Yahoo returning Google Results but Yahoo directory titles

Is this new?

[ogletree]

I just noticed taht Yahoo returns my Yahoo directory Title instead of my title. The order is still the same as Google it just seems that Yahoo changes the Title if you have a Yahoo directory listing.

[jbgilbert]

Yep... noticed that too and it's new.

Could it be that Yahoo is beginning their move away from Google?

[coconutz]

Yahoo has been using the directory title and description in the search results (for listed sites) for some time.

This is how we found out our site was addded to the directory (in February) - we noticed the title and description in the search results had changed.

[James_Dale]

That's certainly not new. It's been like that as long as I can remember.

[Brett_Tabke]

James; I think we are talking two different things here. We mean in the Google results. They've done it before, but I've not noticed it for quite awhile. They did it back when they switched all those directory changes (with the red arrow) last year.

[sem4u]

This has been going on for quite a while now, probably since the start of the year.

[sem4u]

Actually probably a couple of months into the year.

[skipfactor]

The only paid listing I have in Yahoo (circa Jan '03) has done this from day one. It's hard to miss because the Y! directory title is the client's first & last name, then company name--very annoying in most Y! SERPs.

[ogletree]

Are you talking about in the directory or in the reguler Yahoo search. We are talking about if you do a search for webmasterworld on the front page of Yahoo.com you get the title webmasterworld.com instead of WebmasterWorld News and discussion for the advanced web professional.

[Kirby]

He means if you do a search for widgets, it will list it as "Skipfactor, widgets". It does that with one of my sites, lists my name instead of the brand, as if anyone cares that its me.

[skipfactor]

Are you talking about in the directory or in the reguler Yahoo search.

Yes, a straight Yahoo search from the front page.

lists my name instead of the brand, as if anyone cares that its me.

Exactly Kirby, it probably harms CTR when Joe Blow's name appears in a Google-generated Y! result page. As long as Y! uses G results, I will advise against a Yahoo directory submission when the category uses first & last names. I'd rather see each page's more relevant, marketable title.

[ogletree]

Well after asking around this has been around for a little while. Nobody seems to know exactly when it started. I have not seen anybody say they saw it before January. For those of us who are just now noticing this is pretty interesting information. Actualy quite disturbing. Yahoo has stolen our Titles from us. This is one reason that a person may not want to have a Yahoo directory listing.

[4crests]

I noticed my listing switched over to the Y-Directory title about 3 days ago.

[jeremy goodrich]

My sites have been listed this way for well over three months, the HTML title from my site had been replaced by the title from the Yahoo directory. Which in many cases, makes it difficult for the surfer, imho, to see why the page is a relevant match because the directory title isn't always well representative of the page.

[James_Dale]

Several of my sites have been this way for well over a year.

[coconutz]

>>Well after asking around this has been around for a little while. Nobody seems to know exactly when it started. I have not seen anybody say they saw it before January.

From the Yahoo Library [webmasterworld.com]

30. Yahoo Replacing Google Title & Descriptions [webmasterworld.com]
Yahoo is now replacing the Google title and description with the title and description from Yahoo's directory (for sites currently listed in the Yahoo directory). August 23, 2002

Can't seem to acces the thread as it redirects me to a login page that won't accept my username/password.

[zeus]

my title has always been the directory title on yahoo

zeus

[Learning Curve]

I think the Yahoo title definitely lowers CTR. The Yahoo title has no "sell" to it.

But I can't get too upset since their SERPs will change completely soon... Then I'll get upset.

[canuck]

Yahoo has been doing this for quite some time... so if you're listed in the Yahoo directory your Search Title = Official Company Name.

I've been tempted to pull my listing from the directory since it would appear to hurt CTR with an irrelevant title, however, with Yahoo's impending switch I'm hoping they again give some advantage to being listed in the Yahoo Directory.

I'm sure it won't be like the old days :(

<added>However, 2nd'ary pages retain their Google Titles in Yahoo. Only webpages listed in Yahoo's directory are affected... mainly the home pages.</added>

[Marcia]

I've got no choice but to do a Yahoo submit on one site now, regardless of what they do with the title. It does have one of the two words in the main phrase in the site domain name and title, so that's what it'll be instead of containing two main phrases, but it's not something that can't be dealt with and easily overcome.

Google uses the site's meta description plus picks up a bit from the page in the snippet, and that description was written almost like it would have been for a submission. A few words pruned out won't make much difference and it's one of those occasions where Yahoo can come to the rescue.