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Reach 83% of Internet users
Looksmart claims to reach 83 percent of US Web users on MSN, Excite, AltaVista and other top search engines. The Looksmart directory supplies results to these major search engines when users type in a keyword search. Usually the results from Looksmart appear above the normal search engine listings so it is important to be listed here.

$299 or $149
At the present moment the only way to get included in the Looksmart directory is to pay them. You have two choices - either pay $299 to be listed within two days or pay $149 to be listed within eight weeks. The choice is yours - if you need to be listed immediately then go for the $299. Otherwise stick with the $149 option.

Getting Started
First you need to go to the main Looksmart site at www.looksmart.com. Looksmart will not allow you to select what category you want your site to be in. Yes, it seems silly because you obviously know more about your website than the reviewer might know. You are allowed to make suggestions for your placement and description though so the first thing you should do is choose some categories. Do some research work with your best keyword phrases. If you don't have any keyword phrases picked out yet you can get a free WordTracker keyword database trial to find good keyword combinations.

After typing in your keyword search scroll down the page and see what other sites come up and where they are listed. Write down the names of the categories so you can suggest them to the editor who reviews your site. When you are ready to submit your site click on the 'submit a site' link on the home page. If you are submitting your site for the first time click on either 'Express Submit ($299)' or 'Basic Submit ($149)'. On the next page you will be asked to enter your URL, and Title of the site and comments.

URL
Having keywords in your URL can substantially increase your ranking in many major search engines. Check out this search on Excite (a major Looksmart partner) for 'New Jersey Auto Insurance'. Notice how the top two sites have the keywords right in the URL separated by keywords. If you would like to register a keyword-rich domain name for your site click here. Type your URL into the box and move on to the next step:

Title
It is also important to have your keywords in the title of your site. If possible your site should be named after your keywords. Take for example this website. Do you think it was named 123 Search Engine Optimization by accident? Chances are, if you found us from a search engine, you typed in 'search engine optimization'. Why the 123? Because in directories like Yahoo and Looksmart listings within categories are shown in alphabetical order, with symbols and numbers first! Anyway you should try to have your keywords in the title. If your company name does not include any keywords then you might try something like 'Swimsuits by Venus' or 'Venus Swimwear'.

Description
In a nice way you should give some suggestions to the reviewer who looks at your site what kind of description and keywords you would like to have, and what categories you want to be placed in. Here is a sample you can look at to get an idea what to type:

Finish submitting your site
Enter your payment information and wait two days (Express Submit) or eight weeks (Regular Submit) to be listed. If the reviewer keeps your keyword-rich description and title there is a good chance that Looksmart will send you a pile of traffic!

Next: Submitting to the Open Directory