How To Submit Your Site To Search Engines

Nowadays, it's not absolutely necessary to submit your sites to search engines, mostly because once your site is up and running, it will (usually) be found by search engines regardless of whether you went through the submission process or not. However, submitting your site to Web directories is still recommended. It's not difficult, but does take a bit of time. Here are the very basics of what you need to do to submit your site to a Web directory.

1. Pick the directory that you're interested in, and find out their guidelines for submission. Examples of Web directories are Google Directory, Yahoo Directory, and the Open Directory Project.
2. Are there any rules or regulations that affect your site content? If so, adjust accordingly.
3. If there are limitations that you need to adhere to, find out what they are and stick to them. These could be a limited number of categories, or a limited number of times you can submit your site in a 24-hour period.
4. Find out how much money, if any, they are charging. This is when you'll have to decide if you want to pay-for-inclusion, or submit it for free (this will depend on the needs of your site).
5. Locate the most appropriate category for your site, and see what other people are doing. You might get some ideas for better design or content.
6. Write a brief (200 words or less) description of your site. Be as precise as possible. Don't use "sales" language; instead, use keywords and phrases that appear throughout your site and present your site in such a way that users will want to visit it.
7. After submitting your site, check back about once a week to make sure it's there. It can take a while for your site to initially show up, so be patient.

Tips:

1. Rules are there for a reason. Find out what these directories want from you, and follow those rules to the letter.
2. Use the nifty spell check option on your computer before submitting anything. It really does make a difference.
3. Make your description as precise, compelling, and keyword-rich as possible.