Phil Bradley - Internet Consultant. Internet search, web design/optimization

Do you have a website? If so, you'll want people to know about it. So how can you do that? One way is to submit your site to search engines, and this articles covers website submission to search engines.

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Why do search engines need to know about my site?

There are basically three ways that people will find your site: you can tell them, either face to face or in written material, such as a business card. You can hope that people will follow a link from someone else's site to yours, or they'll do a search using a search engine, come across your site and can then visit it.

I'll ignore the first option, the second one relies on people knowing about your site, and I'll concentrate on the third element.

Search engines need to find your site

Much though we might like it, search engines do not run on magic. In order to index your site, and make it available in the search results, they need to find it in the first instance. There are two ways of making sure they know about your site - you can either hope that a link from somewhere else will point their spider program to your site, or you can go and tell them about your site in the first place.

Some search engines are keener on this approach than others. Google for example, isn't overly interested on the whole submitting your site process. It much prefers to find sites itself by following links from other places. However, if you do want to submit your site to Google, they offer a submission facility, and some useful words of advice on submitting your site to a search engine.

Other search engines are much happier with the idea, and they will often include a 'Submit site' or 'Add URL' or 'Suggest a site' button on their home page.

Website submission: what to know before you start

If you've just set up your website, you're going to be keen for people to find it, so the temptation is to go straight out and start submitting your site everywhere you can. However, before you do this, it's worth taking a few minutes to sit back and think a bit. Check that you're happy with your site - do all the links work? Is it neat and tidy? Have you done as much as you can to ensure your site is optimized for search engines? We'll assume the answer to all of these is yes. Hang on though, don't start yet. Some search engines want a name for your site (The Widget Emporium for example). So, what's the name of your site? Try and keep it factual, and try not to get into marketing hype. 'The best widget site in the world' isn't impressive, even if you think that it is! Secondly, engines may ask for a brief description of the site. Try and create a short, 25 word maximum description of the site. Again, avoid marketing hype, stick to the point of the site, and perhaps who it is aimed at.

You also need to decide which search engines you want to submit to; there are thousands out there, and many of them will not be appropriate. Make a list of a dozen engines, or less if you can't think of that many! They will probably be the ones that your customers use as well. If you have a product or an interest in a particular country , visit my Country and Regional search engines page for some more ideas.

Once you've got that sorted, you're ready to make a start.

Website submission - manual or using software?

Submitting your site to search engines is, quite frankly, desperately boring and dull. Really, it is. As a result, you'll find that there are many packages and organzations out there offering to do this for you. So, you need to decide which approach to take. I generally submit by hand, since I have a high boredom threshold!

However, you may prefer to use one of the submission agents that are available, and this Google search for website submission software will give you a few pointers as to packages to try. I would however only suggest using these services if you are likely to want to submit to a lot of search engines, or you have a large number of sites to submit.

Website submissions - Q&A

How long will it take before I'm listed?

Depends on the search engine. You may find you're listed in a few hours, or it can sometimes take months before you're in.

Do I have to submit all of my pages?

No, you don't need to submit them all - just your home page will do.

Do I have to do this on a regular basis?

No, you shouldn't need to. Once the engine knows your site exists, it will keep coming back of its own accord.

Is it going to cost?

If you have a commercial site you may well need to pay a fee. However, this should be treated on a case by case basis. There will often be a free submission process, but it can take much longer

Is there anything else I need to do to my site?

It's always a good idea to have a site map to make it easier for the search engine to find all your pages. Also, update your site on a regular basis - the more often you update it, the more often the search engines will return to check it.

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