There are three main ways that visitors find your Web site-- by search engines, clicking on your link from other sites, and typing your Web address. Search engines are an essential part of your Internet marketing mix. But search engine marketing alone is not enough.



As you already know from experience, a site that does not appear on the first page of results is practically invisible. Rather than try to achieve ranking on all search engines for the most popular keywords, put a reasonable level of effort into search engine marketing and allow time for other online methods as well. It's best to optimize your site for keyword phrases that match your market niche on search engines.



The Top Search Engines Online



There are only three search engines that drive most of the traffic to sites-- Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. These main search engines also generate the results seen on all primary search engines. You need to submit to those three, plus dmoz (Open Directory Project), and Web directories that relate to your Web site's subject. Keep in mind also that Google is responsible for about 50% of all searches online.



Search Engine Listing



Ignore any emails promising to list your site on hundreds or even thousands of search engines and directories. There aren't even thousands of English search engines to begin with. You may end up harming your stand with search engines if they mistake your efforts for spam.



Search Engine Optimization



Disregard any emails guaranteed #1 placement on search engine rankings. No legitimate search engine optimization (SEO) company can make such claims. Most of these sites don't even have high ranking themselves! It's always best to generate a #1 ranking on keywords that are rarely used or phrases that match your site's market niche.