The PFI Topics and Issues session was very informative and the fact that Yahoo will be selecting a paid inclusion model on April 15th made it that much more interesting.
Yahoo representative Tim Mayer said Yahoo does still honor Inktomi paid inclusions and from my understanding there will be a transitioning phase. If you're in Inktomi you won't automatically be cut out of Yahoo. You'll have the option to pay a fee and still be in the Yahoo index. Come April 15th, your site will still be listed on Inktomi but you won't be in Yahoo! Search anymore. He tried to site owners that it would be a good deal to pay for inclusion now but I'm of the opinion that it's a better idea to wait. Anyone else agree?
Who should consider paid inclusion? One important aspect of paid inclusion is determining whether or not your site makes a good candidate. Joe Laratro of
http://www.morevisibility.com/ says sites that should consider paid inclusion are:
- Sites with dynamic sites or sites that are not easily crawled by search
- Sites containing a lot of content or requiring payment or a login to access certain content.
- Sites that are not being indexed for some other reason.
- Sites that need quick results and are willing to pay, rather than waiting to be found.
Yahoo’s paid inclusion program came out of customer need. People began calling and emailing Yahoo with offers to pay to have their sites indexed. The paid inclusion concept sprang forth from those offers. The program also helps subsidize the costs of running a search engine, which can be quite expensive.
The goal is quality inclusion. Yahoo pays special editorial attention to the sites that are accepted for its paid inclusion program. Yahoo is also beginning to interact with search engine marketers and affiliates more – when just a few years ago they were at odds with each other. Tim Mayer even admits he used to regard search engine marketers as enemies of relevance and now he’s working closely with them.
There is an argument that paid inclusion affects search relevance but Tim said Yahoo’s paid inclusion program currently makes up less than 1% of the Yahoo index. Tim also argued that there are many positive reasons behind paid inclusion. Paid inclusion easily includes access to dynamic content and database content in addition to building better relationships with content providers.
PFI Tips from the Experts:
There are four companies currently offering paid inclusion: Inktomi, Overture, Teoma, and Looksmart. These companies’ programs are all subject to editorial review and strict algorithms.
Watch for category rates coming into play. Joe says you won't pay the same price for a travel-related feed as you would for a shoe-related feed. He mentioned this as being great for dynamic websites.
Paid inclusion can be a quick workaround for IT and marketing roadblocks. If your IT department drags its heels when making changes, many people have found that paid inclusion is a good workaround.
Don’t submit duplicate content. Also avoid keyword stuffing, artificial targeting, repetitive titles, and “product not found” pages.
Paid Inclusion Tips and Tricks - PubCon Day 3
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