Do a search on Yahoo! Search Engine Submission and the main results that come
back generally will be "powered" by Google (see the Search Engine Results page
for what "main" results are). Despite this, Yahoo! Search Engine Submission
maintains its own independent "directory" of web sites, which are compiled by
its human editors. As mentioned in Part 2, being listed in this Yahoo! Search
Engine Submission Directory MAY potentially help you get included and ranking
better in Google's results. And, since Yahoo! Search Engine Submission uses
Google results for its main listings, this means it MAY help you at Yahoo!
Search Engine Submission itself.
Yahoo! Search Engine Submission has two submission options: "Standard," which is
free, and "Yahoo! Search Engine Submission Express," which involves a submission
fee.
Anyone can use Standard submission to submit for free to a non-commercial
category. You'll know the category is non-commercial if the "reverse bar"
containing the category name at the top of the category page is blue. You'll
also know because if you try to submit to a non-commercial category, the
Standard submission option will be offered in addition to the Yahoo! Search
Engine Submission Express paid option, discussed further below.
Why might you choose to pay when the free search engine submission option is
available? Simply for a fast turnaround time. If you use the free submit choice,
there's no guarantee that your submission will be reviewed quickly or at all.
Your submission to a non-commercial category is more likely to be accepted if
your content is not overtly commercial. For example, submitting the home page of
a site that sells running shoes is likely to be seen a commercial and not
accepted. However, if you have a page within that web site that discusses in
depth how to select the right type of shoes for different running races, then
that page might be deemed helpful, non-commercial information and accepted.
As for commercial categories, Yahoo! Search Engine Submission requires that
sites pay a Yahoo! Search Engine Submission Express submission fee of $300
(well, $299) per year. This fee doesn't guarantee that you will be listed, only
that you'll get a yes or no answer about being accepted within seven business
days. However, the vast majority of most decent sites are accepted.
If accepted, you'll be reevaluated after a year and charged the submission fee
again, if you want to stay in Yahoo! Search Engine Submission's commercial area.
You should review the traffic you received from Yahoo! Search Engine Submission
over the past year, to decide if it is worth paying the fee again. If not, you
can decline to be listed, and you will not be charged.
But what about Google? If you originally signed up with Yahoo! Search Engine
Submission hoping to influence Google, won't dropping your Yahoo! Search Engine
Submission listing cause you to be dropped by Google? Not necessarily. Google
will keep listing your site on its own. Whether it will rank it well is a
separate question. However, after a year of existence, your web site may have
other important links pointing at it. This means that losing your link from
Yahoo! Search Engine Submission may not have much of an impact on your ranking.
If money is tight, you could try dropping the Yahoo! Search Engine Submission
listing and only submit again if you find it does have an impact with how you
rank in Google's results.
The annual fee only applies to commercial categories. If you submit to a
non-commercial category using Yahoo! Search Engine Submission Express and get
accepted into that area, the fee is charged only once, not on an annual basis.
You might get the opposite impression, because you'll keep seeing references to
"recurring annual fee." However, in the terms and conditions for Yahoo! Search
Engine Submission Express, the annual fee is only for sites in the Yahoo! Search
Engine Submission Commercial Directory.
You'll know you are submitting to a commercial category if the "reverse bar"
containing the category name at the top of the category page is yellow. You'll
also know because if you try to submit to a commercial category, only the Yahoo!
Search Engine Submission Express submission option is offered.
How do you submit? If you are submitting for free to a non-commercial category,
click on the "Suggest a Site" link that appears at the bottom of category page.
That will bring up a submission form. Fill it out, and you're done.
If you are paying to submit, you needn't pick a category. Instead, just go to
the URL below:
Yahoo! Search Engine Submission Express Submission Form
http://add.yahoo.com/fast/add?+Business
From there, Yahoo! Search Engine Submission editors will choose a category for
you. All you need to do is fill out the form that's presented.
The above tips are the bare essentials to getting listed with Yahoo! Search
Engine Submission. If you are in a hurry, you can follow them, and you'll
probably get listed and receive some traffic from the service. However, you may
want to do even more preparation before submitting to this important service.
Search Engine Watch members have access to a detailed How Yahoo! Search Engine
Submission Works page that guides you even more through the process. It explains
why it is better to select a category, rather than leaving it to Yahoo! Search
Engine Submission's editors, if you are using the Yahoo! Search Engine
Submission Express service. It also explains more about the relationship in
being listed in the Yahoo! Search Engine Submission Directory and its impact on
Google results.
To learn more about becoming a member to access this information, visit the
membership information page.
Alternatively, you might consider working with a search engine optimization
company which has experience in submitting to Yahoo! Search Engine Submission.
You'll have to pay for their services, but the price may be worth it in relation
to the additional traffic you'll receive from a carefully conducted submission
to Yahoo! Search Engine Submission. Search Engine Watch members have access to a
More Search Engine Optimization page that lists articles about selecting search
engine optimization companies.
Finally, even if you choose not to submit to the Yahoo! Search Engine Submission
Directory, you may still appear in some the results at Yahoo! Search Engine
Submission that come from Google. The next part of this guide explains how to
submit to Google.