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Cost?
For a "limited time" (they don't say when offer expires), annual membership is $18 plus $12 per URL. This is assuming you use Lycos InSite Select to initiate your service. Prices may vary according to reseller.
When you actually sign up for service, you'll be asked to choose between Standard Submission where spider begins at a starting point that you determine, and then indexes as many pages deep as you specify. Advanced Submission allows you to list all pages you specifically want indexed after which FAST spider will continue to "discover" URLs within your site up to total number you've specified. This option assures that your most important pages will make it into FAST index rather than leave indexing to chance.
Here's how Lycos InSite's spider works:
* The spider goes to a Web site and follows hyperlinks throughout site. * The spider parses and downloads certain pages as it moves through site. * The spider has reached limit of URLs determined by user's subscription service, it stops spidering Web site. * The file of spidered URLs are then built into a search catalog. * If your account is missing pages and you use JavaScript heavily, you can submit individual pages using "Advanced Submission." * If your pages use META refresh tags, enter target destination pages instead. * And, further details can be found at web site -- http://searchservices.lycos.com/searchservices/
Besides basic version of PartnerSite I (explained in list above), FAST offers three additional versions of program, all geared toward larger sites with different needs. Lycos calls these versions Lycos InSite Pro and within this category they have their PartnerSite II, III, and IV classifications.
Mr. Baker explained, "Recent studies indicate that 80% of shopping carts are abandoned because of poor site search." So, FAST is providing sites with a search-ability solution through its PartnerSite packages.
PartnerSite II: Designed for sites of up to 250 pages and includes a FAST-hosted onsite search engine. Cost: $189 month.
PartnerSite III: Designed for sites up to 500 pages and also includes a FAST-hosted onsite search engine. Cost: $279 month. Mr. Baker elaborated on PartnerSite III:
"When you register for version III, FAST spider crawls your entire site, up to 500 pages. In addition to including those pages in FAST index, we host an index of your site's pages and provide you with a Search My Site tool bar that you can paste into your HTML. This allows site visitors to search only contents of your site. In next version, we will provide more control to subscriber over site search rankings, but Web search rankings will always be determined by FAST."
PartnerSite IV: Designed for sites up to 500 pages and provides bulk inclusion via XML but no site search.
Baker added, "We have developed our own DTD (Document Type Definition) to integrate XML feeds. XML indexing is actually how we currently index database pages. We have partner create an XML feed according to our DTD that has 'page to fetch.' This essentially tells our crawler not to explicitly try to crawl page, but rather, just 'fetch,' page's contents."
Editor's Note: Document Type Definition defines legal building blocks of an XML document. See DTD School for more information: http://www.w3schools.com/dtd/default.asp
For latest information on different versions of PartnerSite, visit:
North American Customers: http://searchservices.lycos.com/searchservices/
International Customers: http://www.lycos.de/
Lycos is only one of Fast's pay inclusion program partners in a list that is still growing. For complete partner list. go to:
http://www.fastsearch.com/products/internet/partnersite_partners .asp
(Continued in Part 2)
Robin Nobles, Director of Training, Academy of Web Specialists, has trained several thousand people in her online search engine marketing (http://www.academywebspecialists.com) training courses. She also teaches 3-day hands-on search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe with Search Engine Workshops (http://www.searchengineworkshops.com).