How to get a high search engine ranking on Lycos and HotBot.

Lycos is one of the oldest search engines on the web and has undergone various changes in recent years, the most recent being that the search index is now generated from the FAST search engine.

As a result, submitting a site to Lycos and achieving a high search engine ranking is now dependent on FAST. The Lycos Europe network also uses FAST for its primary search results, but Lycos UK, for example, also allows additional paid or free site submission options to its engine or directory listings. However, a site may take a long time to appear through the free route, if at all.

Submitting a site to Lycos.

The main submission route is through FAST. Sites may be submitted for free, or by using the paid inclusion option. Submissions fees cost $35 for the first page and $15 for each additional page. Listings then appear within a week and are updated every few days.

Factors to consider for a high search engine ranking on Lycos.

These are the same as for FAST. Factors to consider to achieve a high ranking include:

HotBot is also one of the oldest search tools, although it has never operated its own unique index, having previously used listings from Inktomi and Direct Hit. The main HotBot US site relaunched at the end of 2002 and now offers a choice of search results through the 4 main search engines on the web - Google, FAST, Inktomi and Teoma.

HotBot UK redirects any UK web searchers from the US site to this regional tool, based on IP recognition. This version of HotBot still uses the index from Inktomi, although this is likely to follow the US model if it proves popular with users.

Submitting a site to HotBot.

Direct submissions cannot be made to HotBot, so for sites to appear on this search tool they will need to be submitted directly to the original sources. Google and FAST still offer a free submission option, but getting a site onto Inktomi or Teoma will require the paid inclusion route.

Factors to consider for a high search engine ranking on HotBot.

These factors will be dependent on the source search indexes that HotBot uses, so please refer to each individual page provided for these. The main factors consistent on all tools to achieve a high ranking, however, will be the common optimisation criteria, such as:

To find out how your website can achieve a top ranking on Lycos or HotBot and the other top search engines, contact the web search workshop for more information or request a FREE site assessment to see how well your website currently performs.

A brief history of the Lycos and HotBot search engines.

Learn more about getting a high ranking on the other main search engines: AltaVista, FAST, Google, Inktomi and Teoma.

Return to Materials introduction
The top web search engines
The top web directories
How the top search tools work together
Options for paid search listings
UK search engines and directories
Partnerships between UK search engines and directories
European search engines and directories
The future of web search tools