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Promotion Tip:
Free Is Just A Fairy Tale
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
Once Upon A Time... it was all free. Web directories listed sites quickly and search engine spiders crawled about constantly and looked for new sites to index. It sounds like a fairy tale - now that some directories charge just to look at your site. Find out if the expense is worth it.
Paying For A Look
The term "paid submission" doesn't refer to search engine submission services like NetMechanic's Engine Starter. Instead, it applies to directories that charge up to $299 just to look at your site.
The directory submission process has always been more difficult than search engine submissions - and now it's getting expensive too. LookSmart was the first directory to test a pay for submission policy. It was so successful that LookSmart now charges all sites (except nonprofit organizations) for consideration.
In November, 2000, Yahoo dropped its free submit option for sites wishing to be listed in two commercial categories:
All commercial and adult sites must use Yahoo's "Business Express" option to submit to either of these categories. Initial submission fee is $299 for commercial sites and $600 for adult sites. In addition, commercial sites that submit after December 28, 2001 must agree to pay an annual subscription fee ranging from $299 to $600 if the site wishes to keep its listing. At present, the subscription requirement doesn't affect sites that applied prior to that date.
Worth The Cost?
The obvious disadvantage to paid submission is cost. You might wonder why it's a good idea to risk hundreds of dollars to submit to directories that don't promise to list your site. But think about it: they do promise to look at your site quickly!
Many free submissions to Yahoo aren't actually rejected. Usually, overworked editors just never have time to look at them. Prepare yourself for up to a 4-5 month wait if you use Yahoo's free submit. LookSmart is a little better: it guarantees to look nonprofit sites within 8 weeks.
Paid submission may increase your odds at Yahoo. The directory reports a much higher acceptance rate from its paid submission option. Perhaps webmasters who are prepared to spend $299 per year pay more attention to site design and usability.
Here's a breakdown of costs:
| Directory |
Service & Cost |
Features |
| Yahoo |
Business Express:$299/yr.
Adult Content Sites:$600/yr |
Guaranteed site review within 7 business days. Does not guarantee acceptance into the directory. Still offers free submission, but there's no guaranteed review time. |
| LookSmart |
Express Submit:$299
Basic Submit:$149 |
Express: Guaranteed site review in 24 hours
Basic: Guaranteed site review within 8 weeks. Doesn't guarantee acceptance into the directory. |
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So your total cost for most sites would be about $600. When you think of the costs you've already incurred - domain registration fees, web hosting charges, site development costs, and your time - that isn't a whole lot. Especially for Yahoo, because it's one of the most visited sites on the Web.
A listing in Yahoo gets you more visitors quickly and can improve your site's link popularity score with other search engines.
Listings For Free
It is possible to get listed for free at LookSmart even if you're not a certified non-profit group. Their editors watch the Web for interesting sites to include in the directory. You could get lucky and have a LookSmart editor find your site by accident - but don't count on it.
At Yahoo, you could still submit your commercial site to a free submit category that's related to your product. Several months later, you may get listed there or a kind Yahoo editor might even move your site to the commercial category. Again - don't count on it.
Even if you're paying to submit to Yahoo and LookSmart, don't forget about the Open Directory Project. The ODP uses an all-volunteer editorial staff to evaluate submissions and search the Web for new sites. Although all submissions are free, there are no guarantees about when an editor will look at your site or accept it into the directory.
Don't Ignore Search Engines!
Even though Yahoo is the largest search site on the Web, that isn't a reason to ignore your search engine rank. It may sound odd, but a good rank with some search engines may get you in directory search results - even though you aren't actually in the directory! That's because some search engines and directories have agreed to provide secondary results for each other.
Secondary results are alternate results you can browse if you don't find what you need among directory or search engine listings. For instance, if Yahoo doesn't have "green teddy bears" in its directory, if offers results from a Google search on the same keyword phrase. LookSmart provides a secondary results section for Excite and uses Excite's index on its own site.
First though, your site needs to be listed in the search engines and have a high ranking. That's why you need NetMechanic's Search Engine Power Pack. Our full-service search engine tool will help you write META tags, select keywords, scan your page for problems, submit your site, and track your rank.
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