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To be fair, it is only a one page site. I won't post the URL here but anyone can sticky me for it if interested.
However, the client specifically requested a one page site. They offer highly-selective non-standard motor insurance and are using the site to generate leads. There is enough information on the page to sort the wheat from the chaff and those still interested can phone for a quote (the phone number is displayed very prominently on the page). That's the whole purpose of their site - to bring in more phonecalls. Nothing more.
So what do I do? Do I go and suggest to the client that we add a heap of other pages that they don't really want just so we might get through the appeal? This seems crazy - it's adding content for content's sake. Surely there can be some merit in having a nice concise succinct site? (I wish more were!) And it looks (IMO) professional and neat too so what's the problem?
Still seething over the loss of my non-refundable fee!
Jon.
Probably a good idea to read their tos, etc before submitting a site.
Good luck.
Ah - you should understand what Yahoo are looking for. Websites not a single page advert. Anyway, to make you feel better - I've had 2 £495.00 reviews rejected for a client - but I got the 3rd in - the £1.5K was well worth it - so keep on trying!
welcome to webmasterworld.
as the above have said.
Yahoo will take your money, and a 1/2 decent effort will get you listed, but with a 1 page site, you were a NON-starter.
Good luck.
Shak
I agree. And when I read them before submitting, I didn't see anything that suggested a one page site would be considered insufficient.
When is a website not a website? If I split the current single page in half and link between them would I then have a website? Three pages? What's the threshold?
4 to 5 pages should do the trick nicely.
2-3 paragraphs on each page.
Shak
There is the voice of experience speaking - and Shak's absolutely right!
This is the first I hear of a rejection in a long time but it makes sense that it would be as a result of the lack of unique content.
I would add a few pages and explain to your client that you can take them off once you are listed. Then write your appeal explaining to the editor that adding your site will be of benefit to Yahoo's users - write a very sweet, soft, kind appeal focusing on what your site will offer. This has always worked for me.
Good luck!
Perhaps you can justify this extra work to your client by making the half dozen or so 'extra pages' into 'extra keyword related phrase pages', linked to your product subject. Thereby, maybe, bringing in 4 or 5 times the number of extra enquiries (400-500% more - or more realistically 15-20% reach for each page).
I usually suggest a site of around a starting figure of about 20-25 pages. When you start getting results in an area of keywords you can amplify or alter pages in response, that way fine tuning the results to use the strongest and the not so strong keywords. If things screw up on one word the others keep the ship afloat!
Mind you, it's still worth having your fingers crossed ;)
When the client gets to see how the keyword thing works, because you tell him where all those hundreds of extra phone calls come from, he'll be more than happy to maybe stretch the budget to milk a few more keywords.
I think I'd consider trying to get e-mail responses and try to convert them to phone calls, rather than just try for phone calls. My reasoning (ie, IMHO) tells me that for web visitors that are offered the web alternative first, that is e-mail, 1st contact is possibly easier than moving to straight to direct phone contact.
I guess I'm saying make the mwant the extra pages and then justify it with leads.
I'm somewhat talkative tonight! :)
Having thought about it, I've decided to offer the client 4-5 additional pages for no extra charge. It won't take all that long to drop the new content into the template that's already created, and as this is my biggest client yet (I'm still small fry) I'm keen to turn a disappointed customer into a satisfied customer (even if we still don't get listed in Yahoo).
On the subject of adding pages and then removing them once in Yahoo - has anyone actually done this before? Obviously there's the risk of Yahoo checking up on the site and realising it's changed drastically and so dropping after all. That's the gamble you take I guess.
Jon.
never tried it myself, however have seen it done many times.
Shak
If the Yahoo reviewer thinks they add value to the site, why would another visitor think otherwise?
"Oh, I don't want to deal with this business, because I deeply resent their including a history of their founder on their internet site..."
I'm utterly baffled as to why you'd think information about the company would drive customers away.
And surely the text on the extra pages could cause them to act as potential search engine doorways....
But the customer's always right eh! (Even when he's wrong).
