# Do I need to pay to be listed on Google? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379 "2002-12-17T18:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/1 "2002-12-17T18:59:00Z")
On at least one [web hosting web site](http://www.netsol.com/en_US/build-it/compare.jhtml) the company lists “Submission of your Web site to the Google search engine” but only for their higher-priced web hosting packages. I thought Google decided for themselves what to include, and I thought it was pretty much everything in the universe. It is a scam to charge extra for a Google listing? ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/2 "2002-12-17T19:04:41Z")
[Try this.](http://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/3 "2002-12-17T22:17:57Z")
Almost scam. Maybe just taking advantage of the ignorant. They’re providing a service, but anyone can submit their site to Google. It’s not hard. No-one, however, can guarantee just how or where google will list it, they have very strict and secret algorithms that determine this, in order to prevent the cheating and fixing that some internet sharks claim they can do. I suspect that ISPs hope to suggest that by getting them to do the submission they’ll somehow do a better job of it, i.e. it will appear nearer the top of searches. But, really, the only thing that’ll make a difference is the quality of your web site and how many people use and link to it. ---
**Author:** ![martin\_ibn\_martin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@martin\_ibn\_martin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/martin_ibn_martin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/4 "2002-12-18T00:35:18Z")
Google does have Pay-Per-Click sponsored ads that are always on top or on a sidebar for each and every page you look at. Listing yourself is free. Listing there is not free. Optimum listing with the correct keywords or metatags is free if you know what you’re doing- and costly if you try to go without. ---
**Author:** ![XPav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b77776/32.png) [@XPav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XPav)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/5 "2002-12-18T02:20:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by martin\_ibn\_martin \* > \*\*Google does have Pay-Per-Click sponsored ads that are always on top or on a sidebar for each and every page you look at. Listing yourself is free. Listing there is not free. Optimum listing with the correct keywords or metatags is free if you know what you’re doing- and costly if you try to go without. \*\* And requires that you do the Google dance every month to keep up with their changing algorithms. ---
**Author:** ![NotBob13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19b73/32.png) [@NotBob13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotBob13)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/6 "2002-12-18T03:53:25Z")
/highjack Doesanybody know where FutileGesture’s signature quote came from? That is a great line? /highjack ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/7 "2002-12-18T05:13:58Z")
**NotBob13** : From _The Aftermyth of War_ in Beyond the Fringe, with Peter Cook and Jonathan Miller (and Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett). ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/8 "2002-12-18T13:51:22Z")
I tried and tried to get my website listed on Yahoo! - it took at least five attempts, over a year or so. Eventually they did do it - after I’d made some frame issues work ok for Netscape as well as IE. Google picked it up much earlier. The trick I found was first getting listed in the Open Directory Project - [http://www.dmoz.org](http://www.dmoz.org) ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/9 "2002-12-18T14:56:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by martin\_ibn\_martin \* > \*\*Optimum listing with the correct keywords or metatags is free if you know what you’re doing- and costly if you try to go without. \*\* I don’t think Google uses keywords or metatags to any great degree. Certainly not for ranking. They were initially designed to allow for searching and indexing, but very quickly became abused. You’d get pages listing entire dictionaries in their keywords, including common keywords that bore no relation to the page’s content or commercial pages including other’s tradenames. Consequently they quickly fell from favour with search engines. Seriously, Google know what they are doing. You can try playing the system but it won’t get you very far for very long. Nothing beats good, well organised, content. ---
**Author:** ![XPav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b77776/32.png) [@XPav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XPav)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/10 "2002-12-18T19:27:53Z")
Funny/sad story: The needlepoint store under my feet decided to go online. The owner paid for the website, had it setup, and paid one of the “search specialists” to get the site up in the rankings. That person did their job, and their site showed up #1 or #2 in the rankings for the relevant terms. The owner was going to start taking online orders in a couple weeks. Then Google changed their algorithm. The site plummetted out of the first 10. The search engine guy said “yeah, its because Yahoo bought Google” ??? and wanted more money to make the site go back up. Google knows what they’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/11 "2002-12-18T20:33:48Z")
Yahoo did not acquire Google, but they do use Google’s search algorithms now. ---
**Author:** ![XPav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b77776/32.png) [@XPav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XPav)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-need-to-pay-to-be-listed-on-google/143379/12 "2002-12-18T21:57:25Z")
I know that Yahoo didn’t buy Google, but this guy said that it was. Heck, I’ve heard from people that every company bought every other company and then you find out that they just signed a cooperative marketing agreement or were on the same press release.