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If anyone has any comments on this list of possible reasons that I have compiled, it would be immensely appreciated. I am familiar with the guidelines at:
[help.yahoo.com...]
[help.yahoo.com...]
1. One potential problem might be the similar content of sites that our interlinked together. For example, let us say hypothetically that site 1 was a hockey site, site 2 was a baseball site, and site 3, the site in question, was a general sports site. Perhaps Yahoo saw too many similarities in the name, description, home page, interlinking etc. and considered it to be too much, and excluded our URL from the search results? It is becoming more and more common for "cloned" sites to come out with virtually the same content which should understandably not have multiple entries in search engines which try to screen search results to enhance the quality of results and the user experience. Our site(s) may overlap in some areas, and some pages may have similar pages, but as a percentage, the similar content pages are very low. The best example which would illustrate the extent of the overlapping scope of the sites would be having a hockey site listed on Yahoo then submitting a general sports site.
2. Excessive popups. We have a maximum of one popup per page, and according to the Alexa stats for our site/domain, 29% of sessions have popups, which sounds reasonable.
3. Site wide cross linking. We have about 5 web sites which are interlinked site wide. This seems natural enough though.
4. Affiliate programs. We have 9 links to affiliate programs out of 89 links on our home page. In all, 35 links point to external sites (including our interlinked sites, affiliate programs, partners, stat programs, etc.)
5. Presence of a Google AdSense 120x600 ad on our home page. Perhaps this is considered bad etiquette?
6. The fact that our site used to have a presence in the Yahoo Search Results by way of Inktomi (but has expired unintentionally). Could their database be picking up the presence of our old expired Inktomi link, thereby not adding our URL from the Yahoo directory in order to avoid a duplicate listing? Could we be penalized for letting the Inktomi listing expire?
If anyone has any similar experiences, or thoughts on which of the above issues is most likely responsible, they would be most welcome.
HP
It is definitely not an issue arising from the expired Inktomi listing. Yahoo responded today to my URL status request saying that we in fact did have a "judgment against our URL" so it not a technical glitch. Upon further deliberation, it is most likely not the pops, as they are in line with most other sites. I think if the presence of the Google AdSense ad on our home page was the problem, a heck of a lot of sites would be dropped from Yahoo which isn't the case.
In my opinion, that leaves three potential issues:
1. the similar content between linked URL's
2. site wide interlinking
3. possibly too many affiliate links (percentage wise).
With regard to site wide interlinking, I don't understand why it is a no-no. It seems natural enough if you have 5 sites, to have a link on each page of each site to the other 4 sites, no? This is the one change I am reluctant to make.
It would be helpful if anyone could post the percentage of external links on their home page, and if they manage multiple sites, the extent to which they interlink them, so I can get an approximate idea on the threshold.
HP
We had an original site and then created 5 additional sites with similar and some shared content but not identical nor intended to be spam. Of course there was interlinking between sites which is probably the biggest nono as we later found out.
Yahoo banned all 5 sites. After much searching and emails to/from Yahoo we decided to get rid of the 4 other websites and redesign the original site to remove any connection to any other similar site.
We are now back in Yahoo Search and are working on getting our rankings back on track.
Good luck.
I would like to describe in greater detail the interlinked sites and to what extent the content overlaps. This example is hypothetical, but accurate.
Site 1: Hockey trivia site
Site 2: Baseball trivia site
Site 3: General sports trivia site including hockey trivia and baseball trivia
In the left hand menu of every page of Site 1, there is a link to Site 2 and Site 3. In the left hand menu of every page of Site 2, there is a link to Site 1 and Site 3. And in the left hand menu of every page of Site 3, there is a link to Site 1 and Site 2.
BTW, it is the "General sports trivia site" that has the judgement against it (not showing up in Yahoo Search).
Worth mentioning is that the names and URL's of the three interlinked sites are similar too which could be a factor. To continue with the hypothetical example, let us say the titles of the sites are:
Hockey Trivia 123
Baseball Trivia 123
Sports Trivia 123
(Note to moderator: these domains are all unregistered and are in no way a plug for my sites.)
Google also penalizes for interlinking. Just because Yahoo caught you first and Google hasn't doesn't mean that Google won't get you later.
It's not uncommon for Yahoo traffic to blow away before the Google traffic does. I've seen this before.
And the funny thing was, we are in the Yahoo! Directory and were never banned or removed. However our Yahoo! Search results were obliterated.
The stereotypical complaint reads:
" I used to have good natural listings in Yahoo. Then I paid them $299 and I vanished."
As an amateur mathematician, may I suggest something simple?
I suggest you BILL Yahoo for $299 or more and watch your SERPS placements shoot up.
If they call or email, put up a canned response explaining how this charge is justified,
and how you cannot remove it.
Every 6 months or so, hire a new lady to pronounce the same words into the microphone.
Whatever you do, do not cash the $299 checks they send. - Somebody Else.
I was comforted to see you write:
The stereotypical complaint reads:
"I used to have good natural listings in Yahoo. Then I paid them $299 and I vanished."
That is exactly what happened to us. I'm glad to know that we are not the only ones.
Oh, and JRPT, we too are still in the Yahoo directory. As per the response to Yahoo URL Status Update form we completed, the directory and search systems/listings are completely independent.
HP
[edited by: Handsome_Prince at 5:58 pm (utc) on Jan. 29, 2005]
In my opinion, Yahoo is looking at ways of increasing their site match profits by taking out the big boys thinking they will go ahead and pay to get the listings back.
This could be one reason why your seeing sites dropping like flies.
Of course, they would never admit it, but since they mix paid results with organic, you can bet pretty soon only people who pay for site match will show up any where on Yahoo.
Competition
Affiliate sites are in direct competition with Yahoo.
When you payed for sitematch you probably brought your
site to their attention, and bang...
The moral of the story is to make sure your site adheres to their guidelines before doing an Express Submit (or joining their Site Match program) to protect your Yahoo Search presence.
Their guidelines in my opinion are not self-evident either. Having sites with some overlapping content and interlinking them (having a link to each site on each page of the other sites) seems like fair play, but apparently is not tolerated.
HP
