PDA

View Full Version : listing your website on search engines



huggytree
01-07-2010, 12:02 PM
at a networking meeting yesterday there was a website guy who talked about being listed on different search engines....i learned a few new places i wasnt listed.

Bing...i never even heard of it and found out its very popular.

Getlisted.org......helps you get listed everywhere...

everytime i find new places to get my business listed i find out alot of my competition is already there...either they have better webdesigners or have a person who spends time searching for new places...

Patrysha
01-07-2010, 01:40 PM
Bah! You had me excited for a minute with the Get Listed site....of course it's US only so irrelevant for me.

Bing is just a search engine though...wouldn't you get in on there through standard SEO? I'm on there on the first page for a couple of my keywords (I really, really need to work on that) and I haven't done anything.

billbenson
01-07-2010, 03:58 PM
I think Huggy is talking about business listings which I know nothing about.

For the regular SERP listings they will find you and prefer you don't submit to them in many cases including Google. Don't sign up for anything that keeps relisting your site. It could hurt you and Google specifically says not to use one in particular in their T's and C's.

Harold Mansfield
01-07-2010, 04:41 PM
at a networking meeting yesterday there was a website guy who talked about being listed on different search engines....i learned a few new places i wasnt listed.

Bing...i never even heard of it and found out its very popular.

Getlisted.org......helps you get listed everywhere...

everytime i find new places to get my business listed i find out alot of my competition is already there...either they have better webdesigners or have a person who spends time searching for new places...

Bing is the old Microsoft search engine (MSN) redesigned and containing what ever they partnered up with Yahoo on. If you were listed in MSN, you are listed in Bing.

Here is my feeling on getting listed in Search Engines...Just about every search engine in the world feeds off of Google, Yahoo, and Bing..in that order. If you are in Google, you are going to be everywhere else eventually and now it's much quicker than it used to be.

It's not so much if you are listed, or indexed, it's how you well rank in that index...IOW, How strong is your SEO. Different SE's use different parameters with how they rank a website so your SEO has to appeal to each of them.

Being listed in a Directory is completely different than a Search Engine.

Directories for the most part are closed business listings, such as The Yellow Pages online. There are probably tons of Directories that you aren't in but how many of them really matter?

I can see paying for that (The Yellow Pages), but there is no reason to pay to be listed in Search engines...it's pretty much automatic that you will be indexed with even the simplest of SEO in Google (who controls 80% of the worlds internet search traffic anyway).

Many smaller SE's are just using Google's algorithm anyway.

If you find a Search Engine that you aren't listed in and you think you need to be, most of them have a website submit, just search for it.

Just remember, Directories are not Search Engines..at least not in the way that people use them. You can't SEO your way to the top of a directory, you have to pay for it.

vangogh
01-07-2010, 05:33 PM
huggy I assume you're talking about the local listings and not the general search engine index. Google's local listing is their Google Maps section. Bing is just the new Microsoft search engine that used to be called Live Search and before that MSN Search.

Both Bing and Yahoo have local listings like Google. There are also a variety of other sites that offer local search like the Yellow Pages. There are also sites like Yelp which can list your business and show customer reviews.

What it sounds like you're looking for is local seo, which is seo with a focus on local searches. There's more to it than just being listed, but being listed is naturally a first step.

Harold Mansfield
01-07-2010, 06:11 PM
huggy I assume you're talking about the local listings and not the general search engine index. Google's local listing is their Google Maps section. Bing is just the new Microsoft search engine that used to be called Live Search and before that MSN Search.

Both Bing and Yahoo have local listings like Google. There are also a variety of other sites that offer local search like the Yellow Pages. There are also sites like Yelp which can list your business and show customer reviews.

What it sounds like you're looking for is local seo, which is seo with a focus on local searches. There's more to it than just being listed, but being listed is naturally a first step.

Ahhh! That makes more sense. Yes local search is another animal all together and very competitive.
Of course there are bound to be other businesses listed. It has nothing to do with the guy who designed your website, although most web guys will provide some kind of basic SEO if you give them the proper parameters (they should have at least asked)...which sounds like you didn't know at the time, so you probably just need some fine tuning.

huggytree
01-08-2010, 09:35 PM
i understand about 1/2 of what you are all saying....

when i type my company name in on Bing I dont come up on their map...every other plumber in my area does...it could cost me 1 job a year at best, but why not be there..

I was told Bing was as popular as Google...i was just suprised i had never heard of it..sounds like you are all saying its not that popular...could be a local thing

MrGamma
01-08-2010, 09:45 PM
at a networking meeting yesterday there was a website guy who talked about being listed on different search engines....i learned a few new places i wasnt listed.

Bing...i never even heard of it and found out its very popular.

Getlisted.org......helps you get listed everywhere...

everytime i find new places to get my business listed i find out alot of my competition is already there...either they have better webdesigners or have a person who spends time searching for new places...

You're right. Bing is actually doing quite well in North America. I actually use it most of the time as it's image search is way better than Googles. I do return to Google every now and then when I feel that I have not found what I am looking for, but for the most part I am finding things which I otherwise would not find without Bing. Go Figure.

Most websites I know of get only small percentage of traffic from Bing, but there are some which get upto 30% of their traffic from it.

In either event... if the MSN crawler is not on your website, take the time and manually add the domain to submit an url option, otherwise you're just missing out on traffic, plain and simple.

http://www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx

That being said, Yahoo still returns traffic to websites as well. Also... it's a good idea to check to see if your listed in Bing if you know your being crawled by the MSN crawler. Getting into Google's listings is alot easier than getting into Bings. Bing is not as "fault tolerant", for a lack of a better term.

Steve B
01-08-2010, 10:48 PM
Does anyone know how to sign up for Bing's sponsored listings? I looked and looked and can't figure it out.

billbenson
01-08-2010, 11:43 PM
Huggy what you want are the local listing applications for the various search engines. I don't know a lot about local listings, but the links below appear to be where you go for Google and Bing. I'd defer to VG as I think he is more familiar with this stuff. Just don't confuse the standard listings with the local ones.

I think we all think that Bing will be a big player in the search engine arena. They are new, but very agressive and a joint venture between Yahoo and MS which isn't to be taken lightly.

This thread has mixed standard search engine results with local listing results and is somewhat confusing. Just be sure you are looking at a response regarding local listings as that was your question.


http://www.google.com/local/add/analyticsSplashPage?gl=US&hl=en-US

https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

Steve B
01-08-2010, 11:49 PM
I figured out how to get to the sponsored listings. I signed up.

HT - I think the sponsored listings is what you want. In Google it's also called "adwords" or "pay per click" advertising. This puts you right at the top - you only pay for it when someone clicks on your ad. This is a huge part of my marketing effort and one of the only things that works well consistently. These are the ads at the top (or on the right side of the page) that are in a special shaded area. It's by far the best way to go for a company that only services in a small area because you can specify that you only want to show up when people click on you from certain geographical areas (either by zip code, city name, or you can even draw a map).

Give me a call or send me a PM - I think I can help you a lot on this one.

Paper Shredder Clay
01-13-2010, 05:42 PM
The only major search engines that matter are Google, Yahoo, and Bing in the United States and Baidu in China, correct?

eguynth
02-05-2010, 12:53 AM
Bing is the same old msn or live, just a bit better. Im already ranking better on it. but not much of a traffic from it :(

SEOHelp
09-27-2010, 02:48 PM
Most people today - when seeking out products, services or information - turn to the web. And, if your business is not right up there at the top of the search listing - they will never find your business - regardless of how good your products and information is.
To that note, you have to start from day one with your marketing efforts. That way, it will be ingrained in every decision that you make as you go forward. If you want people to find your business online and off - you really have to prefect your online and offline marketing efforts as soon as possible.
Trust me - I spent years building my business first then working on trying to market it online - and got no where. But, when I started my last business and focused on marketing from the very beginning, I finally found the success I was working so hard for.

Local Trifecta
09-27-2010, 11:05 PM
Just to be clear this is exactly what I do. There is a growing movement towards "Local" internet marketing. Essentially for brick and mortar businesses this is critical to getting into the search engine results for local terms. Google reported there are over 2 BILLION local searches PER MONTH. Most of the material available is US based but I have a fair bit of Canadian as well if anyones interested. The core players would be getlisted.org which is run by David Mihm the current guru on the subject.

If you have a brick and mortar business the best place to start is entering your business profile in Yahoo, Google, and Bing maps. Once you get listed in the maps you still need to optimize your profile and get "citations" or links from other credible sites.

This is easily the best reading resource you can have - Local Search Ranking Factors | Local SEO Best Practices for Google, Bing, Yahoo (http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml)

Enjoy!

vangogh
09-28-2010, 02:26 AM
Great post to link to. I think I've pointed to it a few times myself. David Mihm has been specializing in local seo, since before there was a local seo.

There's definitely an opportunity in local for brick and mortar businesses who really don't need to rank well outside their local community. I think one of the best aspects is you should only be competing locally, which eliminates so much of the competition for ranking. And when you consider many of your local competitors haven't caught on to seo yet, there's an opportunity to get an early head start on many of them.


Most people today - when seeking out products, services or information - turn to the web

I can't even remember the last time I opened a phone book. I always start my search with a search online. If you don't have a website you probably aren't getting my business. Admittedly I spent more time online than most, but there's no question more and more people turn to the web first and that will only continue to increase.

Patrysha
09-28-2010, 09:47 AM
Especially with all the internet connected smart phones out there...so people are now not only checking things out from home but on the go now too. I know I'm getting a lot more interest in the past three months than in the past seven years that I've been promoting and pushing local business sites for small business owners.

vangogh
09-30-2010, 12:46 PM
Very true. In fact we're probably more likely to be searching locally when using our phones so it's something to pay attention to more, especially as more and more people are buying and using smart phones.

On a related note would you believe the iPad is now #4 on the list of operating systems used to access my site? 2 percent of all traffic to my site now visits using an iPad. That may not sound like a lot, but it's be increasing very quickly since it launched and it's about half the traffic that uses Linux.

greenoak
09-30-2010, 01:01 PM
thanks trifecta, im going to ck with my web person and make sure we are on those...never heard of bing.....
and we are very local..
ann

Business Attorney
10-01-2010, 12:48 AM
After you mentioned it, I checked Google Analytics and in the last 30 days almost 1,000 visits to my LLC website came from mobile devices and about 20 percent of those were from the iPad. I really would not have thought many people would be doing that kind of research from their mobile devices. Restaurants, music, entertainment sites, news sites, weather - I can see all those. But LLCs? Nah, it can't be. Can it?

Business Attorney
10-01-2010, 12:51 AM
...never heard of bing.....

Formerly known as Live, formerly known as MSN Search. According to the Nielsen Company, bing has passed Yahoo! as the #2 search engine in the United States, but still far behind Google.

vangogh
10-04-2010, 12:02 PM
about 20 percent of those were from the iPad

I've been watching iPad traffic the last few months and it's been steadily increasing. I have no doubt the same will happen with the next wave of tablets that hits the market. As an iPad owner I can tell you I use it a reasonable amount to surf the web and it's not always for entertainment. The browsing experience is just as good and sometimes better than on my laptop.


...never heard of bing.....

Ann I'm surprised you haven't see the commercials. Have you seen the ones where people start staring blankly into space repeating useless facts. Then the commercial mentions something about how search has overloaded us with information before pointing to Bing as a decision engine instead of a search engine.

Harold Mansfield
10-04-2010, 12:39 PM
I didn't know the iPad was selling that much. Does it show actual iPad numbers or Safari mobile or Apple hand held devices in general?

vangogh
10-06-2010, 11:42 AM
Google Analytics shows iPad under operating systems. Safari on the iPad will sometimes identify itself as Safari and sometimes as Mozilla compatible, but the operating system does show as iPad. I've also seen things like Xbox and PlayStation listed, though only a few here and there. The numbers visiting my site dropped a little bit in the past day or two as a couple of posts that drew a lot of traffic for a day moved to the previous month. The iPad dropped to a little over 1.5 percent from the just under 2 percent I reported above. The numbers have been steadily growing though since it's debut. I'm sure it's going to pass Linux as the #3 operating system visiting my site within a few months.

I read an article this morning (on my iPad :) ) how the iPad is selling at a faster rate than any other electronic product in history. It's selling 4.5 million units per quarter (the iPhone sold 1 million per quarter initially for comparison). At the current rate it will pass game consoles as a product category and become #4 after tvs, smart phones, and laptops.

Harold Mansfield
10-06-2010, 12:14 PM
I read an article this morning (on my iPad :) ) how the iPad is selling at a faster rate than any other electronic product in history. It's selling 4.5 million units per quarter (the iPhone sold 1 million per quarter initially for comparison). At the current rate it will pass game consoles as a product category and become #4 after tvs, smart phones, and laptops.

I have to say the product placement is through the roof. I have seen the iPad placed in more T.V. shows, news stories, and movies that any other product of recent years. It seems to be everywhere. Although last night I was watching NCIS and the pad they were using looked like the upcoming Blackberry pad, so it appears that a product war is emerging that is going to be huge this fall.
Can't wait. This year is the best for new technology that I have seen in a long time. Very exciting.

Spider
10-06-2010, 12:22 PM
I'm generally not into the latest and greatest - preferring to wait a year until the bugs have been ironed out on everyone else. But I must admit I think I will have an iPad before year end.

vangogh
10-06-2010, 04:06 PM
Harold I notice a lot of Apple logos when I see a laptop on tv. Not always, but often. Sometimes it's something generic. It's the wave of advertising. Instead of running a commercial you pay to have the characters use your products. 40 years ago is someone was drinking a soda on tv the can would either be blank, have soda printed on the label, or have a fictional name on the label. Today the can will display either the Coke or Pepsi logo.

Frederick have you been to one of the Apple stores to play with an iPad? A few minutes using one will tell you a lot. The only downside to playing with them at the store is they won't have the specific apps you probably want.

I won't tell you it's a perfect device. Both it and the apps for it need to improve, but I find myself using my iPad more and more all the time.

Just so you know generation 2 is expected sometime in the first quarter of 2011. I'm guessing late March or early April since that's when the first one came out and Apple tends to be consistent in the time of year products are released. If you can hold out a few extra months you might want to wait for version 2. Then again you'll likely be able to sell version 1 on eBay. My brother actually made a profit on his last iPhone after a year of use.

rdcclu
10-13-2010, 04:07 PM
Huggytree--

I see from your web site that you are a plumber.

You are asking about getting listed on search engines like Bing. The way to do that is:
1. Do extensive research on the most-searched for keywords in your market with the least amount of competing pages. Once you have found the top few, geo-target them by putting Mukwonago (your town) or Wisconsin in front of plumbing (or whatever the keyword is).
2. Write, or have written articles that are optimized for that one keyword. Put these up on your site, submit to article directories, make a video out of them and put up on YouTube. This is a topic all to itself.
3. This is the first step in getting your site to show up in the major search engines.

In addition to that, go read vangogh's post again.

I would add that you not only want to get a listing on Google Places, but there are 25+ other directories where you can also submit your listing. Yelp, MerchantCircle, Angies List (good for businesses like plumbers) are a couple. The rest are not hard to find.

Your goal is to come up in the top 8 on the Google Places map. Having very complete and keyword optimized listings in all the directories is the first step. Then you want to focus on getting reviews from all your satisfied customers as reviews are one of the highest important ranking factors.

kdhbmh77
10-13-2010, 11:29 PM
No longer do you have to submit your site to the search engines like you used to. They (Google, Yahoo, Bing) are all good at finding your site fairly quickly and getting it indexed. There are some things you can do outside your site that sometimes get my clients sites indexed quicker. Twitter, Facebook, Mixx, Knol and some other Social Media sites get indexed so frequently that posting in them is a good idea to speed up indexing.

SiteSciences
10-28-2010, 06:49 PM
Typically, to get listed on a major search engine, you need to have at least one external link to your page.

A great resource for webmasters are:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/
https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

These tools allow you a better view of how the search engines are viewing your pages, whether or not there's a crawl error, etc.

You can also monitor who's linking to you. You'll notice they both show different link amounts - Yahoo will show all links pointing to your website; Google's tools lists what it deems the most important ones.

If you'd like to find out how recently Google's been to your website, do a Google search: cache:yourwebsite.com

Finally, submitting your site to key directories will substantially help your site rank better in search engines. The Google Directory is directly based on DMOZ.org which has more influence than any other directory online. Yahoo has their own directory where you can pay for guaranteed inclusion.

Hope that helps!


------------------------
SiteSciences Internet Marketing (http://www.sitesciences.com/internet-marketing/) | Houston SEO (http://www.sitesciences.com/houston-seo/)

greenoak
10-29-2010, 07:10 AM
we arent very aware of bing either...heard about it here a while back, but i never see it online.and dont watch tv with commercials much, so i never saw them there............but i went to their site and we come up 3rd in the bing search.... antiques indiana....so i take it they got it from google..so i dont need to do anything, right? ....im interested in local and what more i can do there too...
huggy, maybe
its how long youve been online.....maybe you will naturally show up later....a guess...we have been online a long time and we are on bing with no specific bing effort...
p.s. in rereading this thread...i used a link in bills post and got us on google maps..... so much good info on here!!!

takingyouforward
12-09-2010, 06:01 AM
How to get listed in search engine? One thing you should search in the top search engine if your website is exist. If is not yet listed, you should submit your website on their add listing site. I think it takes 24 hours to be crawled in their Spider/Robots. Once you found the good placement in the search query, create a sitemap. Sitemap page and sitemap webmaster tool are different. Submit your sitemap in webmaster tool.

954SEO
01-15-2011, 03:03 PM
This is a great thread, and its interesting to see how popular it has become as of late. Google and other major SEs are focusing searches more towards local areas anyhow, not just through maps and listings but organic searches also.

We have been receiving conversions from customers who have found us on their smart phones. As more and more searches are done by phone, its important to be listed for web AND mobile devices.

954SEO
01-15-2011, 03:05 PM
Also forgot to mention, very important local search ranking factors are 1) the location of your server 2) the domain ending 3) business address listing 4) WHOIS domain owner information and 5) location in content or domain name if possible