Get rich quick on the Internet, right? Con artists always make our own little greedy fantasies work against us, and when you see the something for nothing, Easy Money! balloons go up, it's time for you to get your bearings.
Well, I guess it depends on what you call a search engine...
Last time I checked there were fewer than a dozen search engines getting much play, and Yahoo, the one handling about 80% of all searches, will reject an automated submission in a mega-second. You have to write that submission with tender loving care to get a listing. Anyone who can type can submit your website to the other top search engines in a matter of minutes, they just need to know where to go.
Free Webpages and programs that create instant webpages are great for schoolkids and hobbyists. They are also instantly recognizable for what they are. There's nothing magical about being on the Internet. The vast majority of webpages get few if any visitors outside of the owner's circle of acquaintances. A business homepage needs to be more than just a signpost on a backroad to nowhere.
It's called spam, and if you do it, you will probably get the boot from your Internet Service Provider. Programs that send out unsolicited mass emailings are a menace to the entire Internet community as they slow down all email and waste Internet bandwidth resources, aside from annoying people. There is an organized resistance to spam and honest Web businesspeople do not use it. Sending anonymous or or misleading spam can get you sued, and signing your real name to spam will get you an immediate hostile retaliatory response. So... don't buy the program. Be a good citizen.
There are a few places where it's worth paying to advertise on the Internet, but they won't solicit you by email. All of the worthwhile sites will provide detailed hit reports or "page-view" counts to measure their value against. Remember, anyone can adopt a "big sounding" name for their organization or site. Look at their directory - do they really have any clients, and do they really have a visitor base that will send you traffic? Do not trust "hit counters" on the bottom of the page - they are easy to bump up and you don't really know when the counter was last reset.
Blue chip advertising: for a local business, inquire at local newspaper sites, radio station sites, and city guides for big search sites. For a national/international customer base, go to big search sites and popular online magazines. It costs money to advertise at these spots... a billboard on the Information Superhighway costs more than a billboard in an information back alley.
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