Following recent articles on this page in relation to Internet search engines a number of people have asked about how to have their site picked up by the engines.

It is a natural and very relevant question to ask. After all, someone might have created the best, most informative website in the world and not have a soul visit it because nobody knows about it.

With a new book or magazine, being on a bookshop's or newsagent's shelf means that casual browsers will come across it. With the Internet, even though the vessel for using it is called a browser, you will not come across sites that you do not already know about without being included on one or more search engines.

Different engines have different policies when it comes to what they include. There are two broad categories: those that operate as directory services and those that are pure search engines. The first includes operations such as Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) and Excite (www.excite.com). They divide their search by categories such as Arts and Humanities, Business and Economy or Education.

To be included in Yahoo, just go to the homepage and, in the bottom left corner, click on the How to Suggest a Site link. This has all the details you need to know, divided into three easy steps: 1. Check to see if your site is already in Yahoo. 2. Find the appropriate category in Yahoo. 3. Suggest your site.

If the link you are submitting is a live broadcast or chat area you can send it directly to Yahoo's Net Events section. If your site is in a language other than English, it has a list of non-English directories. Other directory sites operate on a similar basis. If you are using this method of promoting your site go to as many directories as possible because they will not all include your details even if you submit everything in the correct manner. Vanity pages of the "Ten great things about me" variety are unlikely to be included.

The other category is for pure search engines such as Altavista and HotBot. They operate by searching all of the Internet, so a link to your site should turn up somewhere, depending on the search terms a person enters. With well over a billion web pages, don't be surprised to find your link in amongst thousands, or even millions, of other suggestions.

Be wary of engines offering to place your site link high up on their lists for a fee. If they need to do that, chances are they are not a much-used directory or engine. Avoid.