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Most-Important Directories & Engines
New or Revised Search Engines
Submission Services & Software
Coaching from Earl: Getting into the major engines is necessary and also competitive, not to mention costly.
Getting into the free engines & directories then becomes very important, as well as getting listed in
any niche engines & directories that match the contents and-or intended market of your website
– such as the non-English-language engines and the others included on Earl's pages.
Getting into the Google database is easy, the difficulty is getting a high ranking.
Several no-cost methods exist for raising the ranking of your webpages, which include keywords, reciprocal links,
and spending a little time getting into a few major or minor search engines or directories, as on this site.
S T A T I S T I C S
Search engine global usage statistics for January 2018: Google was used for 74½% of online searches; Bing for only 8% (down from 12¼%);
at this point the other search engines don't really matter, except maybe China's Baidu - for Chinese users.
Google is also dominating the mobile/tablet search engine market share with 93%!
Search engine global usage statistics for October 2015: Google was used for 69¼% of online searches; Bing for 12¼%;
Yahoo for 9.2%; China's Baidu for 6½%; A.O.L. for 1.1%; Ask for 0.24%; with Lycos & Excite each showing zero usage.
Search statistics for May 2012: Google handled 66.7 percent of searches; Bing was second with 15.4 percent
(vs. 14.1 percent a year ago); Yahoo was third with 13.4 percent (vs. 15.9 percent a year ago);
Ask did 3 percent; and AOL did 1.5 percent.
Search statistics for March 2011: Google grew further to 78.5 percent of worldwide internet search inquiries;
Bing moved to second place with 9.14 percent; Yahoo! dropped to third with 9.1 percent;
Ask dropped to 1.7 percent; AOL dropped to 1.5 percent; all other engines are a negligible 0.02 percent.
As-of April 2011, Bing now has 30 percent of the U.S. search market.
Search statistics for August 2009: Google handled almost 71 percent of internet search inquiries;
Yahoo! placed a distant second with 17.2%; Microsoft's new Bing engine is already receiving 8.58%;
Ask placed fourth with 2.4%– and in fifth place is Everybody Else with a teeny 0.92 percent.
Search statistics for April 2008: The comScore Core Search Report Rankings showed
Google Sites at the top with 61.6%, Yahoo! Sites second with 20.4%, MSN-Microsoft third at 9.1%,
AOL/TimeWarner at 4.6%, Ask Network at 4.3%
– Note that this statistic looks at only the top five engines.
Search statistics for December 2005: The latest comScore qSearch Search Engine Rankings showed
Google at the top with 36.5%, Yahoo! second with 30.5%, MSN-Microsoft third & steady at 15.5%,
AOL/TimeWarner down at 9.9%, Ask Jeeves at 6.1%, InfoSpace at a mere 0.9%
– leaving the All Other category with only 0.6%.
Search statistics for December 2003: Web search traffic stats showed the following rankings:
Google handled 35%, Yahoo! sites handled 27%, AOL/TimeWarner sites handled 16%,
Microsoft sites handled 15% – leaving only 7% for all the other search engines.
Most-Important Directories & Engines
![bing decision engine from Microsoft [est 6/2009]](logos/BINGlogo.jpg) | The bing decision engine was launched by Microsoft in June 2009 as a replacement for Live Search & MSN Search; plans were announced in July 2009 to make bing the new engine for Yahoo! Search. The site rapidly gained market share, in third place with roughly 11% of search engine traffic (per Nielsen Research, 9/2009) and by 2012 was second place with 15.4%. In early 2013, Bing launched Bing Rewards to incentivize more traffic; searching on Bing produces Reward Points, which are redeemable for major gift cards, movie, downloads, etc. |
quick & free add domain
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| Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales set out to establish 'an open source search engine with user-editable search results', with tentative names Wikia or Wikisari or WikiAsari. (Contrary to some reports, Amazon was not involved in the development.) The new search site went online in 2007, and officially launched in January 2008; but the software was not popular, and was merged into WikiAnswers.com in March 2009. (Answers.com acquired the FAQ Farms site in 2006 and developed it into this user-generated knowledge component of their database.) |
you can ask questions at any time; to answer or modify requires free account sign-in | ||
 
| The Open Directory Project was started in June 1998 and is run by Netscape; O.D.P. is a primary database for All the Web/Lycos, AltaVista, Deja, Google, HotBot, AOL, Yahoo! and scores of others. O.D.P. requires you to locate the category that each page belongs in, then apply to be included; each page can be suggested to more than one Category. Review by an editor can take a minimum of 6 weeks for approval or disapproval, with many categories having a backlog of months and even years. Very much worth the effort, however, since the result of inclusion in O.D.P. is much visibility of your site's pages: Page Rank is usually an 8. | instructions | ||
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Yahoo! was always tough to get into, but worth the attempt, since it was the world's most popular internet directory and its database was used by many other engines. In February 2004, Yahoo! quit using Google and switched over to using Inktomi's database; they also used a very busy spider named Slurp.
Then in 2009, Yahoo! switched to the Bing search database, so that inclusion on Bing (simple but tedious) adds you to results from the Yahoo! search site. | |||
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Google remains the most popular search engine, and while they use O.D.P., there is also an 'add URL' submission page. The Florida & Brandy updates of 2004 both tightened and expanded the displayed results. The Bourbon update was uploaded in June 2005, with an attempt to disrupt ranking less than the prior ones; the Jagger update of late 2005 factored in aged domains, 'very relevant links' & trusted sites. The Big Daddy update of March 2006 reduced the importance of linkfarms. The major Caffeine revision began in December 2009. Google's Penguin 1 & 2 & 3 updates took place in 2012, plus the Penguin 4 update in May 2013.
Google is a very simple & important submission: the spider checks your entire website from your entry of the domain URL. [Tip: For larger websites, it is best to specify major lower-level indexes/folders independently, as well, since spiders often time out.] Google owns 160 domains for national and regional search: | add site/URL via Google Search Console {requires signin}
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In late 2002, the database of Norway's Fast Search surpassed Google's in size, with 2.2 billion pages listed. When Yahoo! bought AllTheWeb and AltaVista in 2004, they switched to Yahoo!'s databases; speedy AllTheSites switched to Google in 2004; but in 2005, FindWhat and A.O.L. have signed contracts with FAST, which already partners with Intelliseek & LexisNexis. | |||
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In March 2004, Ask – also known as Ask Jeeves – announced that it was purchasing Interactive Search Holdings, owner of the Excite engine/portal, the iWon sweepstakes site, MyWay & MySearch, and MaxOnline. Their paid-for 'Site Submit' service was discontinued in August 2004; the 'how do I advertise?' link on that page leads to AJinteractive, which was merged into I.A.C. Advertising Solutions.
Present press material names InterActiveCorp as the owner of Ask Jeeves and the other brands above. (Ask Jeeves bought Teoma in September 2001.) Free submission to Ask was originally by email only; whether this works now is doubtful. Their Editorial Guidelines page now refers you to Teoma, which contains a Site Submit page (with an Ask Jeeves logo). This page also points to AJinteractive - link at right. The Ask Jeeves homepage link to 'Advertise' leads to pay-per-click info (minimum expected is $5,000 per month). |
for-pay ads | ||
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AltaVista had a cumbersome but free submission function with a too-short timeout and a maximum of five URLs. But since they were purchased in 2004 by Yahoo!, the options are now paid listings thru Overture or per-page submission to the free Yahoo! Directory. | |||
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Terra/Lycos gets millions of visitors per day, but you can no longer add your website to their database for free.
HotBot was connected to Lycos before March 2002 and submissions there were posted to the Inktomi directory; HotBot was relaunched January 2003, and still uses Inktomi, but submission is still thru the InSite for-fee, guaranteed service/s at Lycos only. And the links for free submission to Lycos Europe are now missing or broken; further investigation leads to EuroPages, a for-fee service. |
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Search.com – part of c|net – offers free submission to the eleven major engines that they pull data from, and reports which got thru. | |||
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Part of Jayde, the ExactSeek engine accepts free submission of the main index page of your website ONLY, and the spider captures only the <title> and <meta description> tags in the <head> section of that page. The basic listing submission proceeds to an Enhanced Listing page, where you can enter more info for the free enhancement. Their About page says plans are afoot to establish for-fee options, as well as an 'improved ranking' option in trade for a link or search-box on your site. |
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M.S.N. – MicroSoft Network, of course – ended their agreement with LookSmart in March 2004 and announced the implementation of a new 'algorithmic' search engine in July; beta implementation occurred Nov 2004, and full implementation Feb 2005. For a long time, the only means for inclusion was the for-fee service Submit-It.
Microsoft's launch of the bing decision engine in June 2009 replaced both Live Search & MSN Search; free URL submission is available. |
free add URL |
![WikiAnswers search engine [merged March 2009]](logos/wikianswers.jpg){kind=small}
Disclaimer Department: Remember that most engines make no guarantee for free inclusion; also, it is entirely your option whether to choose their for-fee service/s. Nor can Earl guarantee the accuracy or currency of every link, since "the search engine websites are subject to change without notice". Suggestions? Possible additions? Links gone bad? |
New or Revised Search Engines
![Zeekly private and secure search engine [online 9/2013]](logos/Zeekly-betawide.jpg "Zeekly private and secure search engine [online 9/2013]"){kind=small} | The free Zeekly search engine is advertised as private and secure, in that they store NO megadata history files – and thus cannot be mined by the N.S.A. or by court order; searcher access to their website is by login and '2048-Bit SSL Encryption' which also prevents the N.S.A. or anybody else from capturing your activity in real time while you are using cell phone, laptop or desktop computer, or any PDA or tablet. After their software was ready, they established the official website in July 2013, and are seeking funds thru IndieGoGo; they are also using the in-house ZeeklyBot to fill their indexes/directories (the add URL function is not yet available). An advertising program exists that shows ads for pay, with an affiliate {publisher) program that pays for showing such ads on your website. The company appears to be based in the Tampa, Florida area. | add URL not yet available | |
![Scour™ real-time ranking search engine [est. 2007]](logos/scour.gif "Scour™ real-time ranking search engine [est. 2007]") | Aftervote.com was founded in 2007, and one year later was acquired by Internext Media Corp. & ABCsearch and re-branded as Scour.com. Usage and voting (which earns points) alter the results rankings in real time, and homepage results refresh about every second; each search pulls from Google, MSN, Yahoo & LiveSearch (now Bing), with info from Twitter, Digg and other social networking sites (if rele-vant). Goodies include free toolbars; accumulated points can be redeemed via charge card or PayPal for about 250 points per dollar. | searches are based on Google & MSN & Yahoo & Bing databases | |
 | The new Mahalo site bills itself as 'the first human-powered search engine' (basically after the principle of the Wikipedia), and was established in June 2007. Posting requires free login; other functions include Mahalo Follow (search toolbar), Mahalo Social (networking), Mahalo Green-house (content guides, like on DMOZ, but for money), and the Mahalo Blog. (Mahalo is the Hawai'ian word for 'thank you'.} | adds require free login account | |
 | Hooja is a startup (public beta testing in early 2008) that bills itself as 'a hot new cell-to-web application'. | pre-launch sign up | |
 | Zepti.org is a new directory, based in Seattle, WA that is eager for submissions to their listings. The AddSite form requires a reciprocal link, and confirmation-by-human may take a day or two. | free add URL | |
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The SearchAllInOne engine meta-searches the Allthe-web, Altavista, AOL, HotBot, Lycos, MSN, Netscape & Yahoo databases. They provide a nifty box on the right with 'Grouped Results' (based on keywords), allowing you to quickly jump to a subset of the returned results.
Adding their search box (or other link) to your website gains you a free listing at the top of the results, for the keyword or phrase of your choice. |
reciprocal add-link info page | |
| The Hot vs. Not directory accepts free submissions, which are posted immediately (human review may result in removal if deemed inappropriate). As with most directories, you must 'drill down' to the proper category, then click on 'Suggest Site' or 'List Your Website'. The submission process includes nifty boxes to choose ten keywords from the <META keywords> of the specified page; however, there is no way to type in keywords directly. They provide the code for a required reciprocal link (which can be on a different page than the one submitted). Your email address is required, for a confirm/activate function. Each submission is put at the end of the category, and moves up based on popularity. [NOTE: The software currently prevents inclusion of more than one page: this may be corrected soon.] |
submission instructions | |
| Binkiland is a browser hijacker that calls itself a search engine. How it gets on your computer is thru seemingly legitimate installation of software that has been hacked — UNINSTALL Binkiland immediately! What Binkiland delivers instead is search results cribbed from Bing or Yahoo! and lots of dubious advertisements. {Binkiland entry at Wikipedia} |
Submission Services & Software
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SubmitWolf automates the process of promoting your web pages on the Internet and can dramatically increase the number of visitors going to your web site. The database is updated daily; MAC version 4.0 is available.
Trellian products & services include BeOnTop [search engine optimization & analysis tool], the MetaEditor [for HTML tags], Global Promote, the Keyword Analyzer, the Trellian Button Factory, eComm Pro [complete online business software], and the combined software package S.E.O. Toolkit. |
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NetMechanic's PowerPack includes 5 main functions: a keyword tool, a META tag generator, optimizer, submission tool, and a tracking tool – all for US$89 per year per domain. The Search Engine Starter submission tool included in Power Pack covers 100 engines and, although available as stand-alone software, the stand-alone price is $45 per year per PAGE. | |||
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Submit Express has three service categories: a nifty Free Submission to 40 search engines; a for-fee optimization service; and several for-fee programs. | 
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SubmitPlus offers three free services (Top Ten, Best 100, Site Testing) and three for-fee services (1000 Engines, Traffic Plus, Top Ten Positions) – starting at US$39. | |||
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VeriSign owns Network Solutions which operates the SureLink service to add your URL to the Inktomi database, which is used by AOL, iWon, MSN, HotBot, Overture and others. The year-long service includes 48-hour refresh, so that your most-recent updates are automatically posted. The first page URL costs US$39 per year, and further pages are US$25 per year. | 
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Please also visit the companion Nordell Bookstores Group sites
Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
& Maison d'Être Beatnik Coffeehouse
Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
'Readers of the Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
and the Nordell Bookstores Group Kindle Hardware & Content Page
U.S.A. / English / Webwide
top of this page •
A to F •
G to M •
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Meta-Search Engines Page
Non-USA but English •
French Language
European Engines •
Other Languages
Spanish & Portuguese Language
Topic-Specific & Misc. •
Biz/People Locators
Internal Search •
Research •
Social Networking
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| . . . last update ] |
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