Ignore Smaller Search Engines to your own Detriment
These days, the term ‘Smaller Search Engines’ is usually applied to anything other than Google...
and because this global online-leviathan now handles around 80% of all searches made, many web designers and SEO gurus act as though Google were the only search provider on the web, when there are quite a few visitors and sales to be gained through other sources too.
Therefore, online marketers and promoters would be well advised not to simply ignore the large number of smaller search engines and industry-specific websites scattered around the Internet without first considering a number of factors.
Some very good reasons not to ignore smaller search engines
Targeted Niche Market Traffic Many experts fail to appreciate the compound value of all those little specialist search sites dotted around the Net.
Let’s take real estate sales as an example; if your site is focussed on home sales, prospective customers are more likely to come across it in a property search engine or directory than anywhere else. They may initially search Google to find these websites, but focussed property searches are more likely to be carried out on niche sites such as RightMove or PrimeLocation, rather than with Google, Bing, Yahoo or another search engine.
The simple fact is that smaller search engines and industry-specific websites can prove to be powerful sources of pre-qualified visitors which, though not as numerous as those entering through the Google door, will help to boost your overall conversion rates.
Lower Pay Per Click Costs
Many small businesses see the pay-per-click advertising facilities offered by Google as an affordable means of advertising their wares on the World Wide Web, although this perception is slowly changing in the wake of bidding auctions spiralling out of control, and a few click-fraud scandals hitting the headlines.
So, while Google may be able to get more traffic through your door, they will oftentimes charge you an arm and a leg in the process, depending on which market sector your business happens to sit in. Consider for a moment the fact that although smaller search engines may not produce the short-term visitor numbers brought by Google, or indeed Yahoo and Bing, they will provide far more visitors per advertising dollar in the long-term. And, after all, you’re not just looking for visitors, are you? What you’re really after are sales, and smaller, higher-focus websites will usually produce a larger proportion of sales than larger, general sources.
Raw Linking Power and Google PR
Ok, forget about the whole Google PR thing for a moment. I know everybody’s been going nuts about it, but PageRank really isn’t as big a deal as many experts would have you believe. However, although Google PR is not the be-all and end-all for web promotion services many professionals make it out to be, a high ranking on the ‘Greenbar Madness’ scale nevertheless looks good in a visitor’s eyes while also providing a small boost to your site’s actual search rankings.
If you ignore smaller search engines your site is not only losing a substantial number potential customer, it may also be missing out on quite a few links which could be genuinely valuable to its long-term web promotion. So if you’re not only after more visitors, buy a slightly higher score on that Little Green Bar of Insanity, a comparatively minor effort put into smaller search engines and industry-specific websites is well worth it.
When you consider the time and effort that usually goes into promoting any given website with Google, Yahoo and Bing, the relatively small amount of exertion required to get listed in the many smaller Internet resources out there can potentially pay big dividends.
For a list of smaller search providers, you may wish to look at:
