Search engines and directories are the main resources web surfers go to for their needs. Engines and directories are databases of millions of websites and Blogs on the Internet that provide valuable information pertaining to search terms keyed in by Internet users.

This discussion on search engines and directories focuses on what they are and some interesting facts you will find useful.

Search Engines

Search engines are gigantic databases that contain information from the billions of sites and Blogs out there on the Internet (there are millions of others that are poorly optimized and engines don’t even know about – less competition! good for you!).

There are four major search engines today; Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. Each engine is a giant in its own right and has technology beyond our imagination to run their functions.

They all have proprietary technologies that enable them to find quality websites out there and index them. Whenever you hear the term search engine robots or search engine spiders, understand that the writer is referring to this technology.

Search engines are the best way to bring free traffic to your website. This is how new visitors get exposed to your website. Leverage the power of search engines as much as you can before you explore other ways to market your website on the Internet.

Search Engine Popularity

I'm sure you use Google a lot? We all do. It’s the most popular and no. 1 search engine. As of the first quarter of 2008, Google was available in over 100 languages with hundreds of millions of daily search requests.

The most recent statistics also show that Google has over 60% (and increasing) of the search engine market share, followed by Yahoo at roughly 28% (and declining). MSN ranks third at 17%. So you add the three up and you get a number over 100%. Strange?

These numbers double count some users who use multiple search engines. The bottom line big picture however is to show you which engines are most popular. So given that the top three are used by over 100% of the Internet surfers, does it even make sense to waste time getting listed with the small ones hanging out in the peanut gallery? Nopes!

Where to Submit to Search Engines?

Visit the URLs listed in this section and submit your website to the major search engines. You will notice that Ask is not listed. This is because Ask relies on directory listings to list websites. Once your website is listed with a directory or two, you will soon be indexed by Ask as well. Don’t ask me why, Ask is just a different creature!

• Google - www.google.com/addurl/



• Yahoo - submit.search.yahoo.com/



• Live - search.msn.com.sg/docs/submit.aspx

Meta Search Engines

Meta search engines are not really search engines. These are more like tools that allow you to search in multiple search engines simultaneously. These tools don’t have their own databases where websites are indexed. Rather, they use search technology to search other search websites by their Meta tags (title tags, keywords, descriptions and page headings).

Directories

Directories are what they sound like. It’s nothing more than a Yellow Pages booklet except it’s online. It is a large website organized in various categories. Within those categories are sub categories and within the sub cats there are individual websites and Blogs listed for specific topics.

There are thousands of directories out there (large, small and specialty types) on the Internet. But the two biggest ones (and you should get listed with the two) are Yahoo Directory and DMOZ. Visit these directories and submit your site for inclusion. It may take months before you get listed but the effort is well worth it.

These directories manually and individually review each submission and determine whether or not to include them in one of their categories. Once you are included in a category, you will notice your traffic boost up as a result. These directories are extremely credible and they have a high Google Page Rank.

To submit to these directories, click on the links below. For DMOZ you will have to specify the category you believe your website fits into.

• Yahoo Directory - dir.yahoo.com



• DMOZ - an open directory project

So I hope this discussion on Search Engines and Directories was helpful in giving you a summary of what they are and who the biggest players are within. All you have to do now is submit to search engines and directories and continue to focus on creating good website content that is also optimized for search engines.

Good luck to you !