Re: Search Engine Promotions
PRAMOD KUMAR <pramod_at_hwr.bhel.co.in> WROTE:
> Search Engines are being commercialized these days.
> Yahoo, LookSmart, and NBCi are making headlines.
> Presently, I feel that one good point is that Express
> Submission does not influence the ranking. But the days
> are numbered when paid ranking will also be there.
>
> There are hundreds of ways for them to make money.
> Should ranking in Search Engines not be kept away from
> money?
TO WHICH ANTHONY BOWERS REPLIED:
> Paid ranking is already here. The best example I can
> think of is Goto. Their results are used by a lot of
> other search engines and directories. Personally I
> don't think paid ranking is a bad thing.
I think there is room for both. I would certainly hate
to see all search engines rank purely on the basis of
paid placement, but the Google and GoTo methods of
letting people know that those are paid placements are
no different than paid ads and a lot more effective
than banners in my experience.
If you have a small ad budget and the right products,
GoTo is hands down the most cost effective advertising
that I know of. It seems to work best for low priced
items with mass appeal. The next best thing in our
experience is targeted e-mail newsletter sponsorships
or ads.
> If we look at the express submission for Yahoo and
> Looksmart, the first thing that strikes us is "no
> guarantee", on top of this if your site is rejected you
> still have to pay the submission fee. Also you are at
> the mercy of the categories that are already in place.
> Although I think you can ask for a category to be
> added... if you dare!!
The GoTo paid placement is in an entirely different
category than LookSmart and Yahoo pay to have this site
reviewed program. (Have you noticed that Yahoo now
requires the "express submission" for sites listed in
"Business & Economy?") But here I will side again with
the search engine. While we all feel that our sites are
worthwhile, there is a lot of junk out there. Directory
staff can spend a lot of time looking at sites with
broken links, carbon copy site pyramid scams, etc. When
a person pays a couple hundred to have the site
reviewed he/she is more likely to pay attention to
submission criteria.
Miki Dzugan
MARKnETING
Integrating the 'net into your marketing.
http://www.markneting.com
651-454-5323
Received on Mon Feb 05 2001 - 20:52:24 CST
