To answer this question the Google researcher must have a minimum 4 star rating.

I appreciate that this is a long multi-part question I have tried to
recognise this by paying what I consider to be a fair price for a
comprehensive answer.

With regards to timescale I would like a response within a week,
however I would rather wait than receive an incomplete answer.

I am the web designer for a UK company and feel that on the whole I
have a reasonable grasp of site promotion. However things change and I
am sure there are areas that I have missed. What I am looking for is
an overview of promoting my companies? websites solely within the UK.
I have seen similar questions in the past but none focussing solely on
the UK.

My requirements are as follows: -

1/ Please detail which search engines are most widely used in the UK.
I would like a top 20 detailing the URL and also details of what
measure you have used to rank them.

2/ Detail from which source each of these sites draws their results
from. If there are multiple results including paid advertising please
detail all sources.

3/ Provide full detail of how sites get listed in all of the above.
This information will include URL, cost as appropriate and any other
particular requirements that the search engine or database has. In
addition please comment on whether each page of a site needs to be
submitted and how often one should resubmit these pages.

4/ Please detail techniques that can optimise pages and enhance your
listing in the top five search engines. In addition please comment on
how to optimise for I.e. Google apparently likes H1 tags

6/ Same as above but with the emphasis being on crawlers such as
Inktomi and Alltheweb

7/ As well as SEO paid advertising should not be overlooked. Please
provide a list of the various opportunities available online detailing
the Pros and cons of each and associated costs.

8/ I would like a list of all of the Pay Per click providers. 

9/ One challenge I face is when trying to target keywords for pay per
click I often use the overture inventory tool but this is restricted
to the top 100 searches how can I extend the list to include the top
500.

10/ Apparently people also use news groups to drive traffic to there
sites. Please provide a list of techniques that people use to promote
their websites and a brief overview of how these techniques are
implemented. Please exclude affiliate programs, DMOZ editor, and
additional websites.

11/ I have in the past paid for listing in directories such as Yahoo.
According to my web logs there have been in the region of 120
referrals from yahoo if this were the only factor this would represent
an expensive advertising mistake. However it is also provides an
additional link from a page with a pr of 4. My question is instead of
paying $299 to Yahoo should I spend the money on pay per click and
find another site willing to link to me with a pr of 4. If there are
unseen benefits to being listed in directories such as Yahoo please
provide a list of directories I should submit to.

12/ Please give a brief summary of all of the separate elements that
one should consider when putting together a site promotion plan.

13/ Finally I am aware that along the way I have made mistakes that
will result in some of the sites that I have put up not performing
particularly well. Please recommend three SEO companies that can
identify my past mistakes and put forward suggestions as to how best
to remedy them.

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Clarification of Question by anonymous-ga on 24 Nov 2003 05:24 PST

Thanks Robert, I will reconsider and repost.

Hi there,

Often when some posts a multi-part question such as yours, one of us
makes the suggestion that breaking it down to a few smaller questions
would increase your chances of getting answers.

Ideally cancelling this question, then posting 12 x $8 questions would be best.

I would answer your question as it stands, except that:

5) is missing and 6) seems to refer to it. If 6) is refering to 4),
then I would say that the top 5 search engines would already include
AlltheWeb and Inktomi.

8) There are now hundreds of PPC sites - anyone with a computer in
their bedroom can start one. Any outside of the Top 10, or even Top 5
are in my opinion a waste of time for advertisers and searchers.

9) I don't think it would be possible.

10) Using newsgroups to promote your site is generally going to be
spam. Are you after unethical techniques? If not, the list of extra
ways to promote your site might be quite short.

13) A recommendation would require one of us to have used 3 SEO
services. I doubt I could recommend three SEO services based on any
information I could find online. It would be like trying to recommend
three auto mechanics. Perhaps you could ask for a list of suitable SEO
companies (I personally would prefer one located locally, so I could
meet with them in the real world), and ask for people to leave any
recommendations in the comments section.

robertskelton-ga
Google Answers Researcher