How and When Should I Submit My Website to Google?

Something big happened to Google's SERp's

Just as I was complaining that little has happened in the SEO forum world, a massive change has happened in the Google SERP’s.

A big debate is still continuing on the Webworkshop SEO Forum - Is the sandbox no more?

What’s actually happened no one can really say for sure just yet but a few days ago a huge chunk of results have been updated with the end result of many webmasters sites seeing drastic changes in their rankings, some good and some bad. What at first sight seems to be a mass sandbox drop e.g. Google removed the sandbox filter from a huge quantity of websites all in one go. But is that really what happened, what are your thoughts?

Some have said it may be the start of a semantic ranking algorithm, while others are saying it may be Google trying to play us with a bit of good old fashioned confusion. A few more people have even said that the only sites that have dropped into the rankings are all either SEO websites or related to SEO in some shape or form e.g. an SEO clients website.

Personally I have seen a few sites that I have been working on affected, all dropping straight onto the first pages for the search phrases optimised. Quite a relief as some of them I have been working on for the last eight months (You can imagine how the clients felt after eight months of SEO with few results). I do not know what happened but I have a strong gut feeling that what we have just witnessed is something to do with the sandbox. If I’m right and it was Google experimenting with the sandbox it begs a few questions.

Is this the end of the sandbox?

Hopefully yes but it may be the start of an even greater type of sandbox. My own thoughts on the sandbox are quite well known and I fail to see how it benefits the webmaster and more importantly the end user. The internet is the fastest moving form of communication we have ever seen and search engines need to reflect that. What use is it if a new trend becomes popular and by the time a webmasters site has come out of the sandbox, the trend has ended. If Google continues using a sandbox type filter, the likes of MSN and Yahoo will defeat them by showing fresh content. The new MSN search already has a search builder that enables you display sites with recently updated content.

Is this the start of something new, a new way the sandbox works?

This could be the one and I just hope it isn’t. Google has made it clear that they do not want people to be able to interfere with their ranking algorithm. What we have seen may be a taste of things to come, a “mass sandbox” type effect where sites are held for a longer period of time and then all released in one go. This could enable Google to test the new SERP’s to spot trouble areas and address them before the new SERP is public.

The above is pure speculation and the truth of what actually happened is probably something completely different. One thing for sure though is something has happened and it is likely to be something big!

Even if you haven't built your site, or written an copy, or even thought about your content, submit your domain name to Google. In fact, even if you haven't fully articulated your business plan and marketing plan, submit your domain name to Google.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, getting on the search engines has always taken a long time for a new site. Even assuming you do everything right, it takes months before your site is even indexed, and more months before it starts to rank well. As a rule of thumb, never expect to rank highly within 6 months of submitting your site to Google.

The second reason is a recent phenomenon called 'Google Sandbox'. Many SEO experts believe that Google 'sandboxes' new websites. Whenever it detects a new website, it withholds its rightful ranking for a period while it determines whether your site is a genuine, credible, long term site. It does this to discourage the creation of SPAM websites (sites which serve no useful purpose other than to boost the ranking of some other site).

By submitting your domain name to Google as soon as you register it, you're establishing a site history even if the site has no content. By the time you've built your site, written your copy, and developed the rest of your content (and written your business and marketing plans), Google will probably see no need to sandbox you.

If you wait until launch day to submit your site, you'll spend a month or two (maybe more) sitting in the sandbox watching potential customers spend their money elsewhere.

How to submit your site to Google

Don't waste money by paying someone else to submit your site to Google. It's easy!

Simply go to http://www.google.com.au/addurl.html, enter your URL (domain name) and a few comments or keywords to describe your site. Then click 'Submit'. That's all there is to it. You only have to do it once, and only for your top level page (i.e. Home page).

Google's robots will then crawl your website the next time they're out and about. Of course, they don't guarantee that you'll be included in their results.

IMPORTANT: As mentioned above, it takes quite a while for your site to appear in the search engines. This is partly because the search engines are big and slow ? especially when it comes to new sites. It will take a minimum of 6-8 weeks before your site is indexed.

How to submit your site to other search engines

There are hundreds of search engines on the Internet. It's a lucrative business, after all! But don't panic; studies suggest that the top 11 search engines account for about 90% of web traffic. In other words, if you have the top 11 covered, there's no need to submit to the rest.

What's more, at the time of writing, most of the top 11 don't actually accept submissions. The only ones that do are Google (described above), Yahoo, and MSN. Here's a list of the available submit pages.

TIP: My SEO copywriting and advertising copywriting website, http://www.divinewrite.com, reached page 1 of Google.com for my primary keyword, "copywriter", without a dollar being spent on search engine submission. I only ever submitted my site to the engines that offer free submission.

Do I need to submit my site to other search engines?

With an estimated 8.8 billion pages indexed (approximately 76% of the Internet), Google is number 1 when it comes to search engines. It's argued that once Google has indexed your site, the other search engines will follow. Theoretically, you don't actually need to submit your site to Google either because it's always on the lookout for new content and will eventually find your site of its own accord. Google actually states, "Given the large number of sites submitting URLs, it's likely your pages will be found in an automatic crawl before they make it into our index through the URL submission form." ("Google Information for Webmasters" - http://www.google.com.au/webmasters/1.html#A1) Personally, I wouldn't like to take the risk.)

Having said that, it certainly doesn't hurt to submit your site to other search engines (especially if you haven't developed any content for it yet).

Conclusion

You don't need to be an SEO expert or an SEO copywriter to submit your site to Google and the other search engines. And you don't need to pay anything to do it. You just need to do it. And if your domain name is new, you need to do it NOW!

SEO News Tip of the Day!

How and When Should I Submit My Website to Google?

How to submit your site to Google

How to submit your site to other search engines

Do I need to submit my site to other search engines?

Conclusion