Inktomi question

[KevinC.]

I signed up a couple years back with Inktomi to index six of my key pages. I was real happy at the time that those pages finally got indexed into their arcane and convoluted system fast and efficiently.

But I want to ask: once they are there, should I keep paying the $150 or so each year. If I don't will they stay there fine? Advice appreciated. thanks Kevin C

[scottiecl]

If you have good links to your pages, you can probably stop the paid inclusion and the pages will stay in the database. You can always add it back later if your pages disappear from the index.

[KevinC.]

Do you think Position Tech will take note of you not renewing and then take you out of index?

Also, do you know what is easist way to check what is in index with Inktomi? thanks!

[landmark]

Also, do you know what is easist way to check what is in index with Inktomi? thanks!

You can do an advanced search on MSN, searching for results on your domain name.

[KevinC.]

I went on MSN and did an advance search on my website. Only one of the six urls that I pay postiion tech to index was listed. There was another url listed -- a more obscure one that I don't pay to have listed.

If anyone can answer my previous question I'd appreciate it: if you stopped paying position tech to index your urls, would they take note of that and drop you from the index?

[esavvy]

I don't know for sure - but I can tell you I had a site with hundreds of backwards links. Stopped paying and it disappeared from the index immediately.

[KevinC.]

esavvy:

You stopped paying what? Urls to position tech? How many? Humdred of backwards links -- what does that mean, and is it relevant? thanks

[esavvy]

Sorry for not being clear. I was paying the $25 Inktomi fee for the URL. It had been included for a long time.

I did not renew (did not pay the $25) and it was removed from Inktomi (MSN).

The URL had 100's of other sites pointing to it (Google rank of 6).

What is Position Tech?

[KevinC.]

Position Tech is the company you pay to have your urls indexed with Inktomi. I think you must have paid them no?

so we need to find out with others their experineces getting indexed by paying, and not paying.

[merrick_lozano]

PositionTech is not the only game in town, there are many other VAR's ready to take your money and include you in Inktomi's index.

[KevinC.]

Merrick, you sound very knowledgable, I'm wondering if you can help with my original question:
If you don't pay postition tech to renew listings, with they chuck your url's out of the index?
Also, is there anyone more economical than postition tech. thanks!

[merrick_lozano]

Originally posted by KevinC.
Merrick, you sound very knowledgable, I'm wondering if you can help with my original question:
If you don't pay postition tech to renew listings, with they chuck your url's out of the index?
Also, is there anyone more economical than postition tech. thanks!

Thank you KevinC, in this case I can tell you that I have not paid Inktomi or any of its VAR's any money to include my pages in their index. In most cases I have worked other angles to get included very fast without paying money. Such as getting listed in Zeal, or getting links from other sites web pages where the pages are reindexed often. I am not opposed to paying money, but I have not had the need yet.

Do I believe your urls will get thrown out of the index, maybe, but if so just repay when it happens. If you cannot live without the sudden loss of traffic, just pay and do not take any chances.

I have never seen the price differ one Inktomi VAR to another, I looked up the price at Lycos, and Marketleap and they are the same as PositionTech. I am pretty sure Inktomi controls pricing as Apple does with VAR's.

Hope that helps.

[Advisor]

Kevin,

You may (or may not) have your page(s) out of the index temporarily. But they'll get back in and they'll stay in.

But who cares? Do you get traffic from Ink? Some of my sites do, but many don't. It depends on the target audience, I guess.

I've been having sites come up for review with PositionTech, and I have not been renewing them, and not worrying about it in the least.

Jill

[Webmaster T]

The Inktomi Inclusion program from as near as I can figure is like a separate index. Hence you no pay you are dropped from the index. So I would say if you have pages which are converting leave them in the program if they aren't don't renew. One piece of the puzzle is Yahoo! there are still no clear indications how or what Yahoo! plans to do as far as their own platform for SE results. What role G will have and what role Inky will play. I'm sure they both will be there just not sure to the degree or role.

I wouldn't count on them starting to index them once you remove them from the program. There must be some kind of algo which keeps them out of the main index while in the program. One indication would be the degree to which pages outside the Inclusion program get indexed by the regular crawl. That indicates how important Inktomi sees the site as being. I've found Inktomi to always lag the others on the depth to which they index.

MSN in general is a more consumer oriented demagraphic than G or most of the others outside of Yahoo! and AOL. If your audience is US and the product is consumer based Yahoo!, AOL and MSN are usually good engines to key on based on their user demagraphic.

[KevinC.]

Thanks Jill:

I think like a year or two ago I would get some calls from clients who used MSN, but not too much lately. It's all Google. So at the time I was happy with paying position tech, but if Inktomi is indexing better, and people use MSN less, then I would like not to have to pay to be indexed. Maybe I'll even inquire about a refund for the $150 just paid a month or so ago.

[Advisor]

Yep, exactly.

But don't count on that refund. Not gonna happen. You signed up and paid it, so you're pretty much stuck with it.

Jill