Web Resources > Driving Traffic > Search Engines > Directories > Yahoo

Yahoo is a directory, not a search engine like Google. It consists of a structured organization of links under many categories. If your site is a commercial site then being listed in Yahoo is a must.

Yahoo currently charge $299 a year to be listed in the directory. Considering the amount of traffic that Yahoo can send to your web site this is a very reasonable cost.

It is also important to be listed in Yahoo because Google spiders the Yahoo directory and your site will gain link relevancy (PageRank) from Yahoo's very high level of PageRank (Read the Google page for an explanation of PageRank).

When you submit your site to Yahoo there is no guarantee that it will be accepted. Yahoo will normally make a decision within 7 days and if they reject your site they will explain why. Rejection does not mean you get a refund of your $299, this is considered an editorial cost to review your site. There is a free Yahoo submission for non-commercial sites but the review process is lengthy and the likelyhood of being listed is low.

Submitting Your Site To Yahoo

Given the importance of getting a listing in Yahoo, and the risk of losing $299 in the submission process, below you will find some tips on what Yahoo is looking for.

• A human editor reviews every submission. Yahoo basically wants to maintain their directory as a valuable resource and they expect a certain level of professionalism to be evident with your site.
• Your site must be finished. Do not submit your site if pages are still non-complete or under construction. All your links must work. Ensure that you double check this aspect of your site before submitting.
• It is worth to ensure that your site works on Netscape 4.7 and Internet Explorer
• Your site must contain useful content. For example - a site consisting of affliate links is very unlikely to be accepted into Yahoo.
• Ensure that your company contact information is readily available.
• If you accept credit card sales on your site, ensure you have SSL capability.
• Ensure that you have terms and conditions and a privacy policy in-view and available on your site
• Yahoo will normally check your WHOIS listing to check the name of your company. This name is what they will use for your title if your title does not reflect it.
• Make your title and description professional and don't fill it with hype.
• If your site is a sub-domain don't submit your site, you will most likely lose $299
• Decide which category you want to submit to very carefully. Your company focus must match the category.

Once you are accepted into Yahoo, then it is hard to get your site description or title changed. It is important to do your homework before you submit.

How Yahoo Returns Results

Unlike search engines, Yahoo does not index the content of your pages and determine relevancy based off factors like keyword density in your pages. Yahoo bases it's search results on the content of your title, description and your URL.

Your title must contain the company name listed in your WHOIS record. Beyond that it is important that you use and incorporate keywords within the title and description that are likely to be search words entered by people using Yahoo to find companies like yours. To find the right keywords use tools like Overture Search Term Tool or more complex tools like Wordtracker. These tools are what you should use in all your search engine optimization work. There is no value in optimizing your site to be found for words and phrases that very few people use during searches.

Resources Related To Yahoo

Webmaster world - Yahoo Discussion Forum