$500 for a Sponsored site?

has anyone else ever heard of this?

[cLuTcHFieND]

The owner of the company I work for told me today that they payed $500 last year (before i was employed here) to become a Yahoo sponsored site. This apparently lasts for a year, and then they have to pay $500 again. But I'm confused. Is this the same thing as Express inclusion? Cause I haven't noticed us having anything different than all the normal express inclusion sites. We have the red arrow and we're in the directory.

I need to know, because I want to convince my boss that paying the $299 inclusion fee at the end of this year is a good idea, but he seems convinced that it's $500 and refuses to do it again. If I can convince him that he only needs to pay $299, then he'll probably do it.

Did our site get ripped off last year? :(

[seth_wilde]

Yahoo sponsored sites only get better rankings in their specific category, not in the search. You have to pay the $299 to be included and then the sponsored listing fee is on top of that..

I'd wouldn't give Y! any money until they sort things out...

[cLuTcHFieND]

So the extra fee is pretty much useless unless you're worried about the Directory listing?

If so, then that's good news for me. :)

[seth_wilde]

"So the extra fee is pretty much useless unless you're worried about the Directory listing?"

That's correct..

[cLuTcHFieND]

Thank you very much. Now that I know that, I can tackle this problem from a whole different angle.

Cheers :)

[2_much]

Clutchfiend, I had a few sites that I sponsored until the latest raise in price, now I can say that it's not worth it.

Of course it'll depend on your site, category, etc..but I advise you to look into it carefully before paying.

[cLuTcHFieND]

Well, I talked to my boss. He talked to a rep at Yahoo, and they said that they won't take any submissions for anytime after January, cause they aren't sure "if the directory will still be active by then".

Did I miss something? o_O

[seth_wilde]

"Did I miss something?"

Yahoo's use of their directory is currently in limbo.. If you haven't noticed, they're currently displaying google results for their search.. It's anybody's guess how it will all end up..

[cLuTcHFieND]

Yeah, I know that. But I never realised that this could mean they're dumping the directory completely. If the Y! Rep actually told my boss that they won't accept his $299 dollars, does that mean that they indeed are doing away with express inclusion?

Or am I just out of the loop again? :)

[seth_wilde]

"won't accept his $299 dollars, does that mean that they indeed are doing away with express inclusion?"

definitely not a good sign.. I think at this point it's still a wait and see type of situation.. To me this could imply a couple of things..

1. Yahoo may ditch the directory completely

2. Yahoo still isn't sure where the directory results are going to be displayed and aren't comfortable taking $299 until they know. (possible price reduction if the directory results aren't shown first?)

[cLuTcHFieND]

A discount would be helpful, sicne the only reason I see to be listed in the directory at this moment is for the page rank bonus on Google....

Only thing we can do is wait, I guess.

[skibum]

Referrals from within the YAHOO! category have been strong for some sites even after the switch.

[Napoleon]

>> If the Y! Rep actually told my boss that they won't accept his $299 dollars <<

I doubt it. Take a look at this week's new additions to the Directory:

· Wednesday Oct. 23 - 758
· Tuesday Oct. 22 - 1100
· Monday Oct. 21 - 866
· Sunday Oct. 20 - 5
· Saturday Oct. 19 - 209
· Friday Oct. 18 - 532
· Thursday Oct. 17 - 904

And in Business and Economy (paid)for Wednesday alone: 179

Frankly, your boss sounds like he doesn't have a clue. Maybe you should talk to the Yahoo Rep.

[alex_cross]

cLuTcHFieND

Most people who search on the internet have no idea how to navigate the a directory.

[2_much]

cLuTcHFieND - that's very interesting.

I tried calling Yahoo Sponsored to see if I could dig out any information. Curious thing is that I asked for the "Sponsored" department and they transferred me to 1 person's voice mail. So they must've downsized this department considerably.

Skibum - I'm seeing the opposite. Our traffic from Yahoo for sites listed well in the Directory section is down by 80%. I did notice one exception - 1 site that is most popular in a category.

[cLuTcHFieND]

I don't know. There is the opportunity that maybe my boss is clueless. But if what 2_much said is true, then maybe there is something going on behind the scenes here.

Guess we wait till the first of next year to find out.