There is little point in paying someone to submit your site to a large group of low-traffic search engines. We’ll focus on the three major players that provide 90% of the search engine traffic, plus help you identify any smaller, industry-specific web directories or search engines that might be beneficial.

Currently, the major search players are Google (46%), Yahoo (23%), MSN (11%), and AOL (7%). *

Google.com is the top search destination and also powers search on AOL, Netscape, Amazon, and others.

NOTE: Search engine alliances change regularly. That’s why it helps to have a professional around. For example, Yahoo recently purchased the search engines Inktomi, AltaVista, and Alltheweb and has removed Google and replaced it with their own search engine. Microsoft has recently rolled out their own search engine, replacing Inktomi and Looksmart.

* Data from Nielsen NetRatings NOV 2005.

This was true possibly in 1995 or 1996, but it isn’t true today. Desirable keywords attract a lot of competition and high rankings can be difficult, if not impossible to achieve (think of how many people are trying to rank well for the terms mortgage, credit, lawyer, or mp3). It usually requires a well thought out and executed plan to attain high rankings — not a few keywords in a metatag.

This does work at times. It will also get you banned from the search engines sooner or later. Tricks and gimmicks, like so-called “link farms” or hidden text, might work for a time, but will eventually put you in hot water with the search engines and make your listings disappear.

No one can guarantee rankings. Period. People can hope, expect, or predict that a search engine will rank your site well, but no one can guarantee. Search engine algorithms are a closely held secret and are constantly changing. A guarantee is a sure sign of an unethical operation and we’d recommend staying away.

There is only one way someone can guarantee your listing will appear on the first page of search results – you’ll have to pay for it. We’ll talk about that next.

Most search engines place paid keywords on their pages along with the search results. They’re usually labeled as a “Sponsored Listing” and cost you money each time someone clicks on them. Users are becoming more educated, however, about the difference between paid search results and real search results. You should look to balance your dependence on paid results vs. free results.

Depending on your advertising and ROI goals, paid keywords are a good way to bring additional visitors to your site. Some keywords can be expensive, so careful tracking of click-through and conversion ratios is very important. For example, the keyword “mortgage” currently costs more than $5 per click and is searched for over a million times a month. You do the math.

In the end, a paid keyword is not the same as a search engine result and is usually much more expensive.