There is much confusion about how search engines work and how they index web sites for higher ranks. Many people believe that by submitting their details once, search engine will automatically provide them with a high rank and everyone can find their site instantly…this is simply not case!

For those of you who have experience in trying to "successfully" submit your web site to a search engine, you will know what I am talking about. It is not as easy as people think. As owner of Darknight Designs I have webmasters ask me on a daily basis, what they can do to improve their rankings in search engines. Below are some simple steps that they (and you) can do, to improve your online marketing campaign.

1.Take time to get your site optimised. This process involves making sure you have quickly loading pages, graphics that are reduced in memory size, your META Tags are created properly and your site is uploaded and available for viewing. This step is most important one, and should not be done in a rush. Take your time in making your pages and getting your META Tags & Alt tags done correctly, as it will pay off in end. META Tags should resemble ones below;

Getting listed with "human reviewed" directories is very important because several of major search engines use indexes like Open Directory Project to supplement their search results.

Recent statistics from WebSnapShot.com show percentage of searches performed on each of top 19 search engines and directories. Yahoo! is still number one at 25.4% and Google (the Yahoo! default engine) is at 5% and climbing fast.

An interesting point is that AOL, AltaVista, NetScape, and Lycos combined make up 40.5% of total search queries. These four engines are powered by Open Directory Project and, combined, control more traffic than Yahoo! alone.

Submitting to Human Reviewed Directories

When you submit your site to a directory such as Yahoo!, Open Directory Project, or even Infoseek Channels, your site is queued for review by a site editor. That means a human being actually visits your site and determines whether or not it should be included in their index.

Therefore, it's important to realize that most of techniques you use to optimize pages for spider search engines will not work for directories.

How Editors Evaluate Your Site

Site editors will visit your site to verify that category you selected is appropriate and that title and description are accurate and relevant to content of your site. In addition, each directory has its own criteria for evaluating sites.

Here's a few tips to help you evaluate your web site before you submit:

You should have your own domain name.

You should have secure ordering (if applicable).

Your site's name should match your domain name.

Display your company's contact information in plain view.

Include links to your company's privacy policy, return policy, guarantee, etc.