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What is a search engine?
What is a web spider?
Why do they matter to my site?
Google and Yahoo both search but they're so different. Why?
How can I optimize my web site to take advantage of search engines?
How can I use search engines to market my site?
I have frames in my site. Is there anything I have to do special when setting up my metatags?
How often do I have to resubmit to search engines?
What are the big search engines?
There are many companies out there that charge for search engine placement.  Is it worth it to go with one of them?
Are there any good sites where I can learn more about this?

What is a search engine?
A search engine takes the key words typed into the 'search box' and search (or crawl) the web for sites that match those key words.  There are several methods these search engines use to search but their primary function is to find sites that you want to visit.  When you consider that there are literally millions of sites out there and maybe - just maybe - there are a couple dozen that suit your needs, search engines are an absolute necessity.

Why do they matter to my site?
If your site is registered with search engines then potential visitors can actually find your site.  Unless you are lucky enough to have a precise domain name, then you will need a variety of methods to attract visitors.  Advertising and marketing costs money.  Search engine submissions just take a bit of time.

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How can I optimize my web site to take advantage of search engines?
Buried in the very beginning of the html code for many web sites you will find meta tags that provide search engines the information they need to know what your site is all about. If you go to View > Source in your browser for this page you will see meta tags that explain the purpose of our site.

What is a web spider?
A spider is another name for a search engine that actually goes out to the sites that are listed and gather information.  When your site is 'crawled' the links are followed, the words are tabulated and your site is ranked by relevance.  If your site is all about writing but the word 'writing' only appears once on the home page risks being ranked lower than a site about bagels than mentions the word writing twice.

Google and Yahoo both search but they're so different.  Why?
Google ranks sites by how many other sites are linked to it figuring highly relevant sites are linked to often by other sites.  Yahoo is actually a directory with a staff that organizes sites based on categories.  Other search engines, like AskJeeves and DogPile actually search the search engines and provide the visitor with the tops of the other engines.

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How can I use search engines to market my site?
When you make sure that the search engines know of your site and you have spent the time creating meta tags and getting as many people to link to your site as possible, then visitors who type in your key words, ie., web hosting, affordable, then you have a better chance of them coming to your site.  

I have frames in my site. Is there anything I have to do special when setting up my metatags?
Make sure that you put the meta tags on the frameset, not just your main page.  Most often the spider will start with www.yourdomain.com/default.htm - the logical starting point unless you sent it somewhere else.  Make sure that you have your meta tags on your "No Frames" page, too.  Many spiders can't read frames and will jump directly to the "No Frames" page.  Also, make sure that there is always a link directly to your main frameset from any page in the folder.  If a spider gives out a hyperlink to a page and it suddenly appears outside of the frameset, your visitor will not be able to navigate (and will then leave.)

How often do I have to resubmit to search engines?
You should resubmit to the big sites at least once a month.

What are the big search engines?
Altavista, Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, Google, CNET (for technology), Mamma, AskJeeves, DogPile.  Be careful, though.  Some search engines are charging for traffic that they drive to your site (none of these do).  Read the fine print.

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There are many companies out there that charge for search engine placement.  Is it worth it to go with one of them?
It depends on how strapped you are for time or how related your URL is to your product.  There are some free services that could take you a couple of hours each month to do or you could pick the biggest sites and submit them yourself (which is good because you know best what your site is about). If you don't have the time or your domain name is difficult to remember or you sell a product in a highly competitive field, then a good placement company is worth their bandwidth in gold.

Are there any good sites where I can learn more about search engines?
One good site with lots of useful information is Spider-Food and WebMonkey under E-Commerce > Marketing.  Another site that is good is Hits-To-Sales.  (They're also masters of providing enough free content to whet your visitor's appetite to buy the stuff for sale!)  Also, Search Engine Watch is a good source of information.  Some of their information is in their "members only" section but they still have some good 'free' stuff.