Sounds great to have your site submitted to thousands of search engines, doesn’t it? Actually, using a search engine submission service or software packages can often hurt your placement. In fact, some search engines will ban you altogether if you use them.

The problem with these services is that many of them use mass submission software, and doing so infringes on the terms of service of many search engines. The submitted site – yours – won’t even be considered, and it could take you months to figure that out.

And while submitting your website to “thousands of sites” sounds impressive, it’s not really. Many of those search engines are going to be specific as to language, religion, nationality or subject; that is, they will only accept sites in a specific language, pertaining to certain religious beliefs, pertaining to companies located in a specific country, or dealing with a specific subject. So, while mass submission services offer to submit your site to 200 Spanish search engines, for example, if your site isn’t in Spanish, it won’t be reviewed. It will have been “submitted” like you paid for, but so what?

In this business, you have to read carefully – and read between the lines.