What's the Difference

Search engines and directories are not the same. A search engine has a spider and an indexer. The spider finds the documents on your web site, and the indexer reads them and creates a database based on the relevancy of the keyword phrases, link popularity and/or text (themes) based on the specific algorithms of the search engine. This criteria is different for each engine and it changes often to combat their problems with new spamdexing techniques.

Directories are different in that they require a form to be filled out about your web site, which is then reviewed by a human editor. Your site won't be listed unless you register it and submit your main URL in the proper category. The whole process is often very, very slow. Some engines have sped things up by offering very quick paid review services, but they do not gaurantee a listing in their directory. The advantage of a directory is that once you are listed, you do not have to submit your site again; it is listed permanently in the index. The following are the top ranked directories online: Yahoo, LookSmart, Lycos, Open Directory

Search Engine submission tips

Each engine has their own set of preferences. Proper use of keyword density is MOST essential to good listings. META Tags are hidden text placed in the HEAD section of the HTML coding that is used to index your site based on your keywords and descriptions. Note that META Tags are no longer critical for search engines when ranking your site and it's pages. Most engines will only care about your page's body text.