In order for your blog to come up in search engine results, the search engine must know it exists. Getting discovered, and indexed, by search engines is a critical first step to securing search engine traffic.

Contrary to the beliefs held by some, a search engine cannot simply “find” your blog on its own. It must be led to the blog in some fashion. There are two general ways by which this can happen. You can either tell the search engine about your blog, or you can devise a means by which it will find you.

At first glance, it seems like just telling the search engine would be the optimal solution. At one time, this strategy was the easiest way of getting indexed. However, it is no longer the best way to go about things.

You can directly submit your blog to Google, for instance. However, it may take the search engine months to get around to your request. At some point, in frustration, you might be led to submit the information again. There are fairly credible reports that frequent submission of a blog directly to the search engine may actually lead to a penalty. They would prefer to find you all by themselves. I have personally not noticed any problems with direct submission to MSN’s search engine. However, considering the variety of ways by which one can be found without utilizing direct submission, it does not seem necessary to tip off MSN in that manner.

Ways To Be Discovered

All it requires for a search engine to find you, is a link to your blog, on another site. Eventually, the search engines will spider that link and discover the blog. You can increase the likelihood of being found quickly, by getting multiple links for your site out there and by trying to get links that are likely to be spidered quickly.

Large, popular sites are frequently spidered and a link on a site of this sort, can lead to your blog’s inclusion in the search engines, relatively quickly. A link from a frequently indexed site, could lead to your blog’s discovery, within as little as a day.

Any of the normal link-building strategies can be used, to lead the search engine to your blog. Things like link trades, forums, articles and directory listings, can all do the trick.

Remember, building these links, not only encourages necessary indexing, but it also serves as a way of improving long-term traffic, as every link can be helpful.

The Lesser Search Engines

Right now, the search engine field is dominated by three major players: Google, MSN and Yahoo. These are the three search engines that matter and care must be taken, to make sure all three index your blog. There are, however, many other search engines out there. Some are rarely used relics, that have managed to hold onto a small chunk of cyberspace. Others are paid-for-inclusion engines, that are little more than ways to separate a blog owner, from his, or her money.

None of these smaller search engines will produce a great deal of traffic. However, it is often very easy, to submit to the free search engines. Additionally, there is some information, to suggest that inclusion, on a lesser engine, may in turn, lead to inclusion on a bigger one. There is very little harm in direct submission, to smaller search engines. It is unlikely to be a huge manufacturer of traffic, but it takes so little time, that you may want to consider it. Just use one of the popular search engines, to search for other search engines. Then, visit a few of these places and look into submitting your site.

Specialist Blog Search Engines

The tactics mentioned above, apply to websites of any sort. As a blogger, you can make use of them all. However, the growth of blogging has led to the creation of blog-only search engines. You would be remiss, if you did not submit your blog to these engines.

A simple Google search, for the phrase “blog search engine,” will yield many additional opportunities, to get your blog noticed. Realize that often the terms “blog search engine” and “blog directory,” are used almost interchangeably and can overlap a great deal.

There is at least one blog search engine that warrants additional discussion–Technorati, which can be found at http://www.technorati.com. Technorati is a widely used blog search engine. Getting your blog listed at Technorati, can increase your traffic, more than most other blog search engines. Technorati also supports a tagging function, whereby you can “tag” your posts with descriptive keywords, making them easier for other Technorati users to find.

There is some debate over the value of Technorati, in terms of traffic and with respect to some customer service issues the site apparently experiences. However, serious bloggers would be remiss, if they did not take a long, hard look at Technorati and consider making it part of their traffic creation arsenal.

There are other services, offering a tagging function, that seem to be developing an avid following and may be worth investigation. These include FURL and Del.icio.us.

Tips

1. Patience is a virtue! It can sometimes take a while, before the major search engines cozy up to your blog. Don’t be offended, or too frustrated. Continue working on your blog and following the other traffic generation methods. The nice thing about the content tactics covered here, are that they are all mutually reinforcing. If a long period passes, go back and check your work. But, don’t get frustrated too early.

2. Don’t become too Google obsessed! Google is the biggest search engine player, but the other two can also drive a lot of traffic to your blog. There are entire communities, dedicated to dissecting Google and it’s algorithms. Google often befuddles even the most veteran search engine optimization experts. If you want to crack the top 10 in Google, it might require a great deal of work–probably a disproportionate effort, for most hobbyist bloggers. You want Google traffic, but it is usually not worth developing an obsession in order to to obtain it.

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Derek Robson is an up and coming, South African, internet marketer, with a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success, on the internet. He is a syndicated article writer. He and his wife Sally, have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. For daily postings and articles, on Internet marketing, South African business, list building, affiliate marketing, the law of attraction, rugby and general topics, check his blogsite, at: http://dersalsites.com/southafricanbusiness  

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Sally has a passion for gardening. Visit her website at http://dersalsites.com/gardening/  and her blog at: http://dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips/

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