Yahoo: $$$

[franklin dematto]

I run a small consulting service - one man, part time. There are a lot of competitors - is it worth shelling out the $200 to be buries somewhere in the middle of Yahoo's listings?

Is there anyway to get on to Yahoo for free? I've seen some talk of regional submissions - anyone have any more info or experience about this? Any other ways?

[skibum]

YAHOO! is probably worth it no mater what, but it is a lot more worth it if you are not buried and you don't have to be if the proper steps/research is/are done before submitting. It also tends to give your site a bump in Google.

[ggrot]

I think the price is $299.

[2_much]

Hi Franklin_Dematto,

It'll definitely be worth it if, like Skibum suggested, you do the research and make a proper submission.

There's a wealth of knowledge in this forum on how to do this. You can also use the "site search" feature in the top left to look for answers to specific questions.

If you learn enough and make a good submission, and end up ranking well, Yahoo will send you very qualified traffic.

[zechariah]

If you're trying your luck on the regional submission ,happy waiting or lucky enough you'll get in otherwise it's better to pay..

[Robert Charlton]

One of the things I think about when submitting to Yahoo is whether the listing, which will have a title that's by default the name of the business, and a description that ideally won't be edited, will have a chance of being found.

Choose your target terms and then run Yahoo directory searches and see what the competition is. If you see that you can't rank on your top terms because of the limitations of the title you'll get, then you need to find acceptable target terms that will rank if they're in your description.

This is an oversimplification of the ranking algo, but if you can't come up with an acceptable description that can be found in Yahoo directory search, you might want to think twice about whether a listing will be worth the money.

Also, keep in mind that the competition will inevitably get heavier.

It may be, though, that drill down or click-through popularity may eventually make your listing visible on Yahoo search.

Another factor to consider is the boost a Yahoo listing will give you in Google. This alone could be worth the money. Again, exact text match in your Yahoo title will be more helpful than a listing without this match.

[skibum]

Right on the money, Robert. The process you mentione in the first part of your post will help tremendously when determining how to word the listing and what description to go for. Depending on the phrases targeted you can all but know your rankings before you submit.

[jimsunseo]

Surely, the US$299 is worth. Just make sure your sales letter can convert.