Paid inclusion programs can be a component of an overall search marketing strategy matrix. Paid inclusion programs allow sites to submit specific pages directly into online properties for virtually immediate consideration of inclusion (as opposed to waiting for specific site pages to be crawled by an engine’s spider… for example Yahoo). To be included within an engine’s index or database can take some time if the site is not properly optimized or if it is not being crawled with some frequency.

The opportunity to be included almost immediately is appealing to many sites. However, keep in mind that this paid inclusion option does by no means indicate any of a site’s pages will rank higher on search engine results pages. This option is more a means of guaranteeing that a particular page on a site will be indexed. All program elements of an SEO campaign (i.e. optimized page content, proper use of images, good link popularity, etc.) should be considered prior to any discussion regarding a paid inclusion effort. Typically, organic search engine optimization efforts, when done correctly, will allow for site pages to be crawled and indexed without the need for a paid inclusion effort.

As indicated above, paid inclusion will NOT increase the ranking or positioning of any site page. The organic search results are determined by relevancy (among other factors such as page content, link popularity, etc.), and a properly implemented SEO campaign is what will determine the ranking/positioning of a site’s pages within the search engine results.

If a site is having problems or difficulties with specific site pages not being indexed, paid inclusion can be a viable and beneficial option. Since paid inclusion DOES guarantee that your submission will be indexed within days, it is obvious the recommendation would be in favor of paid inclusion with the scenario listed above. Determining the best mix of solutions in order to facilitate that goal is paramount and can be best achieved through collaborative research and analysis.

There are additional advantages or benefits to paid inclusion IF you are having challenges getting specific site pages indexed. The fact that paid inclusion options are typically feed solutions (i.e. XML data feed where the data is structured in such a way that it is easy for indexing), allows for a site to overcome issues such as pages with long URL strings that either contain too many variables or session IDs or URLs that are simply too long. It also helps with site pages that may use complicated JavaScript, or lengthy source code that a normal spider would time-out on, or some dynamic URLs, Flash content, framed sites, among others. If a site has elements as listed above, it could be beneficial to consider a paid inclusion initiative for those pages that have “crawlability” issues, or sites with deep content that changes frequently and is often overlooked in a natural crawl. In cases where all of a site’s important or key pages are indexed already, paid inclusion typically is NOT necessary.

When time is a priority and a site has time-sensitive offers or deals and needs to have specific site pages indexed within a short amount of time or at a specific time, paid inclusion can have an advantage over normal SEO efforts (as the cycle of crawling without paid inclusion can be days or weeks or months in between crawls, most paid inclusion programs will crawl daily). Conversely, paid inclusion also helps when you have the need to update or change the content of a page and you want it indexed within that 24-48 hour guaranteed window of re-indexing that paid inclusion offers. In many cases (without paid inclusion), a site may be revisited by a spider/crawl weekly or often with less frequency depending on the category or the frequency with which a particular site updates its content.

The biggest risk with paid inclusion is that you could pay a lot for guaranteed listings, but not achieve high rankings. Since the majority of searchers never look beyond the first 30 search results, you could be wasting your money.

Paid inclusion does have its place in an overall search marketing strategy for certain scenarios. When a site needs to have specific pages/content indexed or removed from a particular index, and when time is a priority, a paid inclusion effort can react rather quickly and possibly result in a positive ROI due to the speed with which indexing can be controlled. Sites that also have difficulty in having particular pages indexed can also benefit from paid inclusion initiatives. Technically complex site pages as touched on above are also candidates for possible paid inclusion efforts. If a properly implemented SEO campaign is unable to successfully get specific site pages indexed, paid inclusion is definitely an option. Just remember: SPEEDY listing does not equal HIGH ranking!

Is paid inclusion right for you? It depends. The paid inclusion annual fee is worth it to many businesses, however discussing the specifics and desired results are paramount to actually making any recommendations. Predicting ROI on per-URL paid inclusion is very challenging. One does not know how many clicks you will get for an annual or semiannual fee. A major element of many clicks a site will receive will depend on how search-engine friendly those pages are and if the SEO initiative has been implemented and maintained properly.

As with any Search Marketing Strategy, paid inclusion (if considered) should always be incorporated into the overall plan of attack and integrated with organic search, paid search, local search, and internet yellow pages campaigns to see the best possible exposure and visibility online.