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SWeCS NEWSLETTER - 5 April 2004

In this issue...

- Which Search Engines To Target In Australia
- Spam Laws And Implied Consent
- Free Tools For Your Web Site
- Special Offer - No Setup Fee on SWeCS Hosting Accounts
- Resources For Small Business

WHAT SEARCH ENGINES TO TARGET IN AUSTRALIA

You've heard about the big international search engines such as MSN, Yahoo, and Google, but what are the best search engines to target for Australian Internet users?

The unfortunate thing about the search engine market in Australia is that over the last few years more and more of the major search engines have started to charge for top listings. Although they may provide a free way of being included, most want you to now pay for the very top listings.

So who are the major search engines in Australia? Here are the top ones, in a very rough order of popularity:

1. NineMSN
2. Yahoo
3. Google
4. Looksmart
5. Altavista
6. Web Wombat

There are many others, but these are the top 6. Let's take a very brief look at each of them.

1. NineMSN - search results on NineMSN are currently provided by Looksmart Australia. When you do a search, the top 3 results are normally "Sponsored Results". These are businesses who have signed up for the "Pay Per Click" service at Looksmart. This is actually quite a costly service, and has a minimum spend of $500, with cost per clicks averaging around $1.50. Unfortunately, this is often outside the reach of small businesses.
   
   Underneath the sponsored listings are "Web Directory Sites". These are sites who have paid a flat fee to be included in the Looksmart directory ($440 per year).
   
   In summary, to be included in the NineMSN search results, you normally need to pay to be included in Looksmart.
   
   
2. Yahoo - when you do a search on Yahoo Australia, the first three results are normally called "Sponsor Results". These are results that are provided by Overture Australia's "Pay Per Click" service. Therefore to be included in these results you need to be listed with Overture Australia, and be in the top 3 bidders for that term. Overture bids normally start at 10 cents per click.
   
   The results underneath the sponsored results are now provided by Yahoo's own database. You can pay to be included in this database, but Yahoo also collects web sites from the Internet anyway, so there is a good chance that your site can be shown in these results even if you haven't paid to be there.
   
   
3. Google - the great thing about Google is that they made a decision along time ago to be the best provider of free search results across the world. Many people prefer to receive search results that are untainted by bidding or payment. Google has it's own very powerful program that searches for web sites and adds them to their database, so you normally don't need to do anything to be listed. You also have the option of taking out a paid advertisement (down the right hand side of their results screen). These are called Google Adwords and start at 9 cents per click.
   
   
4. Looksmart - see above for NineMSN.
   
   
5. Altavista - Altavista works very similar to Yahoo, which isn't surprising, because Yahoo actually owns Altavista (and Overture). The top 3 results in Altavista are normally sponsored results, from Overture Australia. The results lower down are from Altavista's own database, which you can be included in by either paying to be included, or through a free submission process.
   
   
6. Web Wombat - this used to be a good, free, Australian search engine. It still is a good Australian search engine, but is no longer free. You now need to pay a small yearly fee to be included. It works independently of any of the above major engines.

In summary, although there are a number of major Australian search engines that can bring you traffic, you only need to worry about submitting your site to a few databases, and then they will feed your site into a number of other search engines. In a fantasy world where you had all the money you needed, your top priorities would be to pay for top listings in Looksmart, then Overture Australia, and then Google. That would get you exposure to the majority of Australian Internet users.

SPAM LAWS AND IMPLIED CONSENT

Our newsletter last fortnight focused on the new Australian anti-spam laws, and the penalties that come into effect on 11 April. We talked about how you won't be able to send a commercial email to someone unless you have their consent - express or implied.

What about email addresses on a web site? If a business has their email address on their web site, does that imply that they consent to receiving commercial emails? It depends what the commercial email is about. The general consensus is that by displaying an email address on their web site, a business is implying consent to receive commercial emails related to their business or web site.

It does not mean, however, that they have consented to receive emails about other unrelated things, such as where to buy cheap valium, how to lose weight, or how to increase the size of particular body parts.

FREE TOOLS FOR YOUR WEB SITE

If you've built your own web site, or at least like to tinker around with it, you may be interested in the wide range of free tools available at Bravenet (www.bravenet.com).

SPECIAL OFFER FOR SWeCS NEWS SUBSCRIBERS

For the month of April, we are removing the setup fee for our hosting accounts for SWeCS News subscribers.

So if you've thought about setting up a web site, or simply want to transfer your site to our servers for a lower rate ($19.99 a month), now is the best time to do it.

Here's the basic offer:

• You must be subscribed to this newsletter
• You must complete an application for a SWeCS Hosting account at www.southwestecommerce.net before 30 April 2004.
• The usual set up fee of $19.99 will be waived.
• This entitles you to a SWeCS Hosting account only and does not cover transferring (uploading) your site over to our servers. If you can do that yourself, great. If you can't, contact us for a free quote to transfer your site over.

RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Ecommerce Library

Browse through the SWeCS Ecommerce Library, full of FREE information about getting more out of the Internet. Sections include Web Site Development, Web Site Promotion & Internet Marketing, Online Commerce, Computer & Technical Issues, and Miscellaneous.

Newsletter Archives

The SWeCS Newsletter archives provides a wealth of FREE information on small business and the Internet. Browse through the main topics or search for your particular query.

SWeCS Affiliate Program

Start up another income stream, by earning $60 for each referral who signs up for our search engine ranking package. Also earn $50 for each referral who signs up for our web site package.

Affiliate Directory

Browse through a list of reviewed Affiliate programs. Let us do the work of testing it out for you!

Do you know of a resource that should be added here? Email us and let us know. There is only one condition - it must be free.

OTHER EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

Here's some other email newsletters you might like:

www.southwestlife.com.au

www.dunsboroughbayvillageresort.com/news/newsindex.htm

www.west-oz.com/newsletter/newsletter.asp