Getting my Yahoo! submission right
The first step in achieving a good Yahoo! listing is to research the directory so that you get your site in the right area. You want to have a good look around the directory so that you submit your site into a category that the reviewer will agree with and one that will get you traffic.
The category I found that my site most suited was this one:
https://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/DJs
To submit your site to Yahoo! you go to the category your site suits and click on the “Suggest a site” link. You will be asked if you want to pay for an “Express Review” or wait for the free service. The paid listing is required for commercial sites so the fee is only fair. You could try the free listing but you’d have to wait with your site doing nothing sitting there with no affiliate links.
When you submit or suggest a site to Yahoo they ask you for a brief description of your site. At the time I made my submission it was a good idea for you to include as many keywords as possible to maximize the traffic you get from Yahoo. Recently Yahoo! has switched to displaying results from Google so most of your traffic from Yahoo! will result from a high ranking in Google. It still makes sense to put keywords in your Yahoo! description, because Yahoo! may change again in the future.
Here’s the profitable keyword-loaded description I submitted to Yahoo:
How to use DJ equipment, turntables and make your own dance music with audio production software.
Here’s the description Yahoo actually used for my site next to the listing:
Addresses equipment, turntables, dance music production, and more.
So the Yahoo! reviewers describe your site however they want. There’s not much you can do about it except make sure you do everything right, have a keyword loaded description and choose the right category. You must also have a minimum of 10 articles on your site to make it a useful addition to their directory. Remember the money you pay to Yahoo! is only to get them to review your site. If your site is not good it will not be included and your money will be lost.
One thing that is good about Yahoo! is that they are efficient. I submitted my site on March 14th 2002 and I started receiving visitors from Yahoo! on the 16th March. I was very impressed as I started getting 60 unique visitors a day on 16th March and now I get well over 100 unique visitors a day from the Yahoo! directory alone.
The link from the Yahoo! directory also helps my link popularity in Google. I am sure a number of my top ten rankings are due to the fact that my site is listed in Yahoo. In addition I was getting no traffic from Google for months until my site got into Yahoo!
My point is, in my experience Yahoo! listing is essential if you want to succeed.
NEXT: How to get an important free link to your site