Websites that want to be indexed immediately need to be submitted to the search engines. There are two main methods for doing this: 1. Manual submission where each page is submitted to a
particular engine via, for example Google Webmaster Tools and an XML Sitemap. Special note #1: Google Webmaster Tools requires an account to be created—and Yahoo! and Bing require the same. 2. Mass submission where the URL home page is submitted to a
large number of search engines. Personally, I prefer the manual submission method as it is thorough, concise and should be done at the beginning of your SEO campaign as a one time exercise. Special note #2: You do not need to submit your website more than once.
Typically, search engines index the web every few weeks. In order to “kick start” the indexing process, a submission will automatically generate a spider (indexing program) visit your website. Since most websites compete with others for the same type of content, it is important to lay the ground work for ensuring the search engines know your website exists. SEO can be defined as a continual series of best practice exercises that eventually propels a website to the top of the search results—and search engine submission is a great fundamental first step!
About the Author: Rhett DeMille, the owner of PalmettoSoft, is a leading search engine optimization consultant located in the Florida and Greater Carolina areas.
