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Promotion Tip:
Search Engine And Directory Alliances
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
You haven't paid for a LookSmart listing, but LookSmart searchers may see your site anyway. How? Many search engines and directories have agreements with each other to share information and provide higher quality search results. That's good news for searchers and webmasters too: your Web site may appear for free on some search sites that only accept paid submissions.
Alliances Provide More Search Results
Most search engines and directories get some (or all) of their results from partners. Each alliance operates under different rules, but most agreements to combine or share search results fall into one of three broad categories:
- Primary and Secondary Results: Primary results come from the search engine or directory's main database. Searchers see the primary results first, but may go to a separate page of secondary results that come from the partner's database.
- Mixed Results: Mixes primary and secondary results into a single results page and ranks them according to a particular algorithm.
- Separate Results: Gives visitors distinct options to search several different sites. Each one is chosen separately: "Try this search on AltaVista, Excite, etc."
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Searchers benefit most from these alliances when they search on very specific or relatively obscure keywords. Even a large directory like Yahoo may not contain much information about an unusual topic, so Yahoo's partnership with Google provides additional results to searchers.
Who's Partnered With Whom?
Yahoo and Google aren't the only partners: many other search engines and directories have similar arrangements with each other. Here are some of the largest:
| Search Engine/Directory |
Provides Results For |
Gets Results From |
| Yahoo |
n/a |
Secondary results from Google. |
| GoTo/Overture.com |
Primary results for Go.com. |
Main results from own database.
Secondary results from Inktomi. |
| Open Directory Project (ODP) |
Main results for Google Directory, AOL Search, Netscape Search, and Lycos.
Some results for AltaVista, Direct Hit, and HotBot |
Own database only. |
| LookSmart |
Main results for MSN Search.
Some results for Excite, Alta Vista, and iWon |
Secondary results from Inktomi. |
| Google |
Secondary results at Yahoo and Netscape Search. |
Google Directory results from ODP. |
| AltaVista |
n/a |
Some search results from AskJeeves, ODP, and LookSmart. |
| HotBot |
Some results for Inktomi. |
Main results from Direct Hit.
Secondary results from Inktomi and ODP. |
| Direct Hit |
Main results for HotBot.
Some results for Lycos, AskJeeves, iWon |
Secondary results from AskJeeves and ODP |
| Inktomi |
Main results for iWon.
Secondary results for AOL Search, LookSmart, NBCi, MSN Search, HotBot, GoTo/Overture.com |
Some results from HotBot. Most from own searches. Note: Inktomi isn't a search engine. It powers other search engines and some directory results. |
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You can see a complete listing of search engine alliances at the Search Engine Watch Web site.
In Through The Back Door
Some sites that either can't get accepted into a directory or can't afford to try since paid submission programs became popular, may slip into directory results through the back door with a top listing in one of the partners.
Don't get too excited though, and assume that the real title of this story is "how to get into Yahoo and LookSmart for free." A spot in the secondary results section isn't a perfect substitute for a good placement in a relevant directory category.
But a good ranking in the secondary results section won't hurt you either. It's certainly better than not being listed at all! You'll get maximum benefit from the secondary results section if your site ranks near the top, so concentrate on search engine optimization.
Target Particular Search Engines
Use the chart to decide which search engines and directories are the most valuable to your promotional strategy. This may not be easy because the web of partnerships is pretty complex.
Take a deep breath and try this tongue twister. HotBot is the best gateway to get into Inktomi. So the way you get listed in Go.com now is to submit to HotBot, which gets you into Inktomi, which means you're in GoTo/Overture.com, who provides primary results for Go.
Once you've deciphered the alliances and found the most important search engines for your strategy, it's time optimize your site for them. NetMechanic's Search Engine Power Pack can help. Power Pack is an easy, cost-effective way to boost your search engine ranking and track your site's success.
Your ultimate goal is to drive traffic to your site. Alliances can can help by making your site more visible to searchers. These partnerships increase the importance of search engine optimization. A high rank in one engine can easily translate into a high rank at its partner sites too.
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