Paid URL Inclusion
(C) Michael Rasmussen
All Rights Reserved
http://www.search-engines-revealed.com


There are many ways to promote your website and one of the most efficient ways is to use search engines. Search engines are the first stop for most people trying to find information, services, and products online. Because of this, it is essential that your website appears quickly in search results.

The Internet contains numerous search engines, some of which offer what is known as "paid inclusion." This means that you pay the specific search engine an annual fee for your web page to be included in their index.

Of course, every search engine already has an automated program commonly called a "spider" that indexes all the web pages it locates online, and it does this for free. So whether you pay or not, your web page will eventually be indexed by all Internet search engines, as long as the spider can follow a link to your page. The major issue is, then, how quickly your page is indexed.

A search engine that offers a paid URL inclusion uses an extra spider that is programmed to index the particular pages that have been paid for. The difference between the spider that indexes pages for free and the spider that indexes only pages for a fee is speed. If you have paid for inclusion, the additional search engine spider will index your page immediately.

The debate over paid URL inclusion centers around the annual fee. Since the regular spider of these search engines would eventually get around to indexing your web page anyway, why is a renewal fee necessary? The fee is necessary to keep your pages in the search engine's index. If you go the route of paid inclusion, you should be aware that at the end of the pay period, on some search engines, your page will be removed from their index for a certain amount of time.

It's easy to get confused about whether you would benefit from paid inclusion since the spider of any search engine will eventually index your page without the additional cost. There are both advantages and disadvantages to paid URL inclusion, and it is only by weighing your pros and cons that you will be able to decide whether to spring for the extra cash or not.

The advantages are obvious: rapid inclusion and rapid re-indexing. Paid inclusion means that your pages will be indexed quickly and added to search results in a very short time after you have paid the fee. The time difference between when the regular spider will index your pages and when the paid spider will is a matter of months. The spider for paid inclusion usually indexes your pages in a day or two. Be aware that if you have no incoming links to your pages, the regular spider will never locate them at all.

Additionally, paid inclusion spiders will go back to your pages often, sometimes even daily. The advantage of this is that you can update your pages constantly to improve the ranking in which they appear in search engines, and the paid URL inclusion spider will show that result in a matter of days.

First and foremost, the disadvantage is the cost. For a ten page website, the costs of paid URL inclusion range from $170 for Fast/Lycos to $600 for Altavista, and you have to pay each engine their annual fee. How relevant the cost factor is will depend on your company.

Another, and perhaps more important, disadvantage is the limited reach of paid URL inclusions. The largest search engines, Google, Yahoo, and AOL, do not offer paid URL inclusion. That means that the search engines you choose to pay an inclusion fee will amount to a small fraction of the traffic to your site on a daily basis.

Google usually updates its index every month, and there is no way you can speed up this process. You will have to wait for the Google spider to index your new pages no matter how many other search engines you have paid to update their index daily. Be aware that it is only after Google updates their index that your pages will show up in Google, Yahoo, or AOL results.

One way to figure out whether paid URL inclusion is a good deal for your company is to consider some common factors. First, find out if search engines have already indexed your pages. To do this, you may have to enter a number of different keywords, but the quickest way to find out is to enter your URL address in quotes. If your pages appear when you enter the URL address but do not appear when you enter keywords, using paid inclusion will not be beneficial. This is because your pages have already been indexed and ranked by the regular spider. If this is the case, your money would be better spent by updating your pages to improve your ranking in search results. Once you accomplish this, you can then consider using paid inclusion if you want to speed up the time it will take for the regular spider to revisit your pages.

The most important factor in deciding whether to use paid URL inclusion is to decide if it's a good investment. To figure this out, you have to look at the overall picture: what kind of product or service are you selling and how much traffic are you dependent on to see a profit?

If your company sells an inexpensive product that requires a large volume of traffic to your site, paid inclusion may not be the best investment for you; the biggest search engines do not offer it, and they are the engines that will bring you the majority of hits. On the other hand, if you have a business that offers an expensive service or product and requires a certain quality of traffic to your site, a paid URL inclusion is most likely an excellent investment.

Another factor is whether or not your pages are updated frequently. If the content changes on a daily or weekly basis, paid inclusion will insure that your new pages are indexed often and quickly. The new content is indexed by the paid spider and then appears when new relevant keywords are entered in the search engines. Using paid inclusion in this case will guarantee that your pages are being indexed in a timely manner.

You should also base your decision on whether or not your pages are dynamically generated. These types of pages are often difficult for regular spiders to locate and index. Paying to include the most important pages of a dynamically generated website will insure that the paid spider will index them.

Sometimes a regular spider will drop pages from its search engine, although these pages usually reappear in a few months. There are a number of reasons why this can happen, but by using paid URL inclusion, you will avoid the possibility. Paid URL inclusion guarantees that your pages are indexed, and if they are inadvertently dropped, the search engine will be on the lookout to locate them immediately.

As you can see, there are numerous factors to consider when it comes to paid URL inclusion. It can be a valuable investment depending on your situation. Evaluate your business needs and your website to determine if paid URL inclusion is a wise investment for your business goals.



Michael Rasmussen is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant and author of many top-selling eBooks. Michael has been marketing online since the early days and he knows what it takes to make money and succeed online. Stop by his Web site and subscribe to his Free monthly newsletter full strategies and techniques for successful web site promotions that can help YOU!

Go to http://www.search-engines-revealed.com
 

Promoting Your Business with a Copper Wire? Think Again.
So many people launch their first or second business with the misconception that they can survive without advertising. It is their fear of failure that almost single-handedly assures their failure. They fear spending the money that they need to get and keep their business running during those early years of their operation. [read more...]

How to Calculate ROI (Return On Investment)
ROI (Return on Investment) is probably the most important calculation one needs to make to ensure the long-term viability of their business. It is not enough to build in a profit margin on the product or service being offered. One must track with proficiency the amount of dollars being invested into attracting sales and how much ROI those dollars put back into the business. [read more...]

Tracking Offline Advertising Success by Measuring ROI
The great promise of online advertising has always been that advertisers will now be able to effectively track the successes and failures of their online advertising efforts. This promise has been met. [read more...]

How To Measure Advertising Success Online
It is easy for me to tell you that you need to track the success of your online advertising. It is also easy for me to tell you that you must do so in order to know which of your advertising is helping you to make a profit, to break even, or to break the bank. Far too many advertisers get caught in the online money
pits in an effort to develop their online business. [read more...]

How to Maximize the Value of Your Time
How is your business doing? Is it growing, stagnating or losing ground? If your business is not growing, it could be the result of a poor business idea or plan, a lack of advertising, or the mismanagement of your business’ resources. [read more...]

Plug-In Profit Site - Complete Money Making Site Setup FREE!
Follow 3 Easy Steps And I'll Build A New Money-Making Website That's 100% Ready To Pull In Automatic Profits Just For You! [click here to learn more...]

Success University
Would YOU Like To Be Earning $1,600 - $3,200 Per Month in 180 DAYS OR LESS by Simply GIVING AWAY a $1,949 Product? [click here to learn more...]

Retired? Unemployed? Laid-Off, or Insufficient Income?
Start your own Internet business from home. Build residual and leveraged income to create real wealth. World Wide Income System that REALLY WORKS! All it needs is you. FREE Training and support, websites and products all provided! - ZERO RISK! [click here to learn more...]

The Warrior Master Mind
Since 1997 My Ideas Have Produced Multi-Millions Of Dollars In Profits For Unknown And Guru Internet Marketers Alike. I Know What's Holding You Back... It's Time To Expose It. [click here to learn more...]

Can you REALLY earn big money online?
You know you can't get rich quick, or everybody would be doing it. But you CAN use the power of the Internet to earn a substantial income, no matter what business you're in! [click here to learn more...]

The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on The Internet
Discover How A 21-Year-Old Inner City Kid Makes Over $14,798.33 Per Month His First Year On The Internet, Using This Proven, Easy-To-Follow, Step-By-Step System. [click here to learn more...]

Secrets to Their Success Private Site
These People are Making $30,000 to $2,000,000 each year with their Internet Home-Businesses — Hear Their Stories and Learn How They Did It... [click here to learn more...]

Search Marketing Lab
How Much More Money Would You Make With An Extra 15,650 Visitors Flocking To Your Website Each Month?"  [click here to learn more...]

Internet Entrepreneur Club
This Team of Internet Experts Has Made Over $60 Million on the Internet... Now, They'll Help Grow YOUR Business For Less Cost Than Your Daily Coffee! [click here to learn more...]

The Insider Secrets to Email Marketing
Watch your income magically snowball with the SAME strategies I used to earn $291,756.42 and attract 44,901 new subscribers -- in the last 30 days alone! [click here to learn more...]

The Insider Secrets Of An eBay Millionaire
Learn how a REGULAR guy from Nebraska made over $8,000,000 in just one year selling everyday items on eBay... [click here to learn more...]

Warp Speed Wealth
The Freedom Income System That Can Totally Change Your Life in Three Months... or Even Faster!  [click here to learn more...]

Blogging For Dollars
Learn how a FREE technology currently allows you to "jump the line" and claim a #1 ranking in Google, Yahoo, MSN, and more! [click here to learn more...]

Mailloop Business Automation Software
Imagine, just for a minute... It's 90 days from now, and your sales have increased by 242%... you've made $80,000 from a SINGLE e-mail campaign... and best of all, you're working LESS than ever before!
[click here to learn more...]

eBook Pro
Watch a RAGING STAMPEDE of qualified buyers -- potentially 1,000's of fresh, new visitors -- storm your website, rabidly buying up every product in sight... And to trigger this buying frenzy, you just give away a FREE GIFT that won't cost you a single penny! [click here to learn more...]

AssocTRAC Affiliate Management Solution
Discover how we recruited a sales force of OVER 70,000+ affiliates who sent us $3.2 Million in business last year alone! …PLUS, learn how you can get $1,000's in FREE advertising on high-traffic web sites… with ZERO risks or costs! [click here to learn more...]

Desktop Marketer
A Hot New Technology Has Proven You Can Easily Drive 1,000s More Visitors And Convert 56% Of Your Website Traffic Into SALES! [click here to learn more...]

Great Domainia
Get your .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz domains now at GreatDomainia! [click here to learn more...]

International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs
Has your home business stalled? Mine is going great, because I use a tool that can jump-start a home business to success! [click here to learn more...]

Mining Gold
Who Else Wants to Be Part of a 'Test Group' to Try a No-Brainer, Proven, Foolproof 15-Day Plan to Make at Least $1,000.00? [click here to learn more...]

Get wireless for less!
All phones. All plans. All carriers. All the time. [click here to learn more...]

Honey, I Fired The Boss
How 10 average men and women escaped the rat race and found financial freedom working for themselves. [click here to learn more...]