts can change daily, but they require quite a lot of administration.

Obviously, in competitive markets, the rate of bids can rise daily and effectively wipe out your position if your budget is limited.

If you'd like advise on the value and suitability of these and other methods of increasing your web site profile, please contact us.

The E-Spot is happy to make any of these submissions on your behalf. A small administrative charge would apply.

RELATED DEFINITIONS

Spider/Crawler
Automated program that brings web page content to search engines.

It can enter a linked site at any point - recognise links to other pages, and include them.
Search engines often use several spiders simultaneously.

Robot/Agent/Bot 
'Intelligent, fully automated program that can adjust to different situations it encounters. 

Cookie. 

A mini program file placed on your  browser to identify you. This enables a site to recognise a returning user and track their web actions - but only when cookies are 'enabled' on the users' browser.

This can mean you get greeted by name, forms can be filled in automatically and information can be sent to you based on the interests and preferences you display. 

Search optimization. 

This refers to the tactics and techniques used to help spiders find your web pages more easily. It should result in higher ranking on search engine results listings. Usually includes listing relevant keywords the page Meta tags; ensuring effective descriptive site content - copy, categories, hyperlinks, and image titles.

Optimisation also includes: logical site structure; adhering to standard HTML conventions and avoiding frames, image maps, and code-only navigation.

Directory. 

Listings of websites reviewed and categorised by humans as apposed to robots.

Portal. 

A web page acting as a start point for a user. They usually include a directory of websites, access to shopping and services sites, and a partner search function.

These include AOL, CompuServe and Netscape

Paid placement. 
Guaranteed high level listing in search engine results from a specific keyword word search 
Usually labelled as a "sponsored link," and listed separately from other results. 
Normally based on CPC or CPM pricing - normally higher than paid inclusion  - but Paid inclusion offers no guarantee how high up the results list you appear. 

Paid inclusion. 
Inclusion in a search engine's results in exchange for payment, with no guarantee of how high in the listing your site be positioned. 
Normally charged as a flat rate fee.

Pay-per-Click/Cost-per-click (PPC/CPC). 

Pricing system based on the number of clicks your advert or page receives from a user. (usually between one cent and  one dollar - but can be more).

CPM/PPI

Cost-per-1000-impressions /Pay per impression 

Price based on number of impressions over a set period.

You would pay £x  for every 1000 times your ad appears.

Return on investment (ROI). 

The financial or other benefits gained in return for the cost of an ad campaign. 

This is very difficult to measure - but  your clickthrough rate (percentage of users clicking on a relevant link/advert, rather than ignoring it) and conversion rate (number of users actually responding, usually means a purchase, registration or enquiry) compared with your advertising costs, is a way of judging the ROI of the campaign.