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Yahoo: click-pop

descriptions become even more important

         

stavs

11:29 pm on Oct 22, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



It is a fact that users of search engines are more likely to click on those sites that have an interesting and alluring description.

Thus increasing the click-pop of those sites.

Assuming that Yahoo does have a click-pop counter system factored into its algo, is it ethical then that a sites success is dependant (partly or largely) on a good description, when the editors of Yahoo choose that description - some of which are so poor that some sites must be doomed from the start. This may have been not such an issue with the old format, where at least you could be found in the categories (which were thrust upon searchers by virtue of that format) somewhere (discriminately IMO) alphabetically.

The 'description' element of Yahoo has been a massive talking point in these forums as many of us have suffered at the lazy pens of the editors in the past.

If, since the recent format change (where the searcher is more likely to NOT delve into the categories), click-pop is now used more heavily in the Yahoo algo, the description becomes even more important than it was before.

Oh Great!

startup

4:24 pm on Nov 5, 2001 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Sure they can, below you will see two entries in two separate index.dat files. If you allow them to write to these files they can retrieve the information that is stored there.

C:\Windows\Cookies
Cookie:anyuser@hc2.humanclick.com/hc/85936856

C:\Windows\Profiles\anyuser\Cookies
Cookie:"deleted"@yahoo.com/

I am of the opinion that there should be something for them to read if they want to. You can always delete it but, you don't want a "clean" browser while you are clicking.

Newbie

12:09 am on Nov 6, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Hey Startup

You're there already I can see :-)

Don't need to have an empty browser right?

Delete, surf, click :-), :-)

fonzerelli 79

5:32 pm on Nov 6, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member




i paid a couple of hundred dollars for a listing in yahoo last year

here is the great listing that those yahoo editors spent ages thinking about

'Online shopping directory'

terrible isnt it

Newbie

12:54 am on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Hey, Fonzarello!

Next time you do a site, lets say you are selling blue widgets. Buy the domain www.blue-widgets-sales-and-informations.com and call your site The Blue Widget Sales & Informations Company. That way, your description will not be important.

fonzerelli 79

3:22 am on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member




yeah

i dont really want to buy another domain name though

ggrot

3:56 am on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



fonz, domains are cheap. Check out godaddy.com (am I allowed to post this? its the cheapest I've found).

On the topic of generating click pop, would it be feasible to load some really small iframes or something like that on your site(where the user wouldn't notice) that loads the yahoo click thru link? Or better yet make any links to your home page the yahoo link? You'd get a variety of real users - it would be hard for yahoo to detect, no?

Newbie

4:29 am on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



ggrot

Where would that help you? The moment you have an active link back to Yahoo, they will almost certainly deem that each user has come back to them after having visited your site for a very short time (and therefore your site is not that good).

ggrot

4:31 am on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Ah good point. How about I get even more tricky and throw in sessions. If the user came from a referring address of yahoo, I will provide them with a normal link all across the site, else I will provide a yahoo link. I could also keep spiders out with this, and it wouldn't really be cloaking per se.

Newbie

5:21 am on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



But how many methods do you think Yahoo have of monitoring users? There are cookies, two cache areas and your IP. Even if someone goes back via a new route, what will they still have?

You could use a divert to stop the user from going back to Yahoo, on the basis Yahoo will give you more brownie points the longer they appear to stay on your site. But for how long? And when you get caught....

There is another way. But, oh Jeez, you know, it took me so long to figure this one out. And I would hold my breath doing this anyway to be honest. Not so much for Yahoo finding out and dropping me. But my competition finding out, doing the same thing, then Yahoo and others dropping link pop altogether because of it.

And until my competitors catch up with me on my click pop abilities / program, I really don't want to use this.

If you send me a sticky and lets talk about our markets, so there is no cross over. Perhaps we can exchange a few?!

dogboy

1:42 pm on Nov 7, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



"on the basis Yahoo will give you more brownie points the longer they appear to stay on your site."

Newbie, what proof do you have that this goes on? As far as I know this is a directhit thing, not a Yahoo thing... Are you *assuming* that there is a temporal aspect to click pop? Have you done any studies? Where did you read this? ...not trying to cause a ruckus, but from what I know, Yahoo does not address the temporal aspects of click pop the way that directhit does.... granted, I am basing that mainly on the example I mentioned above, but it is hard to find such examples.... care to share any that support your statement?

Newbie

12:20 am on Nov 8, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Hey dogboy

No problem. Look at their URL string. You should be able to work it out (that it contains your directory and position within it in binary form). Why else have that?

Also, if you were Yahoo. And let's face it, Yahoo lead the field in many areas. What would you do? You had link pop (everyone knows), but now it seems less effective - why? You are Yahoo, do you drop link pop in importance or make it more selective?

And if you think you make it selective. How do you do this / monitor it? Having db based answers is too great a strain on your servers. So they need to address this within their interaction with your PC. So, when you work out how they do this. Then; test, check, test, check, test, check, test, check, test. And then analyse what you find.

And what you will find, I guarantee you, if you look where it is obvious and you do it right. It will tell you (in no uncertain terms), that "temporal" (not so, as this would involve comparing data on their db), actually refined click pop is what they do now.

NFFC

11:00 am on Nov 9, 2001 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I don't think that Yahoo click-pop plays any role, none, zilch.

dogboy

11:32 pm on Nov 9, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



rofl.... I agree NFFC

Newbie, I didn't question that click popularity exists.... I know they monitor clicks.... (I watched from the beginning.... it wasn't all that long ago... maybe a year?)

....What I was saying is that I don't think there is any aspect of their algorithm that takes into account what a surfer does after they click into a site.... they are simply counting outgoing clicks. You said that a click is worth more 'the longer they appear to stay on your site'.... all I said is that this is, so far, unsubstantiated and I asked you why you think this to be true... you very well may be correct.... I just have never seen any proof that 'the time issue' has anything to do with the way Yahoo monitors click popularity.... that is, if click popularity actually exists:)

Marcia

12:04 am on Nov 10, 2001 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Click figures would be necessary for Yahoo or anyone else to have for figuring what to charge for actual advertising if it's on a sliding scale, which it should be. Advertising for competitive, high traffic items should cost more than advertising for low end products with considerably less traffic. Yahoo would *need* to have the click info to structure ad pricing. That doesn't necessarily mean it's used for anything else.

So if we remove that factor, it's back again to figuring the value of domain name, title and description. Maybe even longevity.

Newbie

12:29 am on Nov 10, 2001 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Have any of you looked at what Yahoo puts on your PC? Have you looked to see if and when it changes? If it changes, have you considered the reasons why? Even if you come up with a reason such as market trending, could that also be used for other purposes (simply, easily, without a drain on their db / server resource) such as grading clicks? If so, what would you do if you were as tech leading as Yahoo? And if you come to where I did, have you tested this one out? I have.

But I do not mind scepticism :-) I am happy enough for this one to be hard to find / fathom out etc. The reason I even chipped in with this, what I consider to be HUGE information (resultant from months and months of hard work on my part), was because someone here did me a big favour elsewhere, and I owe the forum one.

Even with the solution / algorythmn confirmed, you need to be a clever click popper. I have just pointed you firmly in the right direction and a long way down the right path. As for Yahoo having no mechanism for registering or grading click pop NFFC. I am a Christian. But until I see those perly gates, I wouldn't preach to anyone that I am right!! :-)

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