Google, Yahoo and Other Goofy Internet Words You Should Know

Many people contact us requesting information on how to market their website on the internet. With the growing controversy surrounding SPAM, it is important to understand that direct email marketing is only a small part of the equation. It is also important to get your name in front of internet users when they take the initiative to research goods and services on the internet. When a user initiates an on-line search they are much nearer to making a buying decision than when they open an unsolicited e-mail from a marketer.

Search engines are the most obvious way to incorporate your website into that research process. Still, this obvious answer is more complicated than it appears. From a user's standpoint, most search engines seem the same. A user enters a word or combination of words and the search engine returns a series of websites that are pertinent to that subject.

However, the way that search engines derive there results differ and this can have a tremendous impact on your Web marketing efforts. There are four distinct types of search engines: automated, edited, pay-per-click, and combination search engines. Each type of search engine uses different logic to create the search results it returns to the user.

Automated search engines rely on algorithm driven software to determine which sites will rank the highest under each key word. Google is a prime example of this type of search engine. Edited sites rely on human input to rank sites. Yahoo is a good example of a human-edited search engine.

Pay-per-click sites operate exactly how they are named. Web marketers who pay the highest "subscription" rate are ranked highest. Overture is a popular pay-per-click search engine. Other search engines combine more than one of these ranking methods.

Effective Web marketing takes each of these unique search systems into account. There are 30 search engines which generate 99% of the traffic on the web, and they include examples of each of these. The most successful Internet marketing specialists develop strategies and techniques to effectively utilize each of them. Take the time to investigate, in detail, how each of the search engines work and the effect they have on your Web marketing performance. Consider hiring an experienced Web Marketing firm that will take the time to educate you on these issues while they help you increase your marketing results. It will be money well spent!