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Search Engines

WebBuild Express makes it easy to prepare your site for submission to Search Engines.  Most of the time, when you create a Web site, you want people who may be interested in it to know about it. One of the most common ways to do this is to get it indexed by the major search engines. This topic will explain how to prepare your WebBuild Express pages so that they will have attributes that search engines often look for. This is not intended, however, to be a definitive treatise on how to get your site listed (or how to get a high listing) on any search engine. There are a number of good resources on the Web that discuss this subect in more detail. In general, search engines work in one (or both) of two ways:

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(Note: the Meta Tag portion of the source code is shown above in darker type). When search engine robots visit your site, they will recognize the data in the Meta tags and should be able to index your site in accordance with your directions. Submitting to Search Engines Just preparing the Meta tags, although a good start, is not enough to get your site listed by search engines. You should also ensure that all pages have titles and descriptive text and that links relate the pages to each other in a logical manner. Once the site is fully prepared, you should submit the site to search engines. Some search engines and directories only accept certain types of sites or charge a fee for considering a site for inclusion. The following are some popular sites that still accept requests for free listings:

Altavista Google Dmoz (Open Directory Project) HotBot/Lycos

Automated programs (sometime called "robots") visit your site and look for specific items that enable them to correctly index the site. The items they look for may include: "Meta tags", page titles, links, and text. Human employees of the search engine company visit your site and determine if and how it should be indexed.

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Creating Meta Tags WebBuild Express has an easy utility to help you add "Meta Tags" to any page. To begin, access the Page Properties screen by choosing "Pages" and then "Edit" from the "Edit" menu:                                   At the top of the Page Properties screen, click on the "Search Engine" tab. You'll see:   Note that there are four areas for entering data, which are discussed in the following sections: "Hide This Page From Search Engines" - Check this box only if you do not want search engine robots to index your page (for example a private or family site). "Web Site Owner Email Address" - Enter the e-mail address of the site's owner or developer. "KeyWords" - Enter as many keywords as necessary to provide guidance to search engines regarding how to index your site. You should think of all the search words and phrases that people might use if they were trying to reach a site such as yours. Separate keywords or phrases by commas. (Click          to see some examples). "Description"- This should be a brief, succinct description of your site or page. The following shows what the "Search Engine" screen might look like for a hypothetical site.

Most important: do not get discouraged if your site isn't listed the day after you submit it to several search engines. Given the tremendous number of new sites on the Internet every day, the search engines have a huge job to keep their listings current. It may be several weeks or even months before a site is listed. Our experience has been that most sites will get listed eventually -- it just takes time. There are many companies that will offer (for a fee) to get your site listed or improve your placement with search engines. We believe that such firms are like rainmakers: they'll take your money and if it rains, fine. If it doesn't rain, well they'll try something else. Your site is bound to get listed, and they know that. They think that if you pay them their fee and your site is listed, you'll believe it was due to their efforts. Save your money. You can get the same results that they can by following the advice above.

Promote your site as you would any other new facet of your business. Consider using press releases, direct mail, advertising, and other means to get the word out about your site. Ensure that your Web site's address or domain name is featured prominently on every piece of printed material your company uses. This should include stationary, business cards, catalogs, directories, etc. Make sure your Web address is included in the "Signature" area of all outgoing e-mails from your company. Develop reciprocal agreements with Web sites that might want to list your site. Some examples: directories that list businesses in your region, associations that list their members, businesses whose supplies you use, wholesalers, clients, customers, etc. When you identify companies like thise, propose to them that you'll put links to their site on your site if they'll link to you on theirs. (Some search engines use "link popularity" as a criterion for listing and ranking sites, so developing such reciprocal links with other sites may improve your search engine listings).

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	What about Yahoo? Yahoo is one of the most popular Internet search utilities. Getting your site listed in the Yahoo directory can potentially attract large numbers of visitors to your site. Requesting a listing in the Yahoo directory is somewhat complicated for two reasons: (1) Yahoo charges a recurring fee to consider commercial sites (some non-commercial sites can be submitted for free), and (2) You must determine which section of the Yahoo directory your site should be listed in (e.g. Business & Economy > Business to Business > Information Technology Consulting) For more information on submitting to Yahoo, click here.

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Submitting your site to most search engines is a fairly easy process. You fill out a form, generally furnishing your name, e-mail address, and a description of the site. After your site is submitted it may take several weeks or even months before your site is listed. Search engines do not guarantee that they will accept any requested listing, and in some cases a site may not be listed. If, eight weeks or so after submission, your site does not appear when you search for it using a search engine that you submitted to, try resubmitting it. Other Ways to Attract Visitors to Your Site Many people who develop Web sites think that submitting them to search engines is enough to attract visitors. This is like sitting on a one-legged stool. Listing your site with search engines should be only one part of a comprehensive strategy to market your Web site. In particular, you should consider other options for ensuring that people know about your site, including the following:

	Keywords In general, you should not try to "trick" search engines into giving you good listings by repeating keywords or using keywords that do not accurately describe your site. Some search engines allegedly do not consider more than a limited number of keywords, so it's a good idea to keep the number of keywords and phrases as small as possible while accurately describing your site. It's a good idea to include your site's domain name (if applicable) and your company name in the keywords.

When the page is published, the Meta tags will be created automatically. If you view the page source, you will see them: