Putting your plan in action

When you're satisfied with your text, keywords, and meta tags, it's time to submit your site to the big five. These search engines and directories are the most likely to boost your traffic. The process of submitting your site is simple as long as you follow the general guidelines they provide. Most of all, be patient. Search engines can take weeks to get you into the system.

Alta Vista (http://www.altavista.com)
Alta Vista is one of the largest search engines in terms of indexed pages. Its extensive coverage and power searching commands makes it a favourite of researchers. It also offers a number of features to attract basic users, such as 'Ask Alta Vista'.

Excite (http://www.excite.com)
Excite is one of the most popular search services. It offers a mid-sized index and combines non-Web material, such as company information and sports scores, into its results. Its news search service, Excite News Tracker, is also one of the best on the net.

Infoseek (http://www.infoseek.com)
Infoseek has a small to medium sized index that is not the best for a comprehensive search of the Web. It does, however, consistently provide quality results in response to many general and broad searches. It also has an impressive directory of sites.

Lycos (http://www.lycos.com)
Despite having a small index that is more out of date than its competitors, Lycos has developed a solid following. While its search engine listings are slender, Lycos does have an excellent directory of sites called the Lycos Community Guides.

Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com)
Yahoo, the grandad of search engines, is the Web's most popular search service and has a well-earned reputation for helping people find information easily. The secret to Yahoo's success is the human touch.

It is the largest human-compiled guide to the Web, employing editors in an effort to categorise the Web. Yahoo has over one million sites listed, but there is no guarantee your site will be listed and Yahoo is considering charging people who want priority for their site to be considered for listing.