INTERNET
Freeware/Shareware
These terms are used synonymously, and technically should not be! There are sites on the internet where you can download software programs. The Plug-ins above are examples, my Link List is devoted to Freeware/Shareware sites.
Freeware is, well Free! Most all Plug-ins are Freeware. Shareware comes in a couple of forms: You will get either a "scaled down" version (one that does not have all the bells and whistles activated). Shareware that is in "Beta Testing", which means it is in a test phase, so it still may have a few bugs in it, however this is usually no big deal. Some programs have an evaluation period, before you are asked to buy it. Finally, some require a registration number that is provided when you pay for it.
I estimate that I have purchased about 95% of the software I use. I am a firm believer, that if you use it, you should pay for it. These guys are in business, and without cash they will not be able to continue to develop better software. Leave all the Pirating up to 3rd world countries that don't have Capitalistic ideals. (ahem, China)
SEARCH ENGINES
HOW TO USE SEARCH ENGINE
Knowing the major search
engines, understanding how they work and how to make them work for you is, without
question, the single most cost effective business promotion opportunities in business
today!
Bookmark this page! We continually update this page for the most recent updates on the
major search engines and directories on the World Wide Web.
The initial design creation and promotion process of your web site is a reasonably predictable, step by step process (see Ten Steps to Promoting Your Web Site). For the purpose of reviewing the major search engines and directories will make the assumption that you already have a complete web site that appeals to your target market, encourages them to explore your site, will cause them to return again and again and allows them to easily test, or buy your products and/or services!
If your web site doesn't accomplish these objectives, or you're not sure whether or not it's ready to be displayed before the millions of travelers in Cyberspace, GO BACK! You are wasting time, energy and money - not to mention chasing off potential customers - if your site is not ready!
For tips, techniques and freebies try An Introduction to Web Site Design, check out The Selling Source's Design Services or go to our free resources page - The Sales and Marketing Directory before proceeding further. Money spent on an unprepared site is money wasted!
On the other hand, if you are truly ready to take the first major step in promoting your site on the Internet, read on! On this page, we'll provide some definitions and explain some of the basics of search engines and their role on the Internet, who the "majors" are, the differences between them and how that effects you, your site and promotion! For those of you who consider yourself well past the basics, we highly recommend Search Engine Watch from Mecklemedia Corporation.
What is a "search engine" or "directory"?
These two terms are often used interchangeably to refer to web sites whose primary
function is to list other web sites. These are the sites you go to in order to find other
sites that fit a particular topic of interest you have at the moment. For example if you
wanted to search for sites where you could buy a used car, you might go to "HotBot" (a search engine) and type "used
cars" in the search field. HotBot will then return a list of sites that have
something to do with used cars.
What's the difference between a "search engine" and "directory"?
While these terms are used somewhat interchangeably, they originally referred to
the manner in which a site helps you find your topic of interest. For example, the most
popular search tool on the Internet, Yahoo! uses a
directory type structure to help you find your topic. Similar to the familiar "Yellow
Pages" telephone directory, the visitor determines his or her category of interest,
selects the category and continues selecting sub-categories until a site listing appears.
From that site listing, the visitor can then click on a site to be taken to it. For
example if you wanted to look up a list of business schools, you might select
"Business and Economy" from Yahoo!'s main
page, then "Business Schools" from the resulting sub-category listing and then
scan the resulting list of business schools alphabetically for the site you wished to
reach.
On the other hand, a "search engine" generally refers to a site that asks you to type key words in a search field. That engine will then provide a list of sites in the order in which the search engine has determined most closely match the key words you entered. The method by which each search engine does this differs by search engine. In turn, from time to time each search engine will change their own method for ranking a sites match to the key words you have entered. Excite, Infoseek, and HotBot are examples of true search engines. Understanding the differences in ranking methods between search engines and the effect on how they will rank or "index" your site is one of the keys to getting your site ranked higher than your competitors. For a more detailed explanation of this topic, see Improving Your Site's Ranking.
How do I get my site registered with search engines?
This step is easy and, in nearly 100% of the cases, it's free! The main page of all
search engines have a selection that guides you through the steps of their registration
process. For an awesome tool for website registration check out the Web Promotion Spider.
If you register manually, you will be asked one or more of a variety of questions (depending on the search engine), including:
As you can imagine, registering your site (especially if you have many pages you wish to register) can be a time consuming process. You may wish to look into services that will do this for you for a nominal fee.
If registering my site is free, how do search engines make their money?
Good question! The answer is: "They sell advertising". Think about it. They
receive thousands (in some cases hundreds of thousands) of visitors per month. For some
companies, having their product or service prominently displayed on a search engine's page
can create a tremendous amount of desirable traffic to their site.
Before you rush off and email search engines regarding their advertising rates, a word of caution... advertising with search engines can be prohibitively expensive and unless your audience is quite literally "anybody" the traffic is not targeted. It doesn't do your site a bit of good to have 50,000 young web surfers searching for computer games view your advertisement for retirement planning services! For more information on promoting your site, try:
Promoting Your Business on
the World Wide Web
Link and Banner Exchange
Services
Marketing Your Site Off the Web
Who then are the "majors" that I should be registering with first?
The majors we are going to list here are the both the most popular and the most
"general" search engines on the Internet. By "general" we mean those
search engines that will register virtually all sites and do not cater to specific not
niches, such as search that register only business sites, health industry sites, retail
sites and so on. New niche search engines appear constantly on the Internet. Keeping up
with those search engines is a full time task.
The following eight search engines and directories are generally considered to be the "majors" (we apologize if we have left out your favorite search engine):
WEB DIRECTORTIES
Hotmail Express lets you use your e-mail package to access mail from your
HotMail account.
Download
Microsoft Outlook Express
is an e-mail client and newsreader that comes with Internet ExplorerTalking E-mail
is an e-mail notification utility that can read your incoming messages out loud.Speak & Mail
is an e-mail notification utility that uses Microsoft Agent Animated Characters to read and speak aloud the contents of your mail.Foxmail (32-bit)
is a simple, fast-loading e-mail package that supports multiple accounts.