Search Engines

Here is a list of the major search engines to which we can submit your Web site address. Each one has different rules and ways of adding your URL (domain name) to their list. Typically, you have to look for a link that says "Submit URL" or "Add URL" to get to the directions.

Quick Picks

LookSmart Network
Go to LookSmart.com and click on "Submit a Site" link near top of page
$299 Express Submit
Get your submission reviewed in 2 business days, but still no guarantee that you'll be included (likely though). If approved, your site is listed in the search directories of MSN, AltaVista, Excite, CNN, iWon, Juno and more than 370 ISPs.

Yahoo $299 Business Express
(annual fee) Required for commercial listings but available for any site. Guarantees that your site will be considered by Yahoo editors within 7 business days. Since summer 2001, this has become an annual fee to stay in Yahoo.

Open Directory Project FREE If your site is accepted, it may take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months for your site to be listed on partner sites which use the Open Directory data

An overview article by Search Engine Watch on submitting to Directories: Yahoo. LookSmart and Open Directory.

First, if you don't want to submit to each site individually, I recommend submitting your site at DMOZ, the Open Directory Project.

Open Directory Project: Submitting here requires that you pick a specific category for your site (such as Health/Medicine/Surgery/Neurosurgery -- note the levels of nesting). How to figure out what category to use? Perhaps locate your main competitor and use that category, too. You can resubmit here after 3 weeks if you're still not listed. Sites using this directory include: All the Web - AltaVista - Deja - Google - HotBot - Infoseek - Lycos - Northern Light - Yahoo Getting listed here means also may show up on the following search engines: AOL Search, Alta Vista, Ask Jeeves, and Netscape Search.
DirectNIC.com also offers a free submit service if you have an account with them (if you registered your domain name here, which is a good deal for only $15/year), but no guarantees about how long it will take or if the submission will result in a listing. You can use their list however, to go to each search engine directly.
All the Web: Uses the DMOZ (see #1) but you can submit here, too, if you really want to.
AltaVista Look for the the Submit a Site button at the bottom. Add your URL only, without the "www."
Excite Look for the Add URL button at the bottom. Excite offers a free search index (with no guarantee), as well as Basic Submit for $99 that promises to review your site for inclusion within 8 weeks. Add your URL, your email address (create one just for submitting to avoid junk mail), and select a category that best describes your site. (Same as Webcrawler). Under new management, it now appears that you must join as an Excite member to get to the home page.
Galaxy -- offers review within 30 days for $49, 10 days for $99, or free submission with no guarantee
Google First go to About Google, then look for Add URL. Enter your full URL, including the http:// prefix. For example: http://www.google.com/. You may also add comments or keywords that describe the content of your page. These are used only for Google's information and do not affect how your page is indexed or used by Google. Yahoo uses the Google directory for many of its categories, so submitting to Google is one way to also appear in Yahoo.
HotBot -- look for the Submit Website button on the left. Avoid signing up for lots of info sent to you by email. This is part of the Lycos network. You can also submit into the Hotbot Directory at http://hotbot.lycos.com
LookSmart - You can submit a site for $149 as a Basic Submit and an 8-week review wait, or pay $299 for Express Submit with a guarantee review in 2 business days. Non-Profits can submit for free with an 8 week review period -- as long as you can prove you're non-profit . This is exactly the same as the MSN Network.

The "free" submission is the LookSmark/MSN Web Directory, a category-based browsable directory that enables users to find Web sites by subject. Once there, click on the "read more" after you read the first explanation of this option.
NBCi -- you have to become a member first, and you must also pick a category for your site.
Netscape - You have to become a member of the Netscape Netcenter before you can submit your site for free or with the express submit plan.
NorthernLight go to http://northernlight.com/docs/regurl_help.html or look for Register a Site under the User Information heading. Add your URL, name and email address. Below on this page is a description of how their Gulliver webcrawler works.
Snap is now NBCi.com and you must join to get listed in the directory.
Yahoo has a Business Express Program for $299 which promises to review your site for inclusion within 7 days. If you want to submit for free, you must first select the specific category and it must be non-commercial.
Microsoft MSN Network (FYI: is associated with WebMD) Exactly the same as LookSmart.

You Can Pay for Submitting, But no Guarantee

These sites offer programs that will submit to many search engines and maintain them for a period of time for a fee. A word of caution, however, there is no guarantee of placement.

Add Me http://www.addme.com

Submit It http://www.submit-it.com

Web Promote http://www.webpromote.com

Virtual Promote http://www.virtualpromote.com

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