* Here's audience reach of some of engines that use Inktomi's secondary results, according to Nielsen NetRatings in October 2002: MSN: 28.1%; Overture: 5.4%; LookSmart: 3.0%; (also provides results to "new" HotBot) < http://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html >

* Cost? $39 for first URL, and $25 each for additional URL's up to 1000. So, total cost for our three pages would be $89. (See Special Note at bottom of this article on how you can save 20% off price of Inktomi and Fast pay inclusion – for a limited time only.)

Fast (Provides search results to AlltheWeb, Lycos, and HotBot) < http://www.positiontech.com/directSubmit.htm >

You can use Position Tech to submit your Fast pages too, so be sure to enroll in both pay inclusion programs at same time.

Benefits:

* Upon submission, your pages will make it into Fast index within 48 hours, as a general rule.

* Your pages are respidered every 48 hours.

* The term of pay inclusion program is 12 months.

* Reporting services are included, such as verification of page acceptance; refresh reports; URL validation; and account management.

* With Fast, you can choose between several different programs, including some that include a free onsite search engine, bulk inclusion, etc.

* The audience reach of Fast, according to Nielsen NetRatings in October 2002, was: Lycos: 4.4%; (also provides results to "new" HotBot) < http://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html >

* Cost? $34 for first URL, and $16 each for additional URL's up to 1000. So, total cost for our three pages would be $66. (See Special Note at bottom of this article on how you can save 20% off price of Inktomi and Fast pay inclusion – for a limited time only.)

Teoma and Ask Jeeves (Provides results to Teoma, Ask Jeeves, and HotBot) < http://ask.ineedhits.com/ >

The only way to get in Teoma index is through pay inclusion. This is one engine that doesn't have a free add URL page.

Benefits:

* Upon submission, your pages will make it into Teoma and Ask Jeeves indices within 7 days.

* Your pages are respidered every 7 days.

* The term of pay inclusion program is 12 months.

* Reporting services are included, such as click-through reporting.

* The audience reach of Teoma/Ask Jeeves, according to Nielsen NetRatings in October 2002, was: Ask Jeeves: 10.3% (also provides results to "new" HotBot) < http://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html >

* Cost? $30 for first URL, and $18 each for additional URL's up to 1000. So, total cost for our three pages would be $66.

Special Note:

After writing this article, I found that Lycos is offering a discount on both Fast and Inktomi pay inclusion programs for a limited time. If you submit to both engines, you can receive a 20% discount! I don't know how long this will last, but here's URL:

< http://insite.lycos.com/searchservices/select/ select_overview.asp?co=undefined >

You’ll notice that I keep using word “relevant”. Links from non-relevant sites or from pages that contain only links and no valuable content may actually downgrade your site ranking in Google, as it may be perceived as “SPAM”.

Establishing Free, Relevant Content:

Your site won’t rank very well if it only contains one page filled with sales pitches for your product or service. The Internet is about information, and to improve your ranking you need to offer free information on your chosen topic to your visitors. Some people do this in form of articles from themselves or other authors. The more content that you have, more likely people are to find something valuable on your site, hence more likely you are to rank well in search engine results.

Which brings us back to why you should pursue a high Google ranking. The reason lies in tactics mentioned above. Simply put, process of establishing links to your website from other quality sites related to your topic, and fact that your site has quality content on it, will greatly improve your chances of making sales to your customers through your website, regardless of whether or not you rank well on Google. Your efforts will be well placed if you focus on links and content. A number of quality inbound links can generate significant, highly targeted traffic to your website even without a high ranking search engine listing.

The effects of pursuing inbound links and relevant content on your website’s traffic will be positive, regardless of your ranking on Google or any other search engine. So go ahead and try to drive your site as high as possible in Google ranking. You will certainly build a solid foundation for your website along way.