Search Engine Placement: Tips to Get Listed on the Major Search Engines
You can get listed on [most] search engine[s] within a week or maximum within 2 weeks without even submitting your URL. Moreover, it is widely said nowadays that letting the search engine 'spider' index your web site is better strategy than submitting URL. That is, don't submit URL to search engines: instead, let search engines find your web site, because search engine values the site (which is found during usual crawling) more than the one crawled by submission.
How to let search engines find your home page?
It's not difficult nor technical. In theory your site must be indexed on [the] search engine without submitting your URL because [the] search engine spider program will crawl your web site unless you totally hide your web site on the web. Here are the techniques that force the search engines crawl your site so that your home page can be listed on search engine within a week just after you upload your HTML files on your host. There is one condition, though. Your web pages must have some content. Don't panic. I believe almost every web site has decent content pages.
How to know your site is indexed or listed on search engine?
Before applying [the] following tips, check [if] your site is listed on [the] search engines. To do that, type "site:your homepage address", for example, "site:www.yourhome.com" without quote in the search box of Google, Yahoo! Search or MSN. If your site is indexed, you will see [a] list of your web pages. If not and you see something like "Your search ... did not match any documents.", your site is not listed yet.
If your site is listed, you don't need to read this article further. You have to focus on how to improve your search engine ranking.. If you're not indexed in [the] search engine[s] yet, apply [the] following tips and you'll be listed on [the] search engine[s] within a week or two.
Tip #1:Create RSS feed and add it to your My Yahoo and My MSN account
Whether you know about RSS or not doesn't matter. Just create RSS feed of your web content pages or articles on your web site and I'll show you how to create RSS feed and explain how to use it to make your home page get listed on search engines.
First, create RSS feed
You can create RSS feed with "FeedForAll" software (for Windows user) without any background knowledge of RSS. It enables you to create RSS feed and update your RSS feed whenever you add new contents to your web site without hassle.
Another way to create RSS feed is:
- go to RSS Headline and choose the number of headlines you'd like to include in your RSS feed file.
- Then a form with boxes that you need to fill out-your web page title, your web page location (URL) and description of your web page-will be appeared. Enter the right information, then click the "Make The Code" button. You'll notice that this is a bit tedious job but it's the cost of free. :-)
- It only generates RSS version 0.91 but fortunately many of RSS reader can handle it. I checked its update function but unfortunately it didn't work correctly. This means probably whenever you update your site, you need [to] update your RSS feed file manually.
- Copy the generated code to your favorite text editor and save it with extension rss, for example, mypages.rss.
- Upload it to your ftp server so that your RSS feed location can be for example "www.yourhome.com/mypages.rss."
Now you're half done. Let's move to the real tip.
Add your RSS feed to YOUR "My Yahoo!" and "My MSN"
If you don't have "My Yahoo!" and "My MSN" account, create them now. You can create them at "my.yahoo.com" and "my.msn.com" and they are free. After having these accounts, locate "add to My Yahoo!" and "MY MSN+" buttons linked with your RSS feed file on your web site. To locate those buttons, do the following.
- Go to "FeedBuner" , and follow their instruction. Its service is free and it not only save your time but also gives you some benefits, for example, you can place amazon ads on your RSS feed file.
- Using your original RSS feed, FeedBuner will create RSS feed for My Yahoo! and My MSN. You can place either all the RSS feed buttons or only one xml button on your web site. It's your choice. Important thing for your web site getting listed on search engine is to use add to My Yahoo! and add to My MSN button and to add your RSS feed content to your own My Yahoo! and My MSN account.
- Also ask your friends to add your RSS feed to their accounts. This enhances the chance to get listed on search engines. I experienced, however. that without bothering my friend , that is, adding my home page RSS feed to only my own My Yahoo and My MSN, I could get listed in search engine within a week.
Why adding your RSS feed to your My Yahoo!" and My MSN account guarantees you to be indexed?
Within 24 hours after you add your RSS feed to your account, Yahoo! Search and MSN search engine will crawl your site. More than 90% certainty, your site will be indexed in Yahoo! Search and MSN. But it will take about a week or a bit more to be listed because there is a delay between crawling and indexing. Now what can you do? Just wait? No, there is something more you can do. It'll give you 100% certainty and furthermore help you to be listed on Google search engine. So, please keep on reading.
Tip #2: Post questions or opinions to the forum.
Subscribe to the forums that is relevant to your site theme. You can find lots of forums by typing "forum your-site-keyword" without quote in search box. Choose one or two forums that seem to have many members and to be active. When you register [with] the forum, write down your home page address in the registration form (most of [the] forums provide the box that you can fill [in] with your home page address). And provide your home page link [in the] signature box. One of [the] ways to provide [these links] is using "BBCode", for example, "My home page:[url=http://www.myhome.com]My Home Target Keyword [/url]". You can make a link by using HTML code if they allow. After registering, post some questions or reply to other members posts. Why is this good for you? The search engines frequently crawl the forum sites and whenever they crawl those sites, they follow the links in [the] forum as well.
So, the more post you do with your home page link in signature box, the better chance you [have to] get listed. By doing this, together with Tip #1, you'll be indexed in Yahoo! Search and MSN for sure. And this gives you higher chance to get listed on Google as well.
Tip #3 Use your blog to promote your home page.
It seems everybody is blogging. If you're not in this trend, please consider stating blogging. I presume your blog is listed on search engine (If not, following tip doesn't help). Place your home page link in your blog. This helps your home page get listed on search engines with the same reason as Tip #2 This tip is actually about getting inbound link. Because you can control your blog, this is the easiest way to get inbound link. If you can have inbound links from other web sites, it not only assure you to be listed in search engine but also to improve search engine ranking. Whenever possible, try to get quality inbound link. It's a great way to get targeted traffic, to improve search engine ranking and the only way to get listed on Teoma/Jeeves at this moment.
Using the above three tips, you will certainly achieve the initial search engine placement on Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN and probably other search engines. You even don't need to submit your URL and moreover it's not recommend nowadays. The initial search engine placement is easy and sure thing if you apply the above tips..
If your home page doesn't seem to get listed on search engine after a week...
If this is the case, something went wrong. Check following things:
- do your links in forum, blog, and RSS feed file correctly direct to your page?
- do you have any site construction on your home page?
- are there any broken links in your web sites?
Correct the above problems, if any, then keep on posting and blogging and try to get inbound link. Also update your web site with new content, then update RSS feed and ping your updated RSS feed to My Yahoo! and My MSN.
To ping your updated RSS feed, copy the following address (remember you have to change "www.yourhome.com/mypages.rss" with your RSS feed file URL), paste it to your browser (e.g, IE or Firefox) address bar and hit Enter.
to My Yahoo!
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping?u=http://www.yourhome.com/mypages.rss
to My MSN
http://api.moreover.com/ping?u=http:www.yourhome.com/mypages.rss
Hopefully, after correcting the problems and keep on applying the above tips, you may achieve initial search engine placement within another week.
About the Author: Ryen Kim is an MBA, specialized in marketing research and analysis. His current focus is the "Affiliate Business" as a work-at-home scheme. For that matter he's running www.home-based-affiliate-business.com and www.home-based-affiliate-business.com/internet-marketing-blog
Recomended reading: Google's
PageRank and Beyond: The Science of Search Engine Rankings 
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