A lot of the formerly free search engines now charge to list you. That works for some people, but not for others. I must admit that the listing on Yahoo I paid $299 for, hasn't gotten me more than a handful of orders over the past two years.
On the other hand, search engines that offer free submission still pull in lots of visitors. Google works best for me. Alta Vista also does the job.
Decide what your most important keyword is. That is the one word or short phrase most customers will use to find a site like yours. Make that keyword the first word in the title of your opening page. The title is that one line of copy that goes in the browser window. Make sure the keyword is mentioned several times in the copy near the top of your page.
It's often a good idea to put the name of your city in the title. When you put your city in the title of of your site, people looking for services or opportunities in your town find your site comes up quickly.
If you plan to use search engines to get a great deal of your site traffic, make your site specialized. It should be on a topic that isn't overdone on the Internet.
Want a LOT more detail on getting your site listed high on search engines? See expert Jerry West's articles at: http://www.webmarketingnow.com/tips/category-search-engines.html