Seems as if all of the major search engines these days have instituted a policy of pay for inclusion, and it appears Lycos is no exception. In a few weeks they'll be launching their own paid inclusion program. Lycos boasts big numbers, claiming over 40 million users; making them a competitive player in the search engine games.

The exact launch date has not been announced, but you can sign up to be notified by email when it is and also receive special introductory submission pricing.

Lycos will be offering two levels of service:

1) Lycos InSite Select: This guarantees your site's inclusion within 48 hours of submission along with a full refresh of your site every 48 hours. They'll also send you a "personalized site submission report" so you can see what has been indexed and when. It also includes access to "Search Services Central" which allows you to review your billing, make any changes or contact their support department. As an added bonus they give you a free subscription to their ezine, featuring tips and information on how to maximize your website traffic.

2) Lycos InSite Pro: This service includes all of the features of the "InSite Select" service plus the benefit of a remotely hosted search function for your website. They give you the code to add to your site so your guests can search your site quickly and find what they're looking for. The site search results page can be customized to match your site's colors and you can even add your own logo.

Pricing for both of the new services has not been disclosed yet. For those of you who are counting your pennies, have no fear, as they're still allowing free submissions which is now being called "Lycos InSite Lite." Inclusion takes 4 to 6 weeks and there's no guarantee you'll be listed at all. Go to http://home.lycos.com/addasite.html to submit your site.

Seeing so many of the search engines charging for submissions makes me yearn for the good old days when submissions were free. There are only a handful of engines and directories left that you can still submit to without a fee. I guess nothing good ever lasts forever, especially when it comes to the search engines and the Net.

For more on Lycos's new services, or to sign up to be notified when they go live with it, go to

http://search.lycos.com/searchservices/