Search engine submission is not necessary in most cases today. In the past, submitting your website to search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo was a common practice to ensure that your site was indexed. However, modern search engines, especially Google, have become highly advanced and can automatically discover and index new websites through links from other sites (crawling).
Here are some key points:
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Automatic Crawling: Search engines regularly send out bots (also known as crawlers or spiders) to discover new web pages by following links from other websites. If your site is properly linked from another indexed site, it will likely get crawled without submission.
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Webmaster Tools: Although submission isn’t necessary, using tools like Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools is highly recommended. These tools allow you to submit a sitemap (a file that lists all pages on your site) which can help search engines crawl and index your site more efficiently. It also gives insights into how the search engine views your site.
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Benefits of Manual Submission: While search engine submission is not required, manually submitting your site or sitemap can help in certain cases, such as:
- A new website with no backlinks yet.
- Forcing search engines to quickly re-index after a significant website update or relaunch.
In conclusion, search engine submission is no longer a critical SEO step, but ensuring that your site is crawlable and using webmaster tools to submit a sitemap can speed up indexing and provide valuable insights.