Entry search engines
The entry in search engines like Google or web directories was previously often recommended as an important means of search engine optimization. Today, that is no longer the case. Submitting to the webmaster tools of search engines can be much more effective.
Page entry in search engines?
When there were still a multitude of different search engines, it seemed necessary for website providers to ensure their sites were listed there. Only if a search engine knows a website, can it present it as a search result. Several dozen to hundreds of search engines used to be counted. However, by now the number of truly important ones has been reduced to a small handful. A separate listing of sites in common search services is not required.
Registration of pages in the Webmaster Tools
New websites are usually discovered by major search engines automatically. A search engine works with so-called crawlers. For Google, this would be the Googlebot. It searches a website by moving through internal links to include a page in the index. Therefore, site operators do not need to use a "service" for search engine registration, as is still offered by some agencies. It is different with registration in the so-called Webmaster Tools of the major search engines. This way, a site owner can receive a lot of useful information and other benefits. Additionally, it ensures that the search engine knows the websites. The site administrator also learns many useful details. Therefore, registering sites in Google Webmaster Tools, Bing Webmaster Tools, etc., can generally be recommended.
The benefits of registration software
The same that can be said about agency services for search engine submission can be applied to the various submission programs that still exist (e.g., Hello Engines, etc.). With over a hundred or even thousands of search services, it seemed more time-saving and sensible not to make each entry manually. Instead, page submission to search engines was carried out with software support. However, quite apart from the question of whether automated submissions work optimally with the various submission procedures, submission programs, like agency submission services, have become obsolete for the reasons mentioned above.
Entry in web directories? What does Google say about it?
In connection with entries in search engines, entries of pages into so-called web directories are often mentioned and promoted in the same breath. Web directories are collection directories divided into different categories. However, the significance of web directories for search engine optimization has decreased in the meantime. Web directories were often poorly maintained and of low quality. Leading search engines like Google now often critically assess web directories. It can even have harmful consequences for a website if there is a connection to an inferior directory. When making an entry in web directories, business directories, etc.—should it still occur—particular attention must be paid to the respective quality.