The Start Line - Search Engines

Charles Kettering said:
"Believe & Act as if it were impossible to fail"






The Start Line section covers 'Boosting Traffic to your site' & includes the following 9 topics:

1. How to use Search Engines to Boost Traffic
2. How to use Blog Track-Backs
3. Simple Guidelines to Increase Traffic
4. How to Promote your Blog
5. Link-Building Guidelines
6. Linkbuilding vs Linkbaiting
7. Linkbait Blogposting Ideas
   
8. Guest Blogging
9. How to Guest Blog

Ok, first up is SEARCH ENGINE: the idea is to help the search engines find this site by letting them know where this site is!

So, what now?
# I need to submit my BLOG URL to some of the search engines such as:

• Google
• Yahoo
• Technorati
• The Open Directory
• MSN's Live Search

Ok, starting with Google, navigate to the Google site, add your URL & comments and then hit the go button!!

I'm done with Google

Now Yahoo - go to the Yahoo site & paste in your URL - I'm all done!!

Next, Technorati - now i already have a Technorati account - so head over to Technorati and get yourself a FREE account!! Once you have set up your account, you will need to 'claim' your BLOG.

Once you have your Technorati account just follow these steps

1. Go to BLOGGER CENTRAL in the menu bar - far right-hand-side
   
2. Click onto the PING tab
   
3. You should see a link that says: - Claim a new blog
4. Click the link & follow the instructions
5. Paste your URL & hit the Begin Claim button
6. Now your options are: Claim with OpenID or by writing a post
7. I use the writing a post - select this option & proceed to 'complete the claim'
   
8. To 'complete the claim': - they supply a code which you must 'post' on your blog
9. So, copy & past the code: Technorati Profile into your blog
   
10. This is how i do it:
    
1. I open up the layout of blogger
2. Go to add-a-gadget in the side-bar
3. a window pops up
4. I scroll down & select HTML/Java [+ button]
5. The i paste the code into the box, i add a title
6. Then i save & hit the view BLOG button
7. You should see a Technorati Profile link in the side-bar
8. Head back to the Technorati site & hit the Complete Claim button & you should be done!!
   
11. Now fill in details about your blog - a description, some key words or tags
    
12. Grab some code down the bottom of that page & paste it to your site!
13. Not only have you claimed your blog, but you have pinged it as well!!
    

Thats done!!

Now the Open Directory
Go to the Open Directory & follow the instructions

1. Read the instructions before you proceed
2. Head to the side bar and hit the 'submit a site' button
3. This is going to take more time to investigate!!

One hour later.....
This is what i found out about Open Directory:

1. Go to the Open Directory Site
   
2. This is the Categories Section - which you will need to come back to, but first. . .
   
3. You need to read the 'Submitting a Site' information:- so, hit the About dmoz tab in the menu
4. Hit the 'Submitting a site' link in the side-bar & read the instructions
5. Then, go to the Directory and select the category your site/blog will fit into
6. Once you have chosen the category, you will notice the Suggest a URL tab in the main menu - well, hit that link and follow the instructions
7. Once you have filled in all the information, hit the 'submit' button & you are done!!
   

Once your site has been accepted into the Open Directory, 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, such as AOL Search, AltaVista, HotBot, Google, Lycos, Netscape Search, etc.


That was a huge job - now, the last thing to do is go to MSN's Live Search and see what that does

At first glance this is a lot easier than the Open Directory!!

1. Just add your URL & press the submit button - simple as that!!

Now that was a matter of minutes - or rather 01'

So, thats the first part - submitting this site to search engines to boost traffic!!

NEXT: i will have a look at item number 2: Backtracks!!!

Urban