I built my first website back in the spring of 1995. That was only 8 years ago (though it seems a lot longer), and it was a major feat. I had to use WordStar in non-document mode to write it, which is what I used to write C and Clipper Database programs. Mosaic, the first graphical Web browser, had just been released. Mosaic was great, a savvy computer maven could get it installed in only 3 to 4 hours. For the unannointed it could take days. There were only a few commercial sites on the Internet back then. In fact, there were so few they were published in a paper "Yellow Pages."

Today Google (the search engine that accounts for the lion's share of all Internet searches) has indexed over 3.3 billion pages. To put that into perspective, if each indexed page were a standard sheet of paper, laid end-to-end, it would form a path stretching over 916,000,000 kilometers. That's about 24 million times the distance from here to the moon. And that, my friend, is the background noise you have to cut through in order to get your site noticed by the over 600,000,000 Web searches that are done every day.

Another important thing to know is Industry experts estimate that 47% of shoppers* visiting your website will come from search engine and web directory searches. You might be asking, what's the difference between a search engine and a directory? Technically Google is a search engine; Yahoo is a directory. However, Google does all of Yahoo's searches, so to me the distinction is unimportant. Either service can be the source of today's dinner, if you know how to help them do their jobs properly.

*Source: "Jupiter Media Metrix"

Search Engine Submission and Indexing
RollingDigital has just launched a Premium Submission Service which guarantees that after it uses its expertise to optimize and submit your website, you will be indexed by the top search engines and directories within 48 hours. Free indexing services normally take 3 to 9 weeks, plus there is no guarantee you will be accepted. Premium Submission Service is a paid service that guarantees** your website will be accepted by the Big Five: Google, Yahoo, Lycos, About, and MSN. Plus you are also certain to be accepted by most of the medium volume engines and directories (see sidebar for a complete list). Also of importance, your site will be reindexed every 48 hours for one full year. That means changes to your website's content and keyword search terms will be presented to the public in 2 days instead of 2 months.

**Our guarantee: Your URL submission is guaranteed in the Big Five search engines or we will refund your money.

Search Engine Results Monitoring
Another important feature that comes with Premium Submission is ongoing monitoring. We continually:

-- Monitor search engine rankings of the top-performing pages on your Web site.

-- Monitor which keywords customers are using to reach your Web site.

-- Provide weekly ranking reports by search engine and keyword phrase.

What Else Do I Get?
Premium Search Submission is an annual service which includes FREE site optimization of your front page and at least two additional pages. Your site will be optimized by locating special keyword phrases that are built into keyword-rich text to give the search engines something to chew on when they visit your site. Without this important text, they just ignore you and move on at lightning speed. You also get 12 months of results monitoring and reoptimization where less productive keyword phrases are replaced with more suitable candidates and keyword-rich text blocks are rewritten and updated.

OK, So What Does All of This Cost?
The cost of RollingDigital's Premium Submission Service is only:

$29 per month or

$290 if paid annually (you get two months FREE).

How Do I Get Started?
Search engine optimization along with 48 hour monitoring and indexing for one full year is the most cost-effective form of advertising an eMerchant can ever hope to buy. For full details Just Click Here.