LookSmart now offers two pay-per-click models under their LookListings campaigns:

1. Inclusion-targeted listing, where you pay a set amount for each click through ($.15) until you reach 5,000 click throughs. At that time, you'll be charged according to whatever category your site falls under. The minimum campaign budget is $15 per month for every inclusion-targeted listing in a campaign. Inclusion-targeted listings appear in the main section of the search results. But, they may appear under the Sponsored Results section depending on relevancy and the number of keyword-targeted listings for that query.

2. Keyword-targeted listing, where you bid on certain keywords and pay the bid amount per click through. The minimum budget is $15 per month for every 30 keyword-targeted listings. Keyword-targeted listings get priority placement in the Sponsored Results section. This pay-per-click model allows you to select specific keywords, set your own price per clicks, and have more control over your position than the inclusion-targeted model.

If you'll follow the tips below, you'll:

1) Maximize your incoming traffic from your LookSmart listings;

2) Maximize your chances of ranking well (very important if you want your listing to bring any traffic);

3) Learn strategies for improving your chances of success.

STEP ONE: Make sure your URL and site meets their guidelines

Since LookSmart has human beings review all submitted pages, you must be sure to fill out their submission form accurately and in accordance with their rules. If you don't follow their guidelines, you may delay your indexing time.

LookSmart says they will never list the following type of sites:

• Pornography or adults-only sites
• Sites with pornographic or adult advertising
• Sites with gratuitous or graphic violence
• Sites that promote/disseminate illegal activities
• Your site must be in English and be of use to an audience located in the United States. Sites that target a non-U.S audience sites must be submitted to the appropriate Global Directory of LookSmart

They claim that sites with the following issues are in jeopardy of not being listed:

• Sites with too little content
• Sites without recognizable or quality content
• Sites that are excessively slow to load
• Sites that have duplicate content (mirror URLs, affiliate URLs, or multiple product pages)

They also state:

• Your site must be up and running 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
• Your site should not be under construction, and all links should be working.
• Your site cannot mirror or redirect to another URL.

To read their guidelines, visit:

http://listings.looksmart.com/help/guidelines/index.jhtml

STEP TWO: Filling out the submission form

1. Go to LookSmart's submission page at:

http://listings.looksmart.com/campaigns/submit/initial.jhtml

2. You'll first decide whether you want a keyword-targeted listing or an inclusion-targeted listing. If you choose keyword targeting, you'll list specific keywords related to your Web page in the box, with one keyword per line.

3. You'll then be asked for a URL and tracking URL. According to LookSmart, the URL must be in English, have original content, and be fully functional 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Other URL tips include:

a)       Must be unique

b)      Must not redirect

c)      Must not be a mirror of another URL or direct to a mirror URL

d)      Can be in frames if the body page contains significant content, links, company information and stable navigation to other pages in the site

e)      If you use a tracking URL, the tracking URL must point directly to the same page as the display URL

f)        URLs cannot contain spaces -- you must use a plus sign (+) instead of spaces

g)      Using anchor tags within the URL is not permitted

h)      Must begin with proper protocol such as http:// or https:// etc.

i)        URLs that have forms or search results should not be submitted, unless they have significant content and are stable

4. You’ll then be asked for a title. According to LookSmart, this must be your company name or the exact title of your Web page. Another tips for effective titles and descriptions include:

a)       They do not accept superlatives, slogans, or extraneous information.

b)       Do not use keyboard characters as a substitute for the real word, as a general rule. Do not use multiple exclamation points.

c)       Words in all caps are not permitted unless used as initials, as an acronym, or unless they are trademarked in that style.

d)       A listing must accurately represent the linked page at all times.

e)       There should be an obvious connection between the keywords in the query and the display elements of the listing (the title, description, and URL).

f)        A listing must clearly communicate what the linked page offers and who is offering it.

g)    Do not use universal "call to action" phrases such as "Click here."

Careful observation of LookSmart’s directory reveals that they will list BOTH the company and product name or brief description. Here's an example of such a listing in the marketing software category:

Palo Alto Software - Marketing Plan Pro
Discover this software and learn to research and write a
complete marketing plan. Chat live with an operator and
find related resources.

The advantage of the above listing is that the title (Palo Alto Software – Marketing Plan Pro) is longer than just a simple company name title. Marketing research traditionally credits longer titles as being more effective up to a point. In addition, Palo Alto Software managed to include twice as many keywords as most of their competitors because the keywords are part of their company name and part of their software name. Therefore, they have a much better chance of coming up for searches on not only their product AND company name, but also on their significant keywords like software, marketing, and plan.

If you don't have a main product or service name for your company to include in the title, then another strategy is to slip in an important keyword with your company name when possible. For example, this listing from Visicat includes the very important keyword phrase "Interactive Web Site Design" in the title:

Visicat Interactive Web Site Design
Creators of software products for the Internet
that can be used to increase traffic and
enlarge the audience.

If you travel to their site, their company name appears as simply Visicat, Inc. My guess is the reviewer allowed the above title to slip by, or perhaps Visicat had their Web site designed with Visicat Interactive Web Site Design as the title of their site at the time of submission. Another possibility is that the reviewer deemed "Interactive Web Site Design" as a reasonable name for the product/service that the company offered. To get a feel for what LookSmart considers a reasonable title, do some searches. See what pops up in categories relating to your own Web site.

Be aware that I do not recommend you make up company names just to get better listings in LookSmart. However, if you can expand upon your company name a little, or create a good title for your site and also reflect that on your Web site's home page, your page could come up under searches for the keyword phrases used.

A word of caution: Real humans will review your submission. Therefore, if you simply jam in a bunch of keywords like "Bill's Web site Design and Web site Promotion Software and Services Inc." you will find your submission rejected, or your title chopped down to whatever they feel is appropriate. Therefore, exercise CAUTION. Adding any keywords in the title that are not a natural part of your company name, product name, or site name will almost certainly get thrown out.

5. Next comes the description field - this field on the LookSmart submission form is to provide the surfer with information to help them make a decision on which listing will better suit their needs. So it is EXTREMELY important that it be accurate and grab their attention since you are paying per click through. Be sure to write your descriptions in complete sentences using proper punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. See additional suggestions for writing titles and descriptions in the title section (#4) above.

Your LookSmart description is very important.  Since you are paying for each click, you want to be as accurate and descriptive as possible to avoid untargeted click throughs which cost you money. You do not want to have anything misleading such as saying you offer something you do not, or leading a surfer to believe they are getting access to something for free when they have to order or pay to access it. You will not only pay for click throughs that will most likely not convert to sales, but you will also anger surfers coming from LookSmart.

In your description, include as much information for the surfers as possible to help them decide between your listing and many others. Try to put yourself in the surfers' shoes. Think about what search terms they might type to find your listing. Use your description to target them by trying to include the term you think they are most likely to search for in your description. Try to use specific searchable terms such as “Purchase vitamins and minerals online. We have Calcium, multi-vitamins, vitamin supplements for women…”

Also, if your business only services a specific location, include that in the description. If someone is searching for scuba diving classes available in Florida, you don’t want them to click through to your site if you only offer scuba diving classes in Hawaii.

You can use call-to-action verbs if they explain what the surfer can do when the visit your site. Examples include: “purchase software titles,” “compare insurance companies,” “subscribe to magazines,” “take a health quiz,” etc.

Useful tips for writing a compelling description so that people will want to click on it can also be found below:

http://www.webposition.com/critichelp/contents/metaDescription.htm

Although the above article discusses Meta description tags, which are ignored by LookSmart, the principles discussed under the topic "How to Write a Compelling Description" still apply when writing your LookSmart description.

Ultimately, the LookSmart editor will write whatever description they deem appropriate. Therefore, be conservative in the way you write the description so that it describes the content of your site and does not "overly praise" the site. Make sure it slips in some of your important keywords without making the sentences sound awkward. With any luck, the editor will choose the easiest route and simply paste your description in verbatim.

Important: Be sure to record all the information you use to fill out their submission form (including your e-mail address and password) so you can reference it later if needed. Jot down the order number you receive after submitting as well as the submission date for future reference.

STEP THREE: Follow Up

You should receive an email from LookSmart within 5 business days of your submission with your “Listing State.”  If your “Listing State” is marked Approved, your site should appear within a few days in LookSmart’s primary index. It can take several weeks to be propagated through all LookSmart’s partner and portal sites.  So the next step is to monitor LookSmart for your new listing. You can setup WebPosition's Reporter on a schedule to monitor this for you, or you can periodically search for your company or product name yourself on LookSmart.com.

If you don't find your site within the expected amount of time, e-mail LookSmart’s customer service department at:

http://listings.looksmart.com/accounts/contacts/login.jhtml

Ideally, you should include the order number you received after submitting, the date you submitted, and the URL.

STEP FOUR: Changing your listing

If all goes well, you will get the listing you wanted and achieve some good rankings. However, reviewers can edit your listing. So, if you find that you are not bringing in the traffic you would like, you can edit your LookListings for free. You can do this after logging into your account at:

http://listings.looksmart.com/accounts/contacts/login.jhtml

More Information:

Comparison of Major Paid Inclusion, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), and Pay-Per-Review Services

Making Sense of the Different Types of Paid Submission Services (MarketPosition March, 2002)