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I have concentrated on optimizing for the Google behemoth for so long that I have neglected other search engines. Looking at my stats today I receive 92% of traffic from Google, around 4% from MSN and just 2% from Yahoo.
I have a large 1-year-old site, receiving around 100k visitors a month. Although traffic is steadily rising, my reliance on Google clearly isn't a healthy situation, and I need to address this.
So....
1) What kind of % do other sites see?
2) Should I be concerned about this or is it fairly normal?
3) Does a $299 Yahoo directory listing mean a significant boost in Yahoo (or indeed other search engines)? I have been pondering over this for several months.
4) Do MSN/Yahoo simply not like large sites (70k pages)?
1. Submit for FREE to Google, Yahoo, MSN and other search engines.
2. Submit for FREE to all directories you can find on the internet most especially DMOZ. Do not limit yourself to submitting to local or US based directories since some of your clients might be coming from other countries too.
3. Exhange links with other web sites with similar (not the same) products/service as your site.
4. Submit regularly (at least once a month) to the same search engines. You can download a FREE web submission software which can help you submit your site. I use WEBCEO software.
5. Monitor your rankings.
If you have done all these steps for at least 6 months, do not be surprised to find your site at the first page of all the search engine results. Ofcourse, presuming that you have optimized your web site for submission like meta tags, keyword density, etc....but that is for another topic.
Goodluck!
[edited by: pageoneresults at 2:34 pm (utc) on Mar. 22, 2005]
[edit reason] Removed URI Reference - Please Refer to TOS [/edit]
elingo, I would be concerned. If Google decides to lose your site for a few months - and it does happen - you need other sources of traffic.
" There is NO need to submit your website to the major search engines"
Resubmission has always been a very good topic in SEO. Resubmission is NEVER a waste of time if your goal is to rank #1 in search engine results. The only way to go around resubmitting your site is to have your meta tag coded something like:
<meta name="revisit-after" content="30 days">
The code above assumes that indeed the robot remembers to revisit your site.
Make sure you also have a valid robots.txt.
All major search engines welcome you to resubmit your site every certain number of days. Make sure you follow their policy to prevent yourself from being tagged as SPAM.
If Google decides to lose your site for a few months - and it does happen - you need other sources of traffic.
I totally agree with the mantra around here that you need to have a healthy mix of search engine traffic. The problem is, Google dominates the market in certain industries. I've monitored quite a few sites over the past 9 years and there are certain sites that thrive on Google traffic. Without it, they would be collecting dust.
I've done all sorts of things, PPC, CPC, PFI, etc. Still, certain sites just rely on Google for traffic especially if they are global in nature.
<meta name="revisit-after" content="30 days">The code above assumes that indeed the robot remembers to revisit your site.
Sorry, the revisit-after [webmasterworld.com] tag is not in use by major search engines and never has been. It was specific to searchBC in Canada and even they have discontinued its use.
Resubmission has always been a very good topic in SEO. Resubmission is NEVER a waste of time if your goal is to rank #1 in search engine results. The only way to go around resubmitting your site is to have your meta tag coded something like:<meta name="revisit-after" content="30 days">
Hate to tell you this but I have many #1 rankings, never submit my sites and don't use that meta tag...
All major search engines welcome you to resubmit your site every certain number of days. Make sure you follow their policy to prevent yourself from being tagged as SPAM.
Just to set the record straight, the year is 2005. Statements like the above were rampant during the late 90s. Now that the search engines mostly rely on following links to find sites, the whole submission craze is passe, it is no longer required. Sure, there might be a few smaller entities that you hand submit to, but for the most part, the submission business is a dead business model.
I have surfed for some info on this topic and here is the link that opened my eyes to the future:
Thanks for the ZAP!
[edited by: pageoneresults at 6:42 pm (utc) on Mar. 22, 2005]
[edit reason] Removed URI Reference - Please Refer to TOS [/edit]
3) Does a $299 Yahoo directory listing mean a significant boost in Yahoo (or indeed other search engines)? I have been pondering over this for several months.
I have had a DMOZ link for some time, but I find it bizarre that my site does so (reasonably) well in Google, but virtually ignored by Yahoo.
Surely they must place a value on their own people approving a site for listing in their own Yahoo directory, thereby improving rankings on Yahoo Search?
Does a $299 Yahoo directory listing mean a significant boost in Yahoo (or indeed other search engines)? I have been pondering over this for several months.
This is all relative to a few major factors. One, your company name. Two, the description you end up with for your Yahoo! directory listing. And three, the category your site will end up in.
Yahoo! is going to use your company name as the linked title of the directory listing. A perfect scenario would be targeting a two or three word phrase and that is your actual company name. You're almost guaranteed a top spot in that situation. ;)
Study your chosen category well. Look at the titles and descriptions that the editors are utilizing. If you've submitted to Yahoo! in the past and know the routine, there is a good chance that your submitted description may remain unchanged if you follow the guidelines.
Look at the directory path of your chosen category. How is it structured? What other sites are in that same category? Are your keyword phrases within the category structure?
So yes, a $299.00 Yahoo! Directory listing can have major benefits if listed correctly.
