Search Engines and Directories Defined

A directory site is one that contains manually compiled categories of Web sites, whereas a search engine uses automated spiders to search the Web for content and organize it by keywords, with little regard for the true category under which each site should fall.

Over the years there has been plenty of debate over whether search engines are directories and vice versa. From the user's point of view, it would appear that all directories could be considered search engines since they all have an input box to search the content of the site, regardless of the method of acquiring data.

From an E-Marketing point of view, we are more concerned with the method by which data is added and ranked, as this will determine how we adjust our placement strategy for each. It is the intent of this lesson to optimize placement in the search results for search engines and directories.

It is important to note that many search engines get some of their results from other search engines and directories, many of which are owned by or partnered with each other. The dynamics of these relationships are ever-changing, but a visit to www.SearchEngineWatch.com can update you on the current state.

Many people believe that great placement in the search engines is a lottery at best. For example, the authors of Web Marketing & Project Management said in their book, "I don't believe this game can be won." An odd statement coming from people who wrote a book on the subject for their Webmaster Certification series. Probably explains why http://webclass.merrimack.edu/ doesn't show up under any search engines when you search for "Webmaster Certification."