With a reported 22.1% of search traffic Yahoo is second only to Google's 64.4%
(src: Hitwise ) for
search user volume so it is extremely important not to forget that attaining a top ranking in
Yahoo can be a big boon to the bottom line. As a result, I decided to write this update on how
to attain superior rankings in Yahoo using today's useful tools and tactics.
Overview: Optimizing for Yahoo!
Algorithmically Yahoo is Google's much younger sibling. I say this because many of the
requirements for a successful ranking mirror Google's requirement about 4 years ago and they
sum up to one distinct fact; optimize your content boldly on Yahoo and you will be rewarded.
When I say "boldly" I do not mean use Spam; by nature Spam and optimization do not mix...
they are two entirely separate concepts (black and white in fact).
The following are the current generalized specifications for achieving solid rankings in Yahoo.
Web Site Optimization
SEO tactics have not changed a great deal over the past 10 years I have been an SEO. In general
terms the only effect time has had on SEO is to vary the intensity of the optimization for particular
page elements. That is the rub of course; some search engines appreciate the optimization of particular
page elements over others. In the case of Yahoo, this old property with a relatively young algorithm
tends to favour the following elements:
Title Tag: Keep your title tag as short as 5 small-medium sized words and include one complete
incidence of your keyphrase. Yahoo! blatantly favours sites that include the keyphrase in the title tag.
For an example check out
"car sales"
or for that matter any phrase. Within the top 10 results you will notice that the majority of sites listed
will include at least one incidence of the keyphrase or a crucial portion of it (i.e. "cars"). The ones
that do not include the keyphrase tend to be sites that are extremely popular so even basic title tag
optimization is not required to attain a top ranking.
Meta Description Tag: Start this tag with an incidence of your keyphrase and then produce a short
15 – 18 small-medium sized word sentence clearly describing your site. Include one more incidence of your
keyphrase in the sentence. Keep in mind that the description tag is often utilized as the description for
any rankings you achieve so it is best to make it alluring.
Meta Keyword Tag: Keyword tags have long been considered ineffective and no longer have any
importance on Google; however Yahoo does still consider the keyword tag so it cannot hurt to include
it. The keyword tag should start with the keyphrase and then all following words or phrases should be
ordered according to their relevance to your website; place the most important ones up front. The max
size of a keyword tag should be 250 characters – comma-delimited. Do not over repeat words; no more
than 3 repetitions of a single word within the tag.
Keywords in URL: Create keyword-based filenames that closely represent the content within the file.
Yahoo rewards keyword-based filenames a small amount – perhaps enough to push past your competition.
Headings: Heading 1 and 2 tags should be applied on every page where appropriate to embolden the
relevance of the page. In other words, use the page's keyphrase within a Heading 1 tag to further enhance
the visibility of the keyphrase on the page.
Alt text for images: Don't forget to provide appropriate ALT text for each image on your website.
The ALT text must not provide information that is already written on the website. ALT text is supposed to
provide a clear and concise description of what the image is. Fortunately this means that adding an incidence
of the keyphrase or a portion of the keyphrase is totally appropriate which can add slightly more credibility
to your page score when Yahoo's crawler (Slurp) indexes the page.
Inline Links: In the midst of your page it is beneficial to include links to related pages from
related content. These links will apply relevance to the linked page; which is optimized for the same
keyphrase you linked from.
Site Structure: Site structure is a vital component to ranking success on Yahoo; especially in
competitive marketplaces where every advantage is required to reach the top. One method that would be
successful at Yahoo (and happens to work as well on the other major search engines) is a tried and true
technique that revolves around the linear progression of related content throughout the website; it is
commonly known as Themeing. The following example should shed some light on this subject:
|
Your site is a car sales site focused on Audi. In order to create a linear site structure you would
focus each section of the site on an individual relevancy. Say you pick "Audi A5" as the relevant
topic (see Figure 1.0). As you move deeper into the Audi A5 section you only see A5 relevant content.
The search engine spider and your users will not be distracted by links to other vehicles – only
information on the A5. This progresses as you proceed deeper into this arm of the website and because
this section of the site is utterly focused on the subject "Audi A5" the odds of achieving a ranking
for that term increase considerably.
Links
When building links for Yahoo concentrate on quality not quantity. Quality links would be one way
links from sites that specialize in content directly relevant to the content on your own website.
Building these links can be done by creating content and syndicating it to your own industry for
link love and to build credibility. In addition, if your website is a worthwhile resource it is
entirely reasonable to tell the world about your site in order to build links; hopefully they will
link to you because they like your site so much.
Finally, there is another tactic that has mixed results; send out press releases once a month
using PRWeb or an associated press release agency. A good press release can easily build the
links you need in no time at all. Unfortunately the mixed results I noted occur when press
releases inevitably become archived, at which point the link relevance will fade. As a result,
link building with press releases is only useful as an ongoing practice and should be considered
a small facet of a robust link building campaign.
Site Explorer Settings
Yahoo's Site Explorer is a fantastic tool for monitoring
your website(s) and running basic link reports. If you have not already done so you should create
an account at Site Explorer and then validate your website (prove you own it) so that you can manage
the information Yahoo has for your website. Once you have validated your website I have noted some
Site Explorer functionality that may help your website perform on Yahoo:
- Make certain to create a sitemap and submit it to Yahoo: If you haven't already done so use a
XML sitemap generator to create a sitemap for
your website and then submit it to Yahoo using the "Add Feed" form within your website's Site Explorer
profile.
- Removing unnecessary dynamic content from your URLs with new add-on within Site Explorer: Do your
URLs contain session ID's or other dynamic content that is unnecessary within the URL? If so, this
information can be indexed by the search engines and ultimately can cause havoc with your rankings.
Thankfully Yahoo has implemented a new tool within the Site Explorer domain management section called
"Dynamic URLs Beta". Here are the
instructions to use the Dynamic URLs tool.
Other Considerations
After reviewing our notes from current and previous Yahoo promotions and taking a look at a variety of
top 10 results the following points appeared noteworthy:
- Ensure open indexing by using Robots.txt wisely
- A lot of our client's older content appears to be sticking to top rankings with little or no monthly
tweaking. As a result, I think it is fair to assume that fresh content is not currently gaining much
weight in the Yahoo algorithm.
- In many cases top ranking sites have pushed the envelope and their sites border on Spam. Considering
the top ranking these sites have it appears Yahoo's Spam filters are far less sensitive than Google's. I
expect Yahoo will change this in the near future, but then again I have been surprised how long this has
been the status quo.
- One common claim throughout forums is that achieving a placement in the Yahoo Directory provides an
instant boost to Yahoo rankings. Unfortunately we have not seen conclusive evidence that the annual $299
fee will increase rankings dramatically in the short term. That said, I strongly believe that a Yahoo
Directory placement is a very reputable incoming link that does pay dividends in the long run at any search
engine that weighs incoming links (the ones that count).
- Yahoo Search Submit was
re-introduced back in
February 2007 to significant
criticism due to the potential favouritism to those who pay to get into the Yahoo index. Despite the negative
feedback there appears to be some potential benefits to paying for submission. For one, in July I noted an
interesting story where a website was banned from Yahoo and the webmaster got the site back into Yahoo's index by paying
for inclusion ("Banned from Yahoo?" ).
A second reason Search Submit may be worthwhile is the guarantee that your site will be indexed. Furthermore,
the Yahoo's Search Submit Pro service allows you to recommend your own title and description tags for each page
submitted and to submit pages that may not normally be indexed by Slurp.
About The Author
Ross Dunn is the founder and CEO of StepForth Web Marketing Inc.. Based in Victoria, BC,
Canada, StepForth has provided professional search engine placement and management services since 1997. Ross is a search engine
optimization and placement expert with over 9 years of marketing experience and is a Certified Internet Marketing and Business
Strategist (CIMBS). Blending his experience in the art of web design and search engine optimization, Ross offers a unique and
informed perspective on obtaining top search engine placements. Ross can be reached at ross@stepforth.com
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