Web Site Submission Services: Do They Really Work?

By Michael Fleischner

Wondering how you might be able to get ranked on top for a specific keyword? Thinking there may be a short cut or two? Recently I had the opportunity to work with a client who was also in search of ways to automate much of the search engine optimization process. I started the assignment working with him to improve his website design and architecture. Soon there after, we focused on building links to his site.

Off page optimization is all about building your web site's popularity. Google measures this by applying their algorithm and rewarding you with a Google Page Rank. Once your page has Google PR, it can easily be compared with other pages in the same genre. This is especially true with new sites or pages that have very little history associated with them.

The first step was to make sure that the site had all of the necessary characteristics that would make it easily accessible by search engine spiders. After applying the proper navigation, meta tags, and keyword application we evaluated the site for size and loading time. After this optimization was complete, we identified a few key link building strategies.

A popular strategy that is used by many SEO professionals is found in directory submissions. The proper directories can provide one way links that can have a significantly positive impact on the search engine rankings for any web site or blog. For the web site I was recently working on I decided to find a submission service that would take the process of manual submission off the table. I believed that the auto submission would be as effective but require much less effort.

Within 48 hours of the site being submitted, the web sites ranking for targeted keyword terms dropped by more than 62 percent. I couldn't believe what a detrimental affect the automated submission service had on this particular web site. Could this be coincidence or is there proof of the damaging effects of automated submission?

During this time period, my team was not focused on any other type of link building effort. Because the impact on search engine rankings was so immediate and so detrimental, I can only conclude that it was directly caused by the directory submission activity. I suppose there really are no shortcuts to SEO success.

If you are familiar with search engine optimization and building links to improve your search engine ranking, be cautious of automatic submission services. Whether it be for search engine submission or directory submission, you can damage your current rankings. Major search engines seem to be catching on to automatic submission sites and are having an impact on results. I still encourage you to submit your website to a small number of choice directories but do it one site at a time. - 33376

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