Who's Paying To Be In The Yahoo Directory?

[Garrett]

Who's Paying For The Yahoo Directory? I spoke with Dan Thies today and he questioned the value of paying to be in the Yahoo directory, and now I'm curious about what you all think about paying $299 a year to be included.

Dan pointed out that if you're in the Yahoo directory and someone searches for your service or product in Yahoo search (and receives Google results) then there's a link in your listing that will take searchers to your page in the directory.

So, says Dan, you're paying for a link in Yahoo search that takes people away from your site.

Our conversation was brief and we didn't get into details. Do you think it's worth it to pay to be in the Yahoo directory?

[janeth]

I have a hard time understanding what the value would be at this time.

But I'm sure as Yahoo drops Google some how they will make it worth the $299.00 again but at this time I would see no reason in paying it.

[rambodog]

One drawback to already being listed in Yahoo, as well as considering new listings, is that Yahoo typically has shown the description and CATEGORY the the Yahoo "editors" assisgned to the website which is typically inferior to the page title and meta-description/key text on the website (which Google typically shows).

You can edit your site information but it is virtually impossible to edit a Yahoo listing. The terms in the Yahoo listing can be a negative draw on where the site ranks. However, it is apparently also affected by the "secret" algorithms determinging how sites rank in the results. Regardless, the advantage of a Yahoo listing can have a negative impact on your listing information when you show in Yahoo. Perhaps not a determining factor on it's own but a negative factor in deciding to pay for a Yahoo listing (at least the last time I reviewed it).

[PGMM]

My experience is not typical but, having produced a new software product, made some effort at optimisation I find it comes up number 2 on Yahoo without my paying to be added to the directory. I believe most users key in some search terms rather than browse directories so my answer is NO.

[fctoma]

Since they have bought up just about all the other players to wage a good war towards Google and MS, Overture is on their top three results.

I've had a directory listing a year ago, didn't renew because the Overture listings, CTR, and ROI soared above the Yahoo directory listing.

With Overture on thier results, we can modify anytime, test our various titles/descp, move up or down....non of which you can do with a directory listing.

Best to all of you from snowing Idaho!

[electricwind]

Yahoo is Yahoo because it's free to post there. They'd lose their identity, and someone else would come forward to replace them.

Once again--and I won't get up on my soapbox for this yet--it's the ugly head of commercial oligarchy, that, I suppose, is inevitable. With it comes classism--the "paid" web, and the "free" web. I prefer the latter, and so does my company. Go ahead, call me old fashioned...

[OneMoreBite]

I, for one, have been on the fence about Yahoo's $299 price tag for quite some time. When I was first building www.OneMoreBite.com I put all my attention on getting good placement in Yahoo; from choosing my website name to include a keyword (that's why I use onemorebite-weightloss.com), to their requirements for titles, and so on. Then just as I was nearly ready to slam down my plastic, the team at www.se-news.com reported it didn't make sense to pay $299 for Yahoo anymore. Nice. So I decided to take a wait-and-see approach. That was a year ago and I'm still waiting...

I did pay to list my husband's site, www.daytradersbulletin.com and originally made the mistake of using the keyword "advisory" so they placed us in Advisory Services category which is not where one looks if they want a daytrading site. I kept checking to see who was listed in the Daytrading category and the junky, useless sites I found were so appalling I finally stopped looking. It's the same old song but again, a site with hundreds of pages of information can't get listed in the correct category while a lousy site with nothing more than a "make big bucks with no effort, sign up here" page gets top billing. I always believed good content would win out, but I'm still finding those same sites getting better placement. Today a search for daytrading at Yahoo.com displays a book at Amazon.com as No. 15. That's ridiculous.

It's difficult now with so many search sites vying for your marketing dollars and only so much money to go around - who do you choose, and at $299, Yahoo may have priced themselves out of the game unless they do something to show otherwise.

Kathryn

[Garrett]

This seemed like a hot topic to me so I wrote to some SEO experts to get their opinions on whether Yahoo's worth the $299 you pay every year for a listing.

Here's what they said:

Yahoo's directory sent about a dozen visitors to Canned Books last year, so those visitors cost me $30 a pop. For $299, I can get a lot of customers through Overture. I can make a profit with Overture. Yahoo owns Overture, so they will still get paid, but I'm going to pay for results, not a hidden link.

Dan Thies, SEO Research Labs
http://www.seoresearchlabs.com

===


Only for the link value for PR, which is why I suggest all clients do it if they can afford to. I don't think enough people know that to search the Yahoo Directory, they have to type in the URL http://dir.yahoo.com or do a "web" search from the Yahoo front page and then click the "Directory" tab that comes up on the result page. The only other way to find your way into the directory to do a search is to click on one of the category links from the front page, then do a search. Does anyone do that but those few of us in the SEO biz that know the difference? I sincerely doubt it.

Mike Banks Valentine
http://SEOptimism.com

===


Maybe. I am waiting to see what happens when Yahoo replaces Google with some blend of the Inktomi/alltheweb/AltaVista Crawlers to figure out if the Yahoo directory continues to make sense. For bigger clients, $299 is pocket change, so Yahoo Express looks inexpensive to them. But for smaller clients, $299 can buy enough paid listings to make Yahoo Express look like a frill.

Greg Jarboe
http://www.seo-pr.com


===

I've said it at conferences for over 5 years, and I'm saying it now. Yahoo is the best $299 anyone can spend for online marketing. For web site owners who want their sites to show up well on Google (or any search engine that measures link popularity), a Yahoo listing is the quickest and least expensive way to get a high-quality link to a site.

Shari Thurow
http://www.grantasticdesigns.com/

===

Nope. At least not the way it is right now. You get into Google for free, and get nothing extra by being in the Yahoo directory, so why pay for it. Plus, you get saddled with Yahoo's lousy Title instead of the one you have control over.

Jill Whalen
http://www.HighRankings.com

===

We look at the cost of a directory placement, the same way we look at any other paid link. If the listing is likely to generate referrals and is relevant to the business, we would consider the link. If we thought that a $299 listing in Yahoo would generate enough traffic (i.e. it was in a category that is very popular) we would still consider paying the fee. Of course, we do look at the SEO benefit of any link, but this is secondary to the actual traffic directly from the link.

Andy Beal
http://www.websourced.com/

===

It depends. Google is still providing results there, so if you have good rankings in Google, your pages will be in Yahoo! anyway.

However, if you have a brand new site with zero visibility, paying $299 a year to get into Yahoo! will put your site on the map faster and will help your link popularity as well.

It also depends on how Yahoo! uses Inktomi results when it switches over. It may offer a pay inclusion program that covers both the search engine and directory -- I've heard rumor of that, but we'll have to wait and see how they use Inktomi's results.

Paying to have your site in Yahoo! **at the present time** isn't as important as it used to be. But, a lot depends on the Web site you're working on AND on what happens when Yahoo! begins using Inktomi results.

Robin Nobles
http://www.searchengineworkshops.com

===

Currently No, because there is not enough traffic from Yahoo's directory. This is because, 1. it's too large and takes too long to navigate. 2. The search form defaults to web results rather than the directory and the average user doesn't even realize this.

I think Yahoo is going to make changes to their pricing model shortly and the fee will be either performance based or much lower than the $299 because they realize they've abandoned that child.

Jason Dowdell
http://www.GlobalPromoter.com

[WDS]

Here's my two cents. I've never paid the $299 Yahoo inclusion fee and have been listed on the first page on yahoo for a number of our top keywords simply because I'm a paying advertiser for Overture and I've been ranked well with Google and a couple of other SE's.

Why pay an extra $299 to have your site listed in Yahoo - who knows where, with who knows what description? especially if you can use Overture and write your descriptions and titles the way you want(w/i guidelines of course!), AND send your visitor to the exact page you want them to land on? Use that $299 for better advertising elsewhere...

Cheers - Jill

[Wayne McBryde]

I build and host web sites for about 100 small businesses. Only a few have paid for a listing in Yahoo. When comparing the stats of the sites that do and don't pay Yahoo... Yahoo IS NOT WORTH $299 per year! If you have a large company or depend on search engine traffic to make a living... It may be worth it. It could even be a good deal. For most small businesses, $299 invested in paying for ad words at google will get you more traffic.
With that said, the best way to get traffic is with good content and the more the better.

[janeth]

What you have to keep in mind is that your buying a good link. A good link can help you rank higher on Google. So where it may not be worth it to pay for it on Yahoo it is made up for with a better ranking on Google.

[smargenau]

From a marketing standpoint...this subject can be viewed from a different perspective. It’s the old “stone cutter” analogy. You never know where a (particular) lead may come from...and there is no perfect tool/media that makes every company instant branding Gods.

However by using a combination of good optimization, free and paid directories, (including Yahoo for reasons already stated in this thread, print advertising (in said budget), e-mail campaigns, referral campaigns, surveys, etc., company’s can assure themselves of a solid marketing foundation that will thrive even as market conditions change and SEO wars continue. Just my 2cents.

As Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) said...“It is as useless to try to sell a man something until you have first made him want to listen as it would be to command the earth to stop rotating.”

So even those leads that may have been generated by various tactics must be written properly to attract valuable prospects and convert them into paying customers.

Cheers!

[smargenau]

$299 invested in paying for ad words at google will get you more traffic.
With that said, the best way to get traffic is with good content and the more the better.

Ad words seems like a COMPLETE waste of money IMHO. Why? Who ever looks to the right...I'd guess less than 20% of browsers who are instead focused on the results they keyed in and not some "ad" that may or may not be relevant.

Additionally I tried this out and spent several THOUSANDS of dollars doing so...you are MUCH better off spending the moeny on a good SEO program and directory advertising.

The other thing is paying for "blind" click throughs is very scary. For example i had numerous click-throughs for web design, FLASH design, marketing etc...however most were from surfers and people like all of us just looking for info, to check out our designs or get a good idea...but we were not able ot track one tangible customer to adwrods or Overture...I'd love to see some hard data that shows otherwise, and overall i am not recomending either to my customers.

Cheers

[OneMoreBite]

If the only value to paying the Yahoo fee is better placement in other engines, then that appears to be a rather poor business model for Yahoo. Their product, a listing with Yahoo, is generally considered a waste on its surface. Frankly, I'm surprised other engines consider Yahoo's data to be worthwhile any longer.

I wish someone would ask the search engines that question: What is their reason for using Yahoo data? Enlighten me because I'm baffled.

Kathryn

[Dragonsi]

Over the last 18months, I have had several of my clients ask me if the fee to Yahoo is worth it. I have always answered NO - I believe that Yahoo is loosing it, the recent merge with BT in the UK ( www.btyahoo.com ) to try and push the UK's broadband service may confirm my suspisions. I have also been hearing rumours of Yahoo being bought by AOL - I am not sure if this is true but I still feel that Yahoo has a struggle to regain the respect it once had.

Paid inclusion is not the future, it is totaly unfair on the small business which can't afford to pay high fees to be included. Ranking and inclusion should reflect the quality of content and amount of through traffic a site receives.

[AussieWebmaster]

Ad words seems like a COMPLETE waste of money IMHO. Why? Who ever looks to the right...I'd guess less than 20% of browsers who are instead focused on the results they keyed in and not some "ad" that may or may not be relevant.
You only pay for the ones that find it... so you get those left lookers. If you write a crappy ad then you get crappy clickers...


Additionally I tried this out and spent several THOUSANDS of dollars doing so...you are MUCH better off spending the money on a good SEO program and directory advertising.

(MOD deletion: Please ensure that your posts are courteous and respectful toward other members. Sarcasm is almost never going to meet the criteria for either "courteous" or "respectful")


The other thing is paying for "blind" click throughs is very scary. For example i had numerous click-throughs for web design, FLASH design, marketing etc...however most were from surfers and people like all of us just looking for info, to check out our designs or get a good idea...
You should write the ad to qualify the traffic... the more open the ad copy the more open the traffic


but we were not able to track one tangible customer to Adwords or Overture...I'd love to see some hard data that shows otherwise, and overall I am not recomending either to my customers.
This can be done through tracking codes.

Cheers

[AussieWebmaster]

A Yahoo directory listing will get you listed at Google inside 48 hours... having it listed elsewhere takes longer... and submitting it to Google directly will take even longer

[quattro]

worth it. I don't think anyone in SEO was ever truely paying for being in the directory, or at least I hope not. I guess you can weed out who really knows SEO from the above quotes.

Anyone in their right mind would pay $299 for a link from a site with a PR as high as yahoo.

Especially since google has been heavily using PR for the relevancy portion of their algorithm. With the recent google changes, that may not be true anymore. If so, then you simply stop paying the $299/year.

[elguiri]

Here's a tip - that I don't think anyone has offered yet - for those that find $299 a little expensive, but who have a Central or South American sister-in-law to do a bit of translation.

1. Create 2-3 sales pages in Spanish (this is good business anyway. There are 40 million Spanish speakers in the US and over 400 million worldwide).

2. Submit to http://ar.yahoo.com/ for $40!

3. If you know someone with a house in Mexico you can submit to http://mx.yahoo.com/ too for a similar price.

[smargenau]

Aussie you don't get it.

Clever words dont sell,(unles you are selling weight loss pills to the desperate) they may get someones attention...but that's not enough.

Tangible benefits that have percieved value to a prospect sell. Consider this: if someone searching for a thread via Google or other search engine more than likely their focus will stay on that thread until they find what they are looking for.

Clever headlines in Ad Words may work for some industries... I'll give you that, but I have found them useless for most professional services...and this is not a guess...this is from actual experience.

I'm still waiting to hear from anyone in the professional service industry who is geting results. Have you tried it Aussie? Have you? Tell me your results. Have you paid thousands to Google to have unknown people clicking and charging your account, out of idle curiosity? Trackable? I wouldn't waste my time...a simple "And how did you find us?" tells me what i need to know...

But I'm wide open to new ideas...so write me an AW ad for web/graphic design - Washington DC to make it less popular. I'll pay for it...and track it...and then we can but this debate to rest. And its not like you have much room to design an "ad" to qualify prospects...sheesh its a line and a URL. -- If it gets any results at all that are trackable to a customer...I will hop on the AW bandwagon with you and send you a gift certificate to Outback. :D

[AussieWebmaster]

worth it. I don't think anyone in SEO was ever truely paying for being in the directory, or at least I hope not. I guess you can weed out who really knows SEO from the above quotes.

Anyone in their right mind would pay $299 for a link from a site with a PR as high as yahoo.

Especially since google has been heavily using PR for the relevancy portion of their algorithm. With the recent google changes, that may not be true anymore. If so, then you simply stop paying the $299/year.

Most good SEO people will tell you a certain amount of PFI is useful... but if you have months to wait then it will natural surface and find its way up the search engine results.

A PFI is essential a link exchange from someone with good PR and is spidered/crawled frequently.

[AussieWebmaster]

Aussie you don't get it.

Clever words dont sell,(unles you are selling weight loss pills to the desperate) they may get someones attention...but that's not enough.

Tangible benefits that have percieved value to a prospect sell. Consider this: if someone searching for a thread via Google or other search engine more than likely their focus will stay on that thread until they find what they are looking for.

Clever headlines in Ad Words may work for some industries... I'll give you that, but I have found them useless for most professional services...and this is not a guess...this is from actual experience.

I'm still waiting to hear from anyone in the professional service industry who is geting results. Have you tried it Aussie? Have you? Tell me your results. Have you paid thousands to Google to have unknown people clicking and charging your account, out of idle curiosity? Trackable? I wouldn't waste my time...a simple "And how did you find us?" tells me what i need to know...

But I'm wide open to new ideas...so write me an AW ad for web/graphic design - Washington DC to make it less popular. I'll pay for it...and track it...and then we can but this debate to rest. And its not like you have much room to design an "ad" to qualify prospects...sheesh its a line and a URL. -- If it gets any results at all that are trackable to a customer...I will hop on the AW bandwagon with you and send you a gift certificate to Outback. :D

Okay I may actually take that OutBack certificate (even though they have nothing Australian except the beer)....

DC Graphics/Web Designer
Need quality web graphics, designs
Use Local Washington DC designer

There are a few ways to make effective use of AdWords.. one is use Google local targeting... it is cheaper than the global prices... they do a geographic IP filter and there is a fifth line that identifies the target area...
Take all those factors into consideration and you will be paying for local clicks which improves the close ratios and makes it a functional budget expense.

You could also list on Craigslist.org for the DC area in the work wanted section or whatever they have...

[Don Lee]

My site's been up for 9 month now and I have been ranked very well for my search terms without paying a single cent to Yahoo. Other than the link from Yahoo, who goes thru their directories to look for anything anyway. When I first started, I was disgusted by how much they were charging, and I am still disgusted to this day that I will never pay.

[Mel]

I have never in seven years of web searching had to go to the Yahoo directory to find what I wanted, and I think my experience might be quite typical.

So if it doesn't bring traffic you are paying $299 Per Year for a link from a page that has 300 other links on it, so its not going to do your PR much good.

It may be that Google is favoring links from expert sites and it may be that Google considers Yahoo an expert site, so there might be some value in the link that way, BUT IMO I would never pay that much for a link of that caliber.

[AcmeSEO]

Back in '97 I started suggesting all my clients get listed in Yahoo's Directory. When Yahoo went to $199/yr. I still suggested the investment. When Yahoo went to $299/yr. I still said yes.

As soon as Yahoo's Directory became subversable and they turned to Google as a life preserver, and you had to tab over to the Directory, I stopped recommending the new Yahoogle as an investment. All the sudden that $299 went a heck of a lot further with paid page inclusions (PPI's) in Inktomi and soon after in Fast and Ask Jeeves.

Until I see what Yahoo is going to do with it's new algorithmic aquisitions I can not confidently suggest $299/yr for their (nearly hidden) Directory listings.

As far as buying a link for PR transfer, I don't do it. I look for links that provide the type of traffic my clients are looking for first and if that link provides off page benefits then all the better. But I believe that paying for PR is one of the main reasons Google panicked and implemented such an extreme update in November. Less than two percent of my clients were affected by the Florida update. Ironically, it was the same two clients who have an ongoing listing in the Yahoo Directory!

So I'm going to wait on any more Yahoo listings for my clients for now. But things change and I have confidence that Yahoo will find a way to restore the quality of an investment with them in the near future.

Optimized regards,

Robert

[AussieWebmaster]

I have never in seven years of web searching had to go to the Yahoo directory to find what I wanted, and I think my experience might be quite typical.

So if it doesn't bring traffic you are paying $299 Per Year for a link from a page that has 300 other links on it, so its not going to do your PR much good.

It may be that Google is favoring links from expert sites and it may be that Google considers Yahoo an expert site, so there might be some value in the link that way, BUT IMO I would never pay that much for a link of that caliber.

Okay but have you been to DMOZ for your search needs?

[Mel]

No not there either, but then I don't have to pay for that link and the DMOZ data is repeated in many other sites, most notably Google, so it's a series of good links which are probably considered expert links.

[chris_g]

Our recommendations on Paying $299 for a Yahoo registration varies depending on the customers situation.

If you have a limited budget there are other places to get a better return on investment than the Yahoo directory. Since Yahoo changed their source for their SERPs in 2002 the amount of traffic you could expect to get from the Yahoo directory has dropped significantly. If you have a very small budget we would recommend some basic SEO or PayPerClick instead.


If you have a good marketing budget ($500 a month or more) you should seriously be considering a Yahoo registration. Companies that market this way are looking for large profits and usually are in competitive markets. The $299 is nothing compared to the losses for not being listed properly. The benefits from the link popularity of having a Yahoo listing and ODP listing will help you on the major search engines like Google and AltaVista that rely heavily on link popularity in their algorithms. Newer sites especially need link popularity and the fastest way to establish that is being listed in yahoo and ODP.

We look at every customers website individually and develop a search engine strategy accordingly that fits their needs. It would be wrong to think all websites need the same work done, just as it is wrong to assume all customers have the same goals.

[fathom]

Back in '97 I started suggesting all my clients get listed in Yahoo's Directory. When Yahoo went to $199/yr. I still suggested the investment. When Yahoo went to $299/yr. I still said yes.

Totally, absolutely agree!

It's amazing how quickly people lose sight of the multi-layered benefits you get from a mere $299.00.

1. A quality link that works not just on Google's PageRank results listings

2. Google's Directory (bearing in mind DMOZ inclusion)

3. by proxy AOL search

4. by proxy Netscape search, and a few others

5. All other major search engines "link popularity" help, and

6. a few direct clicks from Yahoo itself... to name but a few

The lose of Google search can be tempered by Inktomi search (which time will tell how this pans out).

All for a mere $0.82 cents a day.

I spend more than that to send an email a day.

Realizing that the email itself doesn't cost a thing - but I can't send it without paying my Internet access bill each month... don't figure!

[Manmohan Hebbar]

Totally agree.

Go for Yahoo! directory listing if either of the 2 scenarios hold good -

1. The page you are likely get listed has PR 5 or more (Of course ensure the page is not saddled with Business.com like links which go beyond 100k. For starters, Google doesn't cache more than 101kb of data for a page, so links found below the page of such pages are likely to go unnoticed by Google)

2. If the page deals with a popular topic that is likely to get traffic. The Real Estate page of Orlando at Yahoo! may not have a good PR, but it is likely to generate some good traffic.

I would put my money on any directory that offers good PR and doesn't spam.

Best Wishes

[magpie]

We have two sites http://www.planetmagpie.com and http://www.magpie-internet.com We wanted to see what the results of paying for the directory were..ans so paid to have http://www.planetmagpie.com in the directory. Within 7 days we were in the directory for exchange server migration in the California Bay Area. And a few days later, all the pages on our site for this type of service we provide, started moving up in Yahoo. Now they are ranked real competitively...so from our experience it was worth it...and now a few weeks later we have greater page saturation for the whole site http://www.planetmagpie.com in Yahoo!... http://www.magpie-internet.com on the other hand is a dog so to speak in Yahoo!... So for the money, we received quite a bit of bang for the buck.

[teleconnect]

Been listed since 1996....In fact did not even realize they were now charging...I'm listed #1 for both my keyword groups...they must have "grandfathered" a lot of sites prior to them starting to charge for this?

Marty Screeton
Teleconnect, Inc.
http://www.teleconect.com

[Mel]

We have two sites http://www.planetmagpie.com and http://www.magpie-internet.com We wanted to see what the results of paying for the directory were..ans so paid to have http://www.planetmagpie.com in the directory. Within 7 days we were in the directory for exchange server migration in the California Bay Area. And a few days later, all the pages on our site for this type of service we provide, started moving up in Yahoo. Now they are ranked real competitively...so from our experience it was worth it...and now a few weeks later we have greater page saturation for the whole site http://www.planetmagpie.com in Yahoo!... http://www.magpie-internet.com on the other hand is a dog so to speak in Yahoo!... So for the money, we received quite a bit of bang for the buck.

Hi Magpie is there any evidence that this improvement in Yahoo rankings was due to directory placement (which they swear they do not do) or is it a result of the new Yahoo search engine?

[fathom]

Hi Magpie is there any evidence that this improvement in Yahoo rankings was due to directory placement (which they swear they do not do) or is it a result of the new Yahoo search engine?

Now that is an interesting question? The answer --

Yes

The moment numerous websites were listed all improved in search results and in once instance the targeted keyword was not in the anchor of the edited description (and only partially in the domain name).

Additionally, (on a side note) on submitting a value added resource (a forum), a specific category was chosen - Yahoo actually added the site to a second category.

[Mel]

Hi Fathom
I guess that is a sort of evidence, but without any specifics; adding a site to the Yahoo directory will give you an additional link which may help your rankings but I was more referring to the question:

Is there any evidence that Yahoo search gives special ranking preference to sites listed in the Yahoo directory.

[Dave Hawley]

I've been in the Yahoo directory for 2 years now. I only paid for one then cancelled. As Yahoo's left hand doesn't know what its right is doing, I'm still there :o)

There is NO way I would pay the $299 again. $299 will get me MANY more click (highly targetted at that) from AdWords.

Boo Yahoo!

[fathom]

Hi Fathom
I guess that is a sort of evidence, but without any specifics; adding a site to the Yahoo directory will give you an additional link which may help your rankings but I was more referring to the question:

Is there any evidence that Yahoo search gives special ranking preference to sites listed in the Yahoo directory.

hmmm... well I guess this is professional experience and not evidence - but on that note: on Yahoo split from Google I advised certain clients that the risk was worth the investment.

Whether their specific examples are equal to unilateral industry/market benefits I can't show this... thus if $299 is worth the risk - go for it, and if it is not - don't.

[fathom]

I've been in the Yahoo directory for 2 years now. I only paid for one then cancelled. As Yahoo's left hand doesn't know what its right is doing, I'm still there :o)

There is NO way I would pay the $299 again. $299 will get me MANY more click (highly targetted at that) from AdWords.

Boo Yahoo!

It's great that you "are" still there! I don't however see the relevancy between PPI and PPC.

Argumentatively - just how many clicks do you get per day on a budget of $0.82 cents plus the link that "does" add value across all major search engines where in PPC does not?

[Dave Hawley]

It's great that you "are" still there! I don't however see the relevancy between PPI and PPC.

I can either pay $299 to get into Yahoos directory, or use that $299 to drive highly relavent clicks.


Argumentatively - just how many clicks do you get per day on a budget of $0.82 cents plus the link that "does" add value across all major search engines?


From Adwords I can get 8 clicks per day (for $0.82)that are targeting buyers not casual surfers.

[The Generator]

In my experinece, if you don't have the means to submit your website to the Yahoo directory for $299, then don't do it. You should check out the search engine relationship chart listed on BruceClay.com. This will show you that Yahoo actually draws its search results from other directories, eliminating the need for such a fee. The fact of the matter is that I have managed to get top Yahoo rankings for some sites I have worked on w/out paying the fee.

On the flipside, if you work for a big multinational corporation then by all means shell out the $299.

[dave@roispy.com]

Hi Guys,

I agree with 'fctoma'. Your best bet is to advertise with Overture. You have a lot more freedom as far as testing your account.

I also saw on Overture's results page that they now have a link next to some listings "Additional Listing". This is what the pop up shows:

Additional Listings may include links to sites that participate in the Content Acquisition Program (CAP). CAP enables content providers to submit web content directly to Yahoo! for review and inclusion in the Yahoo! Search index; content providers that participate in CAP through the Site Match™ program pay for these services. Participation in CAP does not guarantee placement or ranking in search results.

Does anyone know about this? Are these listings paid? Is it costing extra? If it is, why would anyone pay when theres no guarantee they will appear on Yahoo!?

Dave

[AcmeSEO]

Newer sites especially need link popularity and the fastest way to establish that is being listed in yahoo and ODP.

Chris, I apologize for being a spoil sport, but I disagree.

Submitting to the ODP is NOT a fast way to establish link popularity. In fact, every site my hands touch also gets submitted to the ODP, with the foreknowledge that it will take forever (at least 5-9 months) for a slowpoke, overburdened DMOZ editor to even look at it! Therefore, in my experience, the ODP is actually the slowest source for link popularity.

Robert

[Debs - New Registration]

My experience is not typical but, having produced a new software product, made some effort at optimisation I find it comes up number 2 on Yahoo without my paying to be added to the directory. I believe most users key in some search terms rather than browse directories so my answer is NO. I have just been onto Yahoo as a small business where my turnover is not established yet.. their costs of $299 seems not to accommodate people like me... just starting out..i declined the offer to my disappointment in trying to find an efficient way of promoting my website and attracting traffic to it. Anyone any suggestions?

[Jayms]

My sites are optimized and show/have shown up well in all of them, but they did fall in Yahoo several pages. I know they are undergoing changes, but I finally forked over the $$$ anyway (after two years without it) for two sites and it hasn't done anything for me. My rankings went back up to their original positions (not because of the inclusion, I'm sure). It's only been a couple of weeks, but I did it because I wanted to position myself for when the dust settles over there at Yahoo! However, I'm second guessing my actions since I've been reading several instances where once you do pay and then cancel after a year, your results tend to suffer. Same with sitematch.

[TekSalon]

"Who's Paying To Be In The Yahoo Directory?"

Whenever I am asked this or similar questions my response is always "It depends". It depends entirely on the site in question, the sector it operates in, the profile of Yahoo in that sector, and a number of other factors.

On the extreme edges:

a) If my site is genuine quality, with good content, in a serious arena, and is there for the long haul... there's no question about it. It HAS to be in the Yahoo directory.

b) The flip side: if it's not a particularly good site, or the sector it is in is not clear or of quality, or it's a bit of a throw-away... forget it.

The benefits of inclusion are multiple, with some tending to be long term, and in fact may change as the nature of the directory changes (as no-one can be certain of the future, no-one can be certain whether the importance of the directory will increase or decrease).

However, one certainty is that most of the highest quality sites on the web are actually in the directory. As search engines move forward, it certainly isn't going to be a bad idea to be asssociated with them, albeit in a tenuous way.

My rule of thumb therefore tends to be that if it's a good and serious site with prospects, pay for it to be there. If not, don't.

[greeneagle]

We have 2 clients that have used the Yahoo Business Express Submit since Site launch. One chose to continue on after the first year and the other didn't. The one that didn't, recieved an "Expert Witness" consultantcy from the website and was rewarded so handsomely that he paid for his Site many times over. He currently has so many business offers that he can "cherry-pick". The client that continued for a second year by renewal continues to beat the bejeevers out of Google by both Yahoo and MSN in the SERPS and Visitor traffic.

Don't kid yourself, SERPS are for sale!, and maybe they aught to be, especially when relevance and quality is confirmed in the process!

Ken

[simonm]

Having paid for a Yahoo directory listing about 4 years ago which had a forever guarantee to appear ahead of other listings, I'm afraid my faith and confidence in Yahoo is low following the dropping of that service a couple of years ago. Clearly in Yahoo's books, forever means 'until we can find another way of getting cash from the punter'.

Aside from that, my stats show that my users come 75% from Google, a very small percentage from Yahoo despite good - in some cases better - positioning in Yahoo. The PR argument is reasonable, however I would rather spend the equivalent of $299 in my time developing other free inbound links.

Last but by no means least. Its not what we know about search engines that matters, its what the public know. This argument about Yahoo or Google or MSN will just not register with most people, they don't care! they don't use directories, they don't use portal sites, they use whatever search engine is either most convenient or has been most in the news.

[arpecop]

I think that is something like being in Las Vegas with only 299 USD
1. You can win Hi Quality list links page with a minimum 4 p/r what is good for google. you can be listed in some profitable categories
2. You can waste this money but you can say that you saw Las Vegas
So my opinion is : Try to do and this step "we learn from our tryouts"
sorry for bad english

[fathom]

I'll add a few more points here for this investment... but first stress "if" $299 is too much risk to consider this advertising opportunity - don't do it.

Some stats so far in Sept.

5.2K came from Yahoo

24 from the Yahoo listing direct (slightly less than 1 per day)

Interesting enough

Sales conversions on 5.2K a little more than 1% (about 54 orders)

19 from the Yahoo listing out of 24 turn into a sale (79%)

Additionally, Yahoo results are bias to "sites with a listing" so a bit of help here plus...

As already pointed out - it's a link that also helps a wee little bit in Google, thus Netscape, AOL, MSN and others.

Please note: if you are selling "ringtones" with a profit margin of $1.00 per item sold return on the advert is limited.

In your area though - a single sale in the year likely pays for the link, the second (and beyond) is pure profit (based on the advert expense).

Also note: most often a US company will also receive a link in Yahoo.Ca, dot.UK and possibly others meaning each additional link reduces the cost per link. Noting again your specific case and supplies you carry you will likely receive a link in "all english" archives due to product diversity and international appeal. I have one client that Paid $299 for a link and got 16 out of the deal.

Lastly - Yahoo is very tarty in removing links - and most often "years go by" before removal simply because of their volume "to list" and limited dedication to removal.

It is best to consider advertising based on your specific "unique selling propositions" (USP) rather than limiting yourself to just link popularity or ranking value.

[ticketauction]

I just pauid the 300 for my site http://www.ticket-auction.net So far I get about 25 hits a week of it which equals out to almost 1300 clicks per year. That comes to about 23 cents a visitor. In the ticket industry it is almost impossible to find any good keywords in ppc for under a buck so to me its worth it. On top of the referrals it drives, I also think it helps my page rank and the frequency that spiders visit my site.

[vitamins.com.au]

Is it still relevant to be listed in the Yahoo dir for link popularity since Yahoo is using dynamic links to your URL that will not be picked up by SE bots ?
My opinion is: no

[adbart]

Some categories generate real traffic though, if people are actively seeking through the directory for particular services.

If you think that people might be looking for your company in this directory manually, then you should still submit to it.

Don't waste your money on a paid-submission programme though.

[cbp]

Yahoo is using dynamic links to your URL that will not be picked up by SE bots ?
Thats not true. Yahoo Directory links are showing up as backlinks...

CBP