The Power of Topic Specific Search Engines

By S. Houlsey

What are Topical Search Engines?
Simply put, topical search engines are search engines
focused on a specific industry, sector or topic.


While many marketers are scrambling for links, any links, an
area that is often overlooked is topic-specific search
engines. What many don't realize is that these engines do
produce traffic, and they often contain traffic that is very
targeted. Anyone who has taken the time to analyze weblogs
and track sales sources will likely see that targeted
traffic converts at a significantly higher rate than
non-targeted traffic.

A savvy online marketer realizes that often, the quality of
the visitor is far more important than the quantity of
visitors. Web marketers should focus their energies on
attracting targeted traffic whenever possible.

For example, if you sell saddles, advertising on a site
related to horses or advertising on a topical search engine
like http://www.horse-stall.net will bring significantly
more sales than advertising on a generic web site or search
engine.

Niche engines are considerably smaller than general search
engines but they can still be quite lucrative. The small
size of a niche or topic-specific engine ensures that the
there are few competitors, and advertisers are generally
willing to pay a little more for the focused traffic.
Advertisers appreciate the unique benefit of reaching a very
targeted audience who have a higher likelihood of purchasing
their product or service. As a result, topic-specific search
engines and directories are a burgeoning market. There is
far less competition in niche directories and dominating a
specific market segment and establishing brand recognition
is significantly easier.

It is virtual suicide to attempt to compete with the
behemoth search engines like Google. Web-surfers are
interested in simplicity and efficiency, which translates to
as few clicks as possible. This is an area where Google
really cannot compete with a topic-specific search engine.
Creating a simple, clear navigational structure of related
content while cross-promoting related products or services
will increase the site's value.

Advertisers will also flock to search portals that are
industry-specific, as they appreciate the unique benefit of
reaching a very targeted audience who have a higher
likelihood of purchasing their product or service.

Consider the niche search engine, Alarm Tools -
http://www.alarm-tools.net . The traffic this portal
attracts will be of significant interest to manufacturers of
security equipment or emergency supplies. Imagine the
targeted traffic that an alarm company could receive from a
link in the above search directory.

Comtemplate the quality traffic a financial planner could
glean from an RSS search directory focussed on finance and
investing at http://www.finance-investing.com .

Locating topic-specific search engines is not all that
difficult. Consider using the resources provided by Search
Engine Watch, Web Search Engines, and Search Engine Guide to
locate engines that are topic-specific:

Search Engine Watch -
http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156351
http://www.web-search-engines.net/directory/topic-specific.
Web Search Engines - html
Search Engine Guide -
http://www.searchengineguide.com/searchengines.html

Qualified 'clickers' or interested buyers is what it is all
about; whether you are selling a product or advertising, the
more targeted the traffic the better the fit. As an
advertiser, consider topic- specific search engines. As an
online marketer, consider creating a niche search portal, as
the market is ripe.

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.