Waste of Money?

[bmmb]

I currently have 12 pages in the yahoo index. My site does very poorly in Yahoo search however (i think i was penalized for a few domain names i had forwarded).

My question is this. Will paying $299 a year using the Yahoo express benefit me? I heard stories saying that paying for Yahoo express has helped in terms of inclusion in Yahoo search, etc. They paid the $299 even though their sites were already in the index and they have never looked back. Any truth to this?

[cbp]

http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=31235
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=12201
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=30880
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=31491

CBP

[cbp]

http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=31235
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=12201
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=30880
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=31491

CBP

[bmmb]

thanks but they do not really tell me if its worth it if paying the $299 will help my search results... considering I am already in the index. I know the index and search are 2 different animals BUT i heard that paying the $299 has helped some sites increase in search and has helped others recover quicker from penalties from Yahoo search?

[clasione]

The $299 will definetly help your Yahoo! rankings IF excepted into the directory....

Only thing that I don't like is that it's more than just $299

It's recurring - I can't stand but hate that - I've got some sites in the directory by being excepted with their suggestion option - never paid to get in...

I simply won't pay to get in..... If it wasn't recurring - I'd pay.

[cbp]

My Google sandboxed site, that I paid for a Yahoo Directory listing, jumped from 397 to 97 and then 82 in Yahoo, just days after listing in the Directory (its still sandboxed by Google :-(

CBP

[Manpasand]

One of our site listed in Yahoo Directory and sometime its coming up in top 10.

Earlier it was nowhere is Yahoo search.

[clasione]

It definetly helps in Yahoo! -

and it should help in others since it's a pretty decent backlink...

[Jayms]

It seems that if your site appeared well in Yahoo! naturally and has peaked, then it may or may not help to pay the 299. Mine did and getting listed about a year later didn't help one bit.

It goes to say then that if your site doesn't appear well (or at all) then I suppose that it could help -- judging from what has been said here.

It is somewhat risky as there is no clear cut answer.

[Jayms]

My "directory" listing catapulted into the number 3 slot for my competitive term. I don't know what I did differently to engage that since I just added dynamic titles to my category pages. Prior this, my natural listing was No. 13 and my directory listing was no where to be found.

[Jayms]

As my "natural" listing has catapulted into No. 3 pushing my "directory" listing to No. 4. I was just thinking that the directory listing had something to do with serps, but it seems that just good old site enhancements must be the key -- the only changes I have made as mentioned before is dynamic category titles and shuffling some content around on the home page.

Let's just hope that it stays that way for me because it took a while to crack the Yahoo! nut.

[jmiller]

At first $299.00 sounds steep but if you think about it takes money to keep the directory in order. It isn't as if it is an automatic submission. An editor has to approve it within 7 days.

After waiting close to 6 months to be added to ODP I would have preferred to pay them $299.00 for 7 day service. ODP has 50k editors and you regularily hear of people waiting over a year to be added.

[onlinetv]

My Google sandboxed site, that I paid for a Yahoo Directory listing, jumped from 397 to 97 and then 82 in Yahoo, just days after listing in the Directory (its still sandboxed by Google :-(

CBP

Please, what is sandboxed? I see it mentioned everywhere but what is it? Do you have a url to read about it and understand what it is you are talking about.

Also, may I ask when you say jumped from 397 to 97, do you mean the number counted from the first listing on that search term? Or is there some place where an actual rank for a site is to be found?

Quite frankly I think Yahoo and Google share at least one if not more databases and do things in tandem, specially when deleting sites for whatever reasons they may find reasonable.

Would buying into the directory afford you new keywords, get you searched daily for new ones? I am certain Yahoo has a reviewed directory from long time ago, and a new one shared somehow with google. When you buy directory, where is the listing placed?

[JuniorOnline]

regarding the sandbox:

http://www.globalise.com.au/internet-marketing/google-sandbox.shtml

and

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/050920-094454

[fun to be dumb]

A google sandbox is sort of a holding tank. After about six months your site may just emerge. This sandbox is a new concept started in July/05. Do not pay search engines anything to have your site indexed, waste of money!!!! But hey what do I know. Fun to be Dumb, oh yeah.

[brian.mark]

Personally, I haven't paid for our second site to be in the directory. Our primary site (www.toolbarn.com) is in there from back when it was $199 one time. If it were to disappear, I wouldn't pay to have it added unless our SERPs dropped significantly. However, Yahoo and MSN don't usually even list that as a backlink for us, let alone Google, so I don't see that it'd make much difference if any.

Brian.

[wednesday]

Well, Google recomends it in their 'Webmaster Guidelines'. So it could be considered an authority link. If I'm going to start some new serious project that would be one of the first links to aquire. Just to let them know that the new site, is not just another web scraper. And to open a promissing site CV. But I won't bid on this card for established site. Well it could help. Note that almost every well established and serious business is presented with their category listing in the Y SERPS. So savvy users like directory editors or link partners would get some impresion at first glance.