Submission program

[kjs50]

Hello,

I received a call from Switchboard because I am a Discover Credit Card Merchant.

They have a package for $35 a month in which they include the site in "125" search engines (i asked and they said it's MSN, Inktomi, etc...). This doesn't seem that big of a deal, but the better part is they include my website in the local yellow pages search like Yahoo Yellow Pages. We are internet only, but if anyone searches for the keywords, then our site will show up on top.

My questions are:

1) Has anyone participated in this program and what do they think
2) I'm wary of anyone that submits to "125 Search Engines". I don't want Google to get the wrong idea and ban me somehow if it shows up on the wrong site.

Thanks.

[Visit Thailand]

Good question as I see many promos that say do this and we will submit etc. I wish they would have an opt in or out choice.

However as they are only going to submit that one time I doubt it would cause too many problems, I would also doubt many of the benefits but who knows.

[heini]

First thing to look at would be what's the cost of getting into Yahoo Yellow pages (don't know those).
$35 monthly looks like a steep price.
Also monthly costs suggest they repeat submissions to 125 engines, which you would not want.

[piskie]

Stay in control of what happens to your site.

[JayC]

they said it's MSN, Inktomi,

Same thing. MSN uses Inktomi's database.

but the better part is they include my website in the local yellow pages search like Yahoo Yellow Pages.

According to [help.yahoo.com...] the only way to get a regular listing in Yahoo Yellow Pages is through Bell South or InfoUSA -- and you can add yourself through InfoUSA for free. So I'd confirm that with them.

$35 monthly looks like a steep price.

Yep... because it isn't a monthly service. If they submit the site even to places like Inktomi where there is a fee, it's not a monthly fee. They submit you once to every place up front, and then do nothing for the rest of the year. So you're paying $35 a month for 12 months? $420 just for submission seems pretty steep.

On the other hand, there's a $25/month sponsored listing at Yahoo Yellow Pages. Maybe they mean that... you should get very specific details of where you'll be listed at each directory and resource before spending this amount of money.

[kjs50]

Thanks for the advice. I didn't really feel it was a program worth the trouble, just didn't know I could get into Yahoo Yellow Pages in a different way.

By the way, does Yellow Pages referrals work for Internet only merchants out there? Is this a separate program worth considering?

Thanks.