MSN rankings..help

[gift_basket_guy]

I am new a this ranking game and I need some help from you guys/gals.

I have submitted my URL to Inktomi about 5 months ago and it is indexed. However, I do not have good rankings on MSN despite very good rankings on Yahoo. I know they use very different criteria to rank websites but I was wondering what I need to do to increase my MSN rankings.

Do I need to use PPC using Looksmart in order to get ranked well or whats the deal?

I appreciate any help you can give me.

[ihelpyou]

You need to do searches on MSN on your keyword phrases. I did one here:
http://search.msn.com/results.asp?RS=CHECKED&FORM=MSNH&v=1&q=gift+baskets

You can see there are over 900 results showing. These results are from the "web directory sites" which are from Looksmart or Zeal.

Inktomi would not do you any good at all for MSN based on that keyphrase.

[gift_basket_guy]

Thanks for your quick response Doug! What do I need to do to get included in the Looksmart or Zeal Directory? How much does it cost. Can you still get into the LS directory or is it all PPC now?

Thanks.

[ihelpyou]

It's ALL PPC now. View the Looksmart threads in here about all the s h i t. :) You have to pay per click and that does not guarantee anything at all on MSN. There are many sites competing in your industry so it would be very tough.

You could use Overture's PPC as they show the top results on MSN.

Or, you could get more targeted with the phrases you are shooting for and have a much better chance. Use the www.wordtracker.com free trial to find many phrases to target.