Re: Search Engine Placement

Jeff:

I see your point but I can't help but find it distressing. If you are a
small business or even just a mom or pop with an item or two to sell, the
idea of putting out $199 to each of the top ten search engines, (or so)
simply means that you go unlisted. Besides--it's such a "chicken" charge.
Kind of like when some banks tried to charge a fee to speak to a teller.

Believe me, if a governmental agency even proposed such a thing, every red
neck in our fair land and across the seas, would be, figuratively at least,
getting down the old musket and filling it with rock salt and black powder.

Just what is so precious about "Free" Enterprise that they can soak the
little guy two grand a year and yet let hate groups, little leagues, camera
clubs and churches, not to mention granny's flower page, get listed for
free.

Most of these poor little shops have little left over after their landlords
get through squeezing them without having every self styled search engine
dot-com-er ripping off a chunk as well. If most small businesses HAD to put
out this amount, they might be better off buying conventional advertising
than helping with the payments on some Dot-Com executive's Porsche. We
should remember--without the listings--the search engines can not sell
advertising.

As web authors, this subject is one that will impact our very livelihood far
more than petty problems with IE and Netscape. Only a very few of us have
well healed clients that can absorb another two or three grand a year
without some serious soul searching as to whether they really need that web
site we are trying to sell them.

At two hundred smackers each, people are quickly going to become rather
picky as to who they list with. I can see Search Engines dropping like
flies.

Best Wishes
Ted Temer
Temercraft Designs Redding, CA
temer(at)c-zone.net
www.temercraft.com/
www.newsredding.com/


> Hello Folks:
>
> It was written:
>
> >I know, you guys said it was coming but I'm still confused! I can tell
> >the
> >next one how much it will cost and just factor in the cost along with
> >hosting, domain name registration, etc., but Daniel is /not/ going to
like
> >this.
>
> Maybe I'm just taking a hard capitalist stance - but if you're using the
net
> for *commerical* purposes, then you should be expected to be treated as a
> *business* and be charged appropriately.  This is then added in to the
cost
> basis of your product/service.
>
> I could be naive - but if you're not using the net commercially, why are
you
> worrying about placement?
>
> Just some thoughts....
>
> - Jeff K.
>

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