So you want to start a search engine business? Where do you begin? And what do you need to do in order to get your search engine business off the ground? The answers to these questions are actually quite simple.

First as with all Internet businesses, you need to secure you a domain name and hosting for your website. Pick a domain name that is catchy, fun, and memorable. It is very important when choosing a search engine name. I suggest signing up with GoDaddy.com and purchasing a Premium Hosting Plan with them. You will need to make sure whichever hosting package you choose will allow you enough bandwidth and data transfer usage for the month. Godaddy has affordable options that are suitable for any brick and mortar business.

Second, if you have not already done so, sign up for a Google Adsense account so you may start making money from the clicks and impressions on your website. Insert your Google code throughout your site, but make sure you follow the rules outlined in Google’s user agreements so you won’t have your account banned

Third, you will need a search engine program and install it onto your hosting server. This may seem like a daunting task for some beginners. There are several open source search engine programs that are free to use and customize. You can find these open source codes on sourceforge.net You will need programming knowledge in order to customize your search engine program to fit the needs of your business, (e.g.: customizing logo, variables, locations, etc.). If you do not have the needed programming knowledge it will be a good idea to outsource this part of the process. After the search engine tool has been customized and thoroughly tested on your server, launch the new website!

Write a press release (or outsource a writer) and blast the announcement of your new search engine all over the web. This is where the importance of step one comes in. Make sure you have a catchy, fun and memorable search engine business name. People will remember it easier.

Lastly, continue to market your new business by means of promotional blog posts, email signatures, newsletters, forums, and custom business cards. Your efforts will be well worth it when your search engine company becomes popular.

Tips & Warnings

*start a free blog and network with other bloggers who will give a positive review of your search engine.
*Take advantage of social bookmarking sites like: Stumbleupon and Digg
*Write articles about Search Engine Marketing and submit them to free article directories. Include a resource box in the article with a link back to your search engine.

*Beware of freelance outsourcers who promise millions of traffic in one day. They will most likely be using some tricky trades that will get your site banned.
*Don’t allow low traffic to discourage you. Continue to follow and execute the tips and you’ll see traffic pick up!