The Four Search Engines to be Listed in and Why
You want searchers to find you wherever they go to conduct their searches. Of course. But which engines really count? Paul looks at the numbers and what they have to say about YOUR listing strategy.
You want searchers to find you wherever they go to conduct their searches. Of course. But which engines really count? Paul looks at the numbers and what they have to say about YOUR listing strategy.
I frequently get asked by customers: Which are the top three or four engines, the ones in whose search results I really want my company to appear? Of course, Yahoo comes to mind. And these days, a lot of people think Google’s up there. But you’d be surprised what research shows.
AltaVista reaches 17.7 percent of web users, but Google gets just 7 percent, according to the latest Media Metrix numbers. So what’s the big deal with Google? Well, it supports Yahoo Web Pages results, and Yahoo gets over 50 percent of the search traffic.
Ask Jeeves and Google sell advertisers related but separate links on their search results pages so users can discern which links are paid for. I myself have a problem clicking on a link that paid to get my attention. However, this strategy appears to be very popular with advertisers. (Speaking of paid placements, GoTo has retained NameLab to help find a new moniker. The process could be completed by the middle of next year.)
LookSmart and Inktomi charge web sites a fee to be included in their indexes with no guarantee of where the sites will be ranked within search returns. I like the no-guarantee clause. It puts the responsibility of presenting the best content into the hands of paid editors who are building good content for their directories.
The top four engines you want to ensure you’re listed in are Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, and LookSmart. Here’s why:
Sure, you want searchers to find you wherever they go. But focusing on getting listed in these four will help you gain the greatest exposure.
In future articles, I’ll cover how important search is to creating strong customer care and improving e-commerce, e-support, and e-business as a whole. The theme behind these articles will be not only sharing information and educating readers on where the traffic is but also getting that traffic to your site.