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Introduction
One of the most frequently asked questions I've seen in webpage building newsgroups is, "Why doesn't my page show up in the search engines?" To help I've compiled what I hope is some useful information about getting listed at some of the major search engines. While this page was originally put together for people who have homepages at web communites like GeoCities, Worldnet, Tripod, and others, these suggestions may be helpful no matter where you are on the Internet. You can learn a lot about how the search engines work just by spending time at them and submitting your pages.
Disclaimer: These are merely suggestions to help you get listed at various search engines. I cannot guarantee that any of this will work. Any search engine or directory may not accept any submission for a variety of reasons.
General Information
Build a good site! Don't submit your site until you feel it is ready. Focus on a single topic. If you have a site about poetry, dog grooming and the Rolling Stones, your site will probably get lost in the search engines. Make your site the best you can. Avoid long downloads, especially on the main page. Make it easy to get around and find your way back. Repair all broken links. Update often. Use meta tags and a descriptive title. Site maps are helpful to your visitors and search engines.
Proper Use of Meta Tags
It's a good idea to have proper "keyword" and "description" meta tags on your webpage for the search engines that use them. For more information on meta tags or if you don't know what they are, click on this link: A more in-depth look at meta tags
Your Title Counts
Yes, it matters what you put between the title tags on your main page(s). If you have a U2 page, don't put something like "My PopMart Photo Page" as the title. Use "Photos from U2's PopMart Shows" instead. Otherwise your page may get overlooked if someone uses "U2" as a keyword in their search, or your page may end up further down the list of all the U2 sites. Also, the search engines generally list your page under your chosen title so think about how you want someone to see your page if they find it in a search engine. Do you want someone to see "Bill's Cool U2 Page"? Or "A Complete History of U2's PopMart Tour"? Be descriptive.
The Major Search Engines
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