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Four
Reasons Why The Smaller Search Engines
Matter
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These
days, all search engine optimization gurus only
seem to talk about Google, as if Google was the
only search engine on the Internet.
Of course, we all know that there really are
hundreds of search engines and directories
available to us, and we know that some of the
smaller search engines serve a very tïght niche
of users.
Honestly, I can understand why there is a lot of
press on Google, because after all, granddaddy
Google is the biggest of the big. We know that
millïons of people use Google daily for their
search activities, and we know that our websites
receive a lot of traffïc from Google.
There are actually four reasons why you would
want to extend your search engine marketing
activities beyond Google. I will discuss each of
those reasons here:
Reason #1: Targeted Traffïc
Niche content search engines can be a very
powerful force in your marketing arsenal.
For example, suppose you have a website dedicated
to helping sell real estate. Does it make better
sense to list a house for sale in Google or in
one of the many real estate search engines?
Let's face facts. When we look for tightly
focused content such as real estate listings, we
generally seek out a search engine that will
serve our search the best.
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When searching for a new home, an individual may
begin his or her search at Google to find the
real estate search engines, but once the niche
search engine has been found, there is no need or
desire to return to granddaddy Google. The real
estate search engine will allow the individual to
search through cities and neighborhoods, prices,
features and pictures, to find just the house
they feel might strike their fancy.
Even in the game of Internet marketing, a niche
content search engine or directory can be a very
powerful addition to your marketing portfolio. It
is only a matter of searching out and locating
the niche content search engine or directory that
serves your particular niche the best.
Reason #2: Costs Management
The Big Three have each developed their own
pay-per-click search models. And, because they
are the Big Three search engines, they can also
afford to charge advertising rates that permit
them to be among the most profitable enterprises
on the Internet.
The perception of pay-per-click pricing at the
Big Three is that the little guy can afford to
advertise with them. But with every Internet
marketer on the web trying to compete for Big
Three search traffïc, their five cents per-click
easily increases to sixty cents per-click, and in
some industries, it can climb to five or fifty
dollars per-click.
The pay-per-click "auction mentality"
really kicks into hyper-overdrive in some
industries. And the Big Three eat it up, as do
their stockholders. Each day, they dance their
way to the bank with your monëy in tow.
The smaller niche search engines may not serve as
much traffïc, but they definitely allow you to
reach more people for the same monëy. You can
reach people who are more inclined to buy your
goods and services, because they were searching
on a niche website, and you can get their
traffïc for a lot less monëy than it would cost
you to get the same prospect from any of the Big
Three search engines.
Reason #3: Linking for Google Placement
For those of you who are still involved in the
Google PageRank chase, the smaller search
directories can be counted on as a really
valuable asset in your linking portfolio.
Many of the smaller search directories carry some
pretty decent PageRank with them.
For example:
Blog-Search.com carries a PR6.
Search66.com carries a PR6.
GoArticles.com carries a PR6.
SearchWarp.com carries a PR5.
SitesOnDisplay.com carries a PR5.
SearchRamp.com carries a PR5.
MixCat.com carries a PR5.
TorontoMalls.com carries a PR5.
OutdoorHits.com carries a PR4.
FindYourForum.com carries a PR4.
As you are already aware, the PageRank of a
website that is pointing to your website plays a
role in determining the value of your own website
in the Google PageRank calculations, thereby
increasing your chances of gaining ground in the
Google SERP's (Search Engine Result Pages).
Targeted directories pass their PageRank value to
the websites that list with them, which is great
for your website. Additionally, getting placed
into these directories is often cheaper and
easier to accomplish, than with any other method
of linking for the purposes of increasing
PageRank.
Reason #4: Extra Traffïc
Yahoo, MSN, WindSeek.com, ExactSeek.com, and many
others are making changes, improving their
results, and trying to position themselves to
compete toe-to-toe with Google or to compete for
searchers not happy with Google's search product
(yes, there are actually people out there who do
not like to use Google). These non-Google engines
are currently serving millïons of additional
searches a day or month.
The Big Three: Google, Yahoo and MSN only served
73% of the Internet's search traffïc in July
2005
(http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/3099931),
and 81% of the search traffïc in November of
2005 (
http://searchenginewatch.com/reports/article.php/2156451).
These percentages are based on a rough estimation
of just over 5 billion searches per month.
Even on the November 2005 numbers, search engines
that are NOT in the Big Three are delivering 950
million searches per month. That is a lot of
additional traffïc!
If your search engine marketing activities are
focused only on the Big Three, or even worse,
only on granddaddy Google, you are throwing away
anywhere from 20% to 53% of your potential
customer base!
Locating The Smaller Search Engines and
Directories...
Below are a few resources that can help to find
hundreds of the smaller search engines and
directories that may be available to you:
Independent Search Engine & Directory Network
Yahoo Search Engine & Directory Listings
International Directory of Search Engines
Small Search Engines and Directories Really Do
Matter...
I have just outlined four reasons why the smaller
search engines and niche directories should
matter to those of us who market our goods and
services on the Internet. I have also given you a
starting point for locating these excellent
search websites.
Sure, it might take a little bit more time to get
listed in these smaller resources, but if you
calculate how much time you spend developing your
positioning in the Big Three, then it really is
not that much of a time investmënt after all.
The smaller directories can help us to improve
our Google PageRank. They can help us to get more
mileage from our advertising dollars than what we
can get from the Big Three. They allow us to tap
into additional sources of targeted traffïc with
a real potential for increasing our salës and
profïts. And, the best reason to use the smaller
search engines and directories is that they
actually serve another 950 million searches a
month.
About The Author
Bill Platt is the owner of thePhantomWriters.com Article Distribution
Service. He has been ghost writing for clients
since 1999, and he has been distributing client
articles since 2001. Bill regularly maintains his
database of submission resources, and he applies
the human touch to every article distribution. By
reviewing every article and manually selecting
where it will be distributed, publishers and
webmasters trust that he will send only the most
appropriate articles to them.
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© 2006 1st Internet Marketing Solution
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