Search Engines
In this article we are covering some ground which is particularly relevant given the history of this website.
Over 20 years ago this website starting out using php code, with no database in sight and using some scripts in order to create a search engine which allowed many types of people to submit their website.
The code built went away to visit these websites and gather information using meta data and then submit these to a file which would form the basis of an early search engine.
Years later this site used a Joomla CMS platform, and at this stage the website moved more to a web directory. This version continues to use the latest secure version of Joomla to create a content rich website.
Due to the history of this website you may well be here with your own website looking to submit and improve the searchability and marketing of your website, sadly this website no longer has that purpose.
Looking back at the original website there was much manual work involves to review the submitted websites to filter out illegal or pornographic submitted websites. What it did provide was a birds eye view of the types of entities, businesses and enterprises that were looking to promote their site and services. These ranged from plumbers, electricians and building firms through to web developers, marketing companies and other digital enterprises.
20 years on, these enterprises and firms are still looking for a way to get their name and website out there in order to improve their business or to improve their hits on their sites.
In part 2 of this article I will look at what web directories and search engines are still out there. Obviously google remains the king in search engines and there are many articles out on the web that will help you improve your search engine ranking in google.
Firstly though before we go into search engines and directories, we should review how today much has changed compared to 20 years ago. Promoting your website today is a lot more about using social media such as twitter and facebook to get your name out there than simply ensuring you are high on search engine listings – although of course this helps!
So if you have a business or website, firstly consider creating a Facebook page, Twitter account, and if you are brave also create a Youtube channel and make some video’s. For instance, if you are a plumber than make a video showing how to change a tap.
Popular search engines and directories
Now onto some popular search engines and directories that are still out there today for you to submit your site to. Please note that this list is not exhaustive and we are not in any way affiliated with these sites and also as a disclaimer cannot vouch for what they may do with your data.
- Bing
- Yahoo!
- Baidu (Chinese search engine)
- Yandex (Popular in Russia and other eastern European countries)
- Ask
- DuckDuckGo
- Naver (Korean)
- AOL
- Mojeek
- Ecosia
- Swisscows
- Dogpile
- Gigablast
- Yep
- You.com
- OneSearch
- Best of the Web (Helps businesses get an online presence)
- AboutUs
- Spoke.com
- Blogarama (Blog directory)
- Yelp (Business review)
- Foursquare
- Yellow Pages (business directory)
- HotFrog
- Nextdoor (business directory)
- eLocal (local business directory)
- DexKnows (local business directory)
- Local.com (local business directory)
Ok, so that is in essence a fairly short list, and is certainly much shorter than it was some 10 to 20 years ago. Google by far takes up the largest percentage share of search engines and is obviously the one you want to be on the most. For that though you simply need to create a website that is content rich, gets lots of visitors and is setup for SEO (search engine optimisation).
