Search engines build their databases automatically by sending out software agents across the web.
These agents, variously known as ' robots ', 'web crawlers' or 'spiders', are programs that follow links from page to page, gathering information about those pages on the way. If you understand a little about how these robots work and the kind of information they gather, you can influence how your web pages are indexed and so improve the chances that you reach the right audience. Search engines are constantly changing, both to improve the services they provide and to counteract the efforts of web authors who learn how to mislead them. You should never expect to be able to leap dramatically up the rankings in major search engines - that's what everyone else is trying to do, too. And second, create effective web pages that clearly communicate their purpose and contents to the human web directory editor who will look at them.