Why are manual submissions the most effective way to go? It is important to note that many of the larger search engines and directories do not allow for automatic submissions. Increasingly search engines are becoming more sophisticated and can tell between submissions done with automated software and those done manually. In many cases automatic submissions are given a lower priority resulting in delays or links not being indexed because of backlogs. Another concern is that some submission forms only allow for as few as five keywords while others allow for several dozen. Making manual submissions maximizes the opportunity to submit more accurate information resulting in increased traffic. If it is vital for your web site to succeed, then making manual submissions is the best way to effectively contribute to your site's success.

A very important aspect of the submissions process is designing the web page to be search engine friendly. Most of the major search engines index a web page based on the information it reads on the page. Primarily this involves the title, text, meta tags and alt tags. To receive the highest possible visibility it is important to pay close attention to each of these areas before submitting the web page to the search engines.

• To increase the chances of someone finding your site, design every page on your site to be indexed by search engines. This means giving every page a unique title, meta tags and content. Submit each individual page to the search engines. You will greatly increase the possibility of being found because you will have more than one URL pointing to your site. It is not necessary to submit every page to directories like Yahoo.
• Make sure the page title, description, alt tags and meta tags all contain the most important keywords needed for search engines to find your site. Arrange these key words in order of importance so you can be confident the most vital words will be indexed.
• When making submissions concentrate on the top twenty-five search engines. Try to get as many pages as possible listed under different categories. Use key words in the meta tags liberally. Although there can be as many as 1024 characters in the key words, it is best to keep the number to about one-half that number. Try to have as many unique words as possible on each page. If you submit to the less popular search engines, save time by submitting only the main page of your site. Few people use them and by far the greatest number of hits will come from the best known engines.
• Before you begin to make submissions, open a file and have all the pertinent information in one place. This includes several versions of the title, description and keywords. This is necessary because submission forms vary in the amount of information they are designed to accept. Instead of typing in the same information repeatedly, copy it from your file and paste it directly into the forms.
• Another way to manage your information while making submissions is to open your web page in a browser and then use a basic text editor, like Notepad, to access the HTML code. Copy the information from the meta tags and paste it into the submission forms. To avoid the problems with the URL, copy and paste the address directly from the browser window.
• Keep accurate records of all your submissions. Include the name of each search engine and when you made your last submission. This comes in handy when making updates, removing links or just trying to find the engines where your site is listed.
• After you submit once to a search engine, wait for several months before submitting the URL once again. Most of the search engines will list your site if it meets their requirements but some of them are notoriously slow. Repeated submissions to the same search engine will result in delays and may even cause it to be considered spam. Patience is the best policy.
• To discover which keywords are being used to find your site, put a tracker on each page. Update the meta tags every few months to reflect the actual keywords being used to locate the page. Resubmit the page to the most popular search engines and they will send out a spider to have it reindexed.