Actually, a better option than submission is to have the search engines "find" their website on their own, through the establishment of incoming links from another related website. for example, you have a site about tax tips. the best way for your site to get found is to get an incoming link from another website (that is already indexed by the search engines) serving similar interests.

That's easier said than done though, and link building can be the subject of an entire article itself, or even an entire book! For a brand new website, with no inbound links, you simply have to submit the site yourself.

Each search engine has its own method of submission, but generally it’s similar from company to company. There are also services that will submit your site for free to most of the major search engines, but the best way is to do it manually. That way, you have more control over what gets submitted to each engine.

Google offers submissions here, and Yahoo offers submissions here, and MSN search engine offers their submissions here. The bad news is will likely take a few weeks to get picked up, and in the case of Google, 6 months or more is not unheard of.  Sites that get found "naturally" through incoming links can actually get picked up by the engines in a few days or less. If you need to drive traffic to your website immediately, there is no faster way than with Pay Per Click advertising. More about PPC here

Don’t get fooled by services that offer to submit your site monthly or even more frequently to all the search engines. Once is all it takes, and to do so any more than that could actually penalize you with some search engines.

Besides search engines there are other ways to get traffic. Make sure you’re using your email address with your own domain name. If you have a domain name hosted, I guarantee you can do this for free. However, I can’t count the number of businesses I’ve seen that still use someone’s personal email address for their company email. Getting mail from a “business” whose email is [email protected] just makes me cringe. By using your domain name, you are presenting a more professional image.

Also, you should add a mail signature in your e-mail program with a link to your website. Then, every single email message you send out will be signed with your name, company name, phone number and website URL. Anyone that reads your email will be able to click right to your website.

Also, anywhere you would put your phone number you should also have your website URL displayed. Your business cards and letterhead are just the beginning. Are you a retail business or a service operation? Do you use a cash register or printed receipts? Do you run advertisements in your local newspapers? Do you print flyers or handouts to distribute in your business and around town? All of these are great places to put your URL.

Again, the best way to get your site found is with links from other websites. Besides providing a gateway for your own clients to find you, the search engines really weigh heavily on relevant links from similar or related businesses.

Do you have friends or associates who are in business with their own websites? If so, offer to exchange links with them. It will do you both good. Even exchanging links with similar businesses in other states are good for this. Remember, they don’t have to be in your home town. They can be anywhere in the world. As of 4/2005, there are strong indications that "exchanged links" or "link swaps" are less valuable than one way links.

Remember, your website can “answer” an inquiry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This is long after the last employee has gone home and nobody is answering the phone. By using your domain name in your email address and other places I’ve listed here, people will start to look at your site just out of curiosity.

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