In this regular column we review software which is used by the Exploit Interactive project team. In this issue we report on an externally-hosted web service called "Scrub The Web" which provides an "Easy Submit!" service which we use to submit new issues of Exploit Interactive to popular search engines.
The EXPLOIT project aims to support Telematics For Libraries projects by helping the projects in their dissemination and in exploiting their deliverables. Exploit Interactive has an important role in publishing articles about the projects. It is important that the articles can be easily found and are widely read. A number of approaches to publicising articles published in Exploit Interactive are taken, including publicity on mailing lists, a email-based notification service, participation in conferences and other events, etc. In addition we try to ensure that articles can be found by users of search engines by submitting URLs to popular search engines. A number of tools which can be used to assist this process have been investigated. In this article we review the "Scrub The Web Web-based service.
A number of packages for submitting pages from Web sites to search engines are available as can be seen from the lists at Yahoo! [1] and the Web Developer's Virtual Library [2]. As mentioned previously in Exploit Interactive [3] submission programs which are available include NetSubmitter [4], RegisterPro [5], Engenius [6], the Exploit Submission Wizard [7] and WebPosition [8]. Evaluation copies of many submission programs can be obtained on CDROMs distributed with Internet and Web magazines.
There may be some reservations that people may have over the use of Web submission software:
In addition to the submission programs there are a number of web-based submission services available including Broadcaster [8] and Submit-it [9]. Since the release of issue 4 in January 2000 we have made use of a service hosted by Scrub The Web called Easy Submit! [10]. A summary of our experiences follows.
The entry point for Scrub The Web's Easy Submit! submission service is shown in Figure 1.
 Figure 1: Scrub The Web Submission Service |
After entering your personal details (name and postal and email address) and details of the Web site you can then select the search engines you wish the resource to be submitted to, as shown in Figure 2.
 Figure 2: Using Scrub The Web's Submission Service |
After selecting the search engines, a new browser window is created. The window contains two frames: one contains Scrub The Web's control information while the other contains the submission page for the current search engine, as shown in Figure 3.
 Figure 3: Scrub The Web's Submission to Excite |
Since some search engines may require additional information (such as the category for the Web site or its geographical location) user input into the bottom frame may occasionally be required. Otherwise you need to give input in the top frame in order to progress to the next submission.
As should be apparent from the summary, the service is easy to use. It works by providing a semi-automated interface to the submission pages for a variety of search engines. Since the service works an a user interface level, it is dependent on the consistency of the interface provided by the search engines. It may occasionally stop working for particular search engines if they change their interface.
The main caveat that should be mentioned is the possible danger of receiving excessive email spam messages. Following initial use of the service in February 2000 no fewer than 253 messages were received in the following 2 weeks. Although some were confirmations of the submissions, many were advertisements. A number of the search engines have policies which state that submission of a resource entitles them to send you email advertisements. Although the email blitz seems to tail off after a few weeks, we now use a backup email account, so that the influx of messages isn't too distracting.
As with all submission programs and services there is always a question mark as to whether they have a significant effect. It is always possible that the entries into, say, AltaVista's index would have happened in any case in AltaVista's next trawl of the Web site. For a Web magazine, however, the advantage is likely to be in ensuring that pages are indexed on or shortly after the publication date.
Scrub The Web's Easy Submit! service is free and easy-to-use. It sometimes breaks and there is a danger of spam (which can be avoided). We will probably continue to use it until we find something better.
Brian Kelly
UK Web Focus
UKOLN
University of Bath
Bath
England
BA2 7AY
URL: <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk>
Email: b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk
For citation purposes:
Brian Kelly, "Software in Use: Submitting to Search Engines Using 'Scrub The Web'",
Exploit Interactive, issue 6, 26th June 2000
URL: <http://www.exploit-lib.org/issue6/software-used/>
[HTML Validation] - [Accessibility check]
|
Issue Home | Editorial | Features | Regular Columns | News and Events | Et cetera | ||
|
| ||
| Go to Top |
A UKOLN Service. Contact Us. Copyright © 1999 |
Last Updated: 26th June 2000 |