Yahoo at a Glance Media Metrix Rating* 28.8% Directory/Engine Own Crawler/Human Edit paid directory NetRatings** 23.8% Support Frames? Yes (variable) Submission Wait Time 30 days/free - 4 days/pd inc. Deep Crawl? Yes Support MetaTags? Yes (<title>, <meta desc>, <meta kw>) * Media Metrix Ratings as of July 2006. ** NetRatings as of July 2006.

Yahoo is the Grand Daddy of directories on the internet – and it remains the most popular directory.  When visitors to Yahoo perform a search, Yahoo returns listings from its own crawler based algorithmic results, sometimes overlaying directory listings.  Paid sponsor results appear at the top and/or side of the page.  On March 19, 2003, Yahoo bought Inktomi and its pay for inclusion technology as well as its crawler-based technology.  The results of this purchase is what you see on Yahoo! today.   The question is often asked, given that Yahoo results are for the most part provided by secondary sources, is it worth the $299 US annual charge currently be charged by Yahoo to commercial sites wishing to be listed in its directory?  The answer for a new site or a site that is not performing well in Google, often is yes, not because being listed in Yahoo will drive huge numbers of visitors to a site, but because acceptance in the Yahoo directory is viewed by many search engines, most notably Google as an indication of the importance of a site.  This perceived importance will usually result in improved rankings by those search engines.  However, once a site is established in the major search engines, it may be wise to look closely at buying the service beyond the first year.  Of course this may all change once Yahoo brings Inktomi into to its site.  Submission Notes Yahoo! Search Submission Submit Your Site for Free: - Suggest your site for inclusion in Yahoo! Search (requires registration). Site Match™ and Site Match Xchange: Pay-For-Performance™: Yahoo! Directory Submission Yahoo! Express: - Submit your site for review and inclusion in the Yahoo! Directory. - Editorial review of your pages. - Intuitive categorization of your site in the Yahoo! Directory. Yahoo's Spam Policies Non-commercial sites can register for free at Yahoo. For commercial sites: The $299 US charged by Yahoo for reviewing your site, is non-refundable – so even if your site gets rejected – and many sites do get rejected – you will not get your $299 back.  If you decide to change your submission, or you do not like the way the Yahoo editor altered your submission – too bad – Yahoo hardly every agrees to changes.  Your original submission must be done correctly and in a manner that will be approved by the Yahoo editors and that you can live with for at least one year.  Yahoo will not review incomplete or under construction sites.  If a site has “tricks” they will reject it.  So, no keyword stuffing, redirects, hidden text, multiple submissions, or other questionable practices should be found in your site.  Sites submitted to Yahoo should be straight-forward with valuable content.   Be very careful when you are filling in a Yahoo submission to make sure that you DO NOT check the box that allows Yahoo to automatically bill your credit card on an annual basis.   Because Yahoo is a human edited directory, the guidelines for submitting to it are very different from most search engine submissions, however content is still the most important aspect of a submitting site.    You MUST find the right category to submit your site under.  Even then, the editors may change your listing category if they think another category more suitable.  Yahoo only indexes (adds to its directory data base) the following 3 items from a site: The title you indicate for your site.  For the most part Yahoo insists that this be your company name which to their way of thinking should also be the name on your site – remember the Yahoo editor will be checking to see exactly who your site is registered to in www.whois.com.  Any hype in your title will be rejected. The URL for your site. Yahoo will position you better if your site’s URL contains the keywords most important to your site. The description you provide for your site.  This is the best place to place your keywords, but remember – Yahoo editors dislike just a list of keywords, anything too promotional or obviously not what your site is about. You are restricted to 25 words or 150 characters. The good news is; because these are the only things being indexed by Yahoo and the site review is done by humans, this is one place you will not be penalised for having frames and flash. Remember: Yahoo editors will be looking over the site to make sure there is enough substantial content.  Recent Developments On March 19, 2003 Yahoo bought Inktomi - and it is assumed that at some point in time, Yahoo will be replacing Overture and Google results with Inktomi results.    Resource Links Yahoo Business Express Home Page Information about the service and links to Business Express enabled categories Business Express Categories Categories that have been Business Express-enabled. Yahoo Business Express Help Yahoo in the News Yahoo! Sports Facebook IPO Carries Too Much Risk for Small Investors Yahoo! Contributors Network By Jason Gallagher By Jason Gallagher | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 14 hrs ago This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world's most popular websites. Yahoo! Contributor NetworkYahoo! Sports all 38 news articles » Yahoo! Sports (blog) Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends Yahoo! 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