Today Lycos have announced a paid inclusion package for webmasters looking for an express route into their index. The service, officially named InSite Select, is offered in conjunction with Lycos partner FAST. Like Inktomi, Lycos will guarantee you entry into its index within 48 hours. The index is powered by FAST, and so subscribers will gain an express listing on both Lycos and the FAST powered All the Web.

But is it actually worth it? The service will set you back $30 (Around £20) per month, which is substantially more than the Inktomi and AltaVista offerings. For your $30you will receive email notification that you've been listed, and your site will be refreshed every 48 hours. And that's about it - except that you will receive the InSite Newsletter that will help you to maximise traffic to your site - Wow!

Both Lycos and FAST are considered fairly easy to gain a free listing on - and good rankings aren't that tricky either. The big question is whether the advent of a paid inclusion programme will affect the free listings process. Yahoo! and Looksmart have eliminated free listings for all but non-profit sites, and many other engines are cluttering the top of their results with paid-for-placement listings. Lycos, like Inktomi and AltaVista, guarantee a listing but have promised the InSite subscribers will have no better rankings than free listers. The ranking process will still depend on the Fast Search & Transfer algorithm.

Lycos and FAST both have a pretty wide audience reaching 109 million unique monthly visitors. However, while free listings are still being offered I for one will not be an InSite subscriber just yet. By following the basic search engine optimisation rules, and remembering that great content is king, good listings on both Lycos and FAST are a given. This will be one to watch. AltaVista is now enhancing the listings of its paid-for-listing subscribers, which could be the direction Lycos will follow. My personal verdict is to stick with the free listing for now unless you need a quick fix or have money to burn!

For more information about InSite Select visit TerraLycos Press