With the new Yahoo! "Pay-For-Review" model it right be relatively easier for sites to get into the directory but getting traffic from your listing is altogether a different story. And now with it's new annual recurring payment policy you have to be extra careful while submitting your site for a review.
Here are 8 things to keep in mind while submitting your site to
Yahoo!
1) Selecting your domain name is the most vital step in getting a top
ranking in Yahoo! and also other directories
like Dmoz and Looksmart.
Make sure your domain name is "Keyword Rich". You can make
your domain keyword rich by simply inserting hyphens to separate words
in your domain name. Yahoo! gives more relevance to sites with keywords
in their domain name.
Take our domain name for example: http://www.webhandler.com/
It is made up of 4 different high-in-demand keywords: "Web Handler", "Web Site ", "Web Page", "Web Site Handler".
While crafting your domain name, even you should try to keep your
domain name such that it is made up of one, 2-4 words main or
"parent" keyword; which in turn is made up of 2-4
high-in-demand "child" keywords.
You may or may not get a top ranking for all your targeted keywords
but you can be sure of getting one for your main or "parent"
keyword (If you do everything else right).
Even if you have to get a separate domain name for this purpose, GET
IT! It is absolutely crucial for your ranking.
2) Sites which are placed higher in directory structure are given
more relevance than sites which are placed lower or
deeper.
For example a site listed in category - B2B/Websites will be given more relevance than a site listed in category - B2B/Websites/Directories
Here's a great tip to select the most trafficked category for your
website...
Once you have short-listed 2 or 3 category to place your site in to,
check out the cost of Sponsor Listings of those
categories.It's really simple. Visit the following URL: https://ecom.yahoo.com/fast/sponsor
Enter the URL of any website that is listed in your desired category
(The URL should be same as it appears in Yahoo! and the category should
be a commercial category).
-----SIDEBAR-----
Please note that Yahoo! accepts Sponsor Listings for only certain
commercial categories and so this tip may or may not work for your
category.
-----SIDEBAR-----
You'll be asked for your Yahoo! ID. Once you submit the information,
you'll be provided with the Sponsorship charges for that certain
category. Repeat the process for your remaining short-listed categories.
Now compare the prices of all your short-listed categories. Naturally
the one with a higher price is the most trafficked one!
3) Yahoo! considers keywords in the directory structure while ranking.
For example, if someone is searching for "Business Opportunities
Directories", a web site listed in category -
B2B/Business_Opportunities/Directories will be given more relevance than
a web site listed in category - B2B/Business_Opportunities
4) Yahoo! DOES NOT spider websites to determine ranking. It ranks web
sites based on keywords in domain name, title and description. So having
META tags does not make any difference to your listing.
5) DO NOT try to stuff as much keywords as possible in to the
description. Yahoo! editors are notorious for cutting
down the description if they sense even slightest hype. Try to avoid
words such as - no.1, proven, turnkey, exciting
etc.
Also, make sure that the heading of your home page is same as the
description you provided for your site. There should be no confusion in
the mind of the editor reviewing your site.
6) Make sure your domain name and business name is the same since Yahoo!
is known to use the business name as the title for your listing.
7) Make sure your website is "Content Rich". This is very
critical for two reasons. One - to get your site
accepted by Yahoo! and Second - to maintain and get a higher listing.
Yahoo! determines the popularity of a website by the amount of time a
visitor spends on your website. If a large no. of them hit the
"back button" of their browser as soon as they hit your web
site, you can kiss goodbye to your dreams of a possible higher listing.
Once you get a lower listing, it can get very difficult to make up as
visitors will not be able to find your site
easily.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Once a site gets accepted into the directory, Yahoo! ranks it based on
the keyword popularity in domain name, title and description. But as
time progresses, it determines the ranking based on the popularity of
the website itself.
We ignored this and our listing came down drastically within few days
of getting accepted!
-----SIDEBAR-----
8) Before submitting your website, thoroughly research websites that
rank higher for keywords you are targeting (Especially the "Most
Popular" sites in the directory section). This will give you a
rough idea of what to and what not to include in your website.