1. Meta tags ARE losing their importance. This does not mean that they are not going to help your ranking results. In Google the META keyword worth is very minimal if existing at all. However other search engines still rely on them.
Those articles are just comparing the good old days with the current days. Back then you were able to be spike up to # 1 by tweaking your META tags.
2. PPC and Overture can be worth your time. Just ensure that when people visit your site that you have good conversion by providing the visitors with what they are working for. If you feel confident that you will do this can start off by bidding on lower PPC bids track and analyze, then change PPC bid, track and Analyze, and so on. Your tracking will help you determine the best conversion rates with different rates that you pay.
@Joshua_N_Mar 05.2005 — #I have a problem with search engine submitting.
I submitted my website url to Google, and I put up meta tags. I've waited months and my site still doesn't show up on Google. Is there something else that I had to do in order to have a "google-searchable" website?
@IntensityMar 06.2005 — #Forget any Website submission programs or that kind of sort. It is useless. Have people that have a related website topic link to you. That will get you noticed. Believe me.
When I first started off I used every single submission program I could find with no result. It is all just a marketing skeme.