Help me - I am totally frustrated with my paid listing

paid description

[isabelle7]

About 3 or 4 years I have subscribed to the Paid listing and paid $299 with my credit card. Because of the only reason - each and every search engine ranking tutorial started with that advice - to pay yahoo their money for the paid listing in their directory. Next year I have changed my cc details (and actually used a temporary credit card - which is valid just for a one purchase - a very convenient bank service to avoid yearly charges) and ... forgot about yahoo. I was busy with some other aspects of marketing when recently I have found that yahoo still continue to send me my yearly paid listings fee notices - without even a single note that the credit card on file is not valid. I checked with yahoo directory - I am still there in a commercial section (shopping and services), moreover - in "a most popular" section of the directory. I tried some of my 2 year old keywords that are still bringing me some traffic in google - and they failed to show me in yahoo on a first 10 pages. Maybe its a penalty I thought? But why havent they removed me from their directory. So, I have several questions and I will much appreciate someones helpfull advice:

1. How can it be that I havent paid for a commercial listing in yahoo directory (credit card was a one time card) - and my site is still there?
2. Can it be a penalty for not showing my site in their search results?
3. Will it make any sence to renew my listing and pay at least for this year to improve my search results?
4. And finally a last question which I am sure everyone is familiar with - does yahoo directory listing nowadays help google ranking as it was in the past?
I would be very very thankfull for your comments, Forum.

Yours sincerely, Isabelle.

[robotsdobetter]

1. How can it be that I havent paid for a commercial listing in yahoo directory (credit card was a one time card) - and my site is still there?

They may not had the time to take it off yet or they are giving you so many days to pay before they take it down.

2. Can it be a penalty for not showing my site in their search results?

No!

3. Will it make any sence to renew my listing and pay at least for this year to improve my search results?

It helps in Yahoo because they display results from the directory, but I don't think it helps that much with Google, at least not much as it use to. If you get good traffic from the directory you should stay with them, if you think it's worth it.

4. does yahoo directory listing nowadays help google ranking as it was in the past?

No!

[soapystar]

4. does yahoo directory listing nowadays help google ranking as it was in the past?

No!

you sure about that?

[robotsdobetter]

you sure about that?

Yes, I have results to back it up.

[outland88]

>4. does yahoo directory listing nowadays help google ranking as it was in the past?

No!

Yes, I'm a little curious why you would say that.

[isabelle7]

Will not pay until they will remove my site from their directory - will I be able to recommence the listing with the same level of disposure if I will pay AFTER they will remove it?
Have checked yahoo help pages and found nothing on this subject - if there is an option to renew after the record have been removed completely due to non payment?
Also thank you very much robotsdobetter
for your responce - was not hoping to get any help, you were very nice to enlighten me.

[DaveAtIFG]

There have been reports that a Y directory listing can hurt your Y free listing. A title from the directory listing seems to have "priority" over a title spidered from a web page. I expect this will be corrected, eventually.

There are also plenty of reports that Yahoo customer service and billing is "unpredictable" presently. None of this is unexpected to me, they acquired 5-6 major search related properties last fall and deployed a new SE last spring.

NOW, they appear to be busy trying to integrate all of those properties and "clean up the mess" so to speak. It might be wise (and probably a lot less frustrating! :) ) to simply wait until Yahoo sends you a bill. :)

[rnism]

>There have been reports that a Y directory listing can hurt your Y free listing. A title from the directory listing seems to have "priority" over a title spidered from a web page. I expect this will be corrected, eventually.

That is really happen to me now! My site once always ranked NO.1 on Yahoo before I paid $299 to add my site to its directory, but after that, my listing on Yahoo is not the title and description really on my site now, and its ranking began to drop to 100+, how should I going on? Is that all because I paid the money to add it in Yahoo directory?

[Michael_T]

I've been paying my Yahoo bills since 1999 / 2000.

I'm in two directories and I also pay to sponsor two sites. The latter costs $100/ mo each.

I get virtually no search traffic from Yahoo, where as Google sends me 12,000 per week.

I do get visitors from the Yahoo directory listing. They do buy, so the ROI is OK.

I used to get a lot of Yahoo search traffic. I think that was all Google based. Now I get almost nothing from Yahoo search.

I think they have serious management problems over there. I've called Yahoo 4-5 times to run some paid adverts and the guy has not returned my calls. Maybe Google has them all shook up.