Forum Moderators: martinibuster
We're about four months post launch for a niche dating site and obviously we're building content and inbound links as fast as we can. Is it worth spending $299 on a listing in the Yahoo Directory? The page that we would actually appear on only has PR3 - but is it still recommended as it's Yahoo?
All feedback gratefully received...
If the other sites on the page rank well for the terms you're trying to rank for and if you figure there is some sort of hubs and authorities factor to the SE ranking, it might be worth the spend.
If you're total ad budget is $300, don't blow it all on Yahoo.
Traffic
Assistance with Ranking
Relative to the traffic part of the equation, you’re going to get virtually nothing there. Despite spending $300 a pop to be in the directory they do not display the tab to get to the directory to visitors any more. In order to get to the directory, you now have to hit a tab up at the top of the page that says more, then go down and click directory. Joe surfer’s never going to go there; he has no clue of its existence. Of course the price stayed the same, and there was no announcement about this little change that I’m aware of.
So now we are on to the ranking equation. If your site is new as you have stated, the $300 is worth it IMHO. At the early stage of launching a site, quality links is the name of the game and $300 to get right into an old, established directory is worth it.
What would be interesting is if a Yahoo representative could come and weigh in on your question. Unless that person could offer a pretty convincing argument it appears to me their entire directory exists solely because webmasters think it will help them rank better. If they believed in the value of their directory, as a resource to their visitors, they would not have buried the link to get to it.
Is it worth paying for directory listings in general.
For older established sites, I would be a bit conservative in spending on them, (unless there’s real traffic to be gained). For new sites looking to build a solid linking profile, spending is worth it. It’s easier to impact newer, less established sites than older ones, so you get more bang for your buck. For example, how much impact would joining the Yahoo directory be for a ten year old, trusted, authority site with 12,000 back links relative to doing that with a brand new site? Bottom line; when starting out, you gotta start some where and legitimate directories are a "legitimate" place to start.
