How do I SEO for Yahoo?

Thanks to Marcia's thread now I'm paranoid...

[gutabo]

OMG!

I know nothing 'bout Yahoo! I must admit it, I've been a Google only webmaster!

OMG! Help me please! What's the same(with google) and what's different?

Thanks in advance!

[tigger]

Yahoo is a directory so you don't, you pay your money they list the site, the other results are just filtered Google data

[Mike12345]

I totally agree with tigger, (what he/she says is true)

But it is worth noting that yahoo may be switching to Ink at some point in the future.

Just wanted to mention that, sorry.

[tigger]

he :)

>But it is worth noting that yahoo may be switching to Ink at some point in the future.

true, but I'm doing my best not to think about that :)

[Mohamed_E]

> But it is worth noting that yahoo may be switching to Ink at some point in the future.

Two recent threads on Ink optimization:

[webmasterworld.com...]
[webmasterworld.com...]

[2_much]

At the moment, being a Google only webmaster is good, because that's where most of the results are coming from.

As much as I would like to be ahead of the pack if/when there's the switchover, I'm going to wait to see what Yahoo does with Ink. Then I'll go ahead and optimize for them.

[Mike12345]

The Press Release [docs.yahoo.com]- For those who havent read it. - It doesnt say exactly what there going to do with it, but its interesting and can be easily overlooked.

Also have a look at Inktomis websearch 9 piece on ink dot com. Thats quite interesting too.

I know theres not much point in re-jiggling every thing for ink just yet, but in preparation, its good to do some background reading IMO. :)

[skiguide]

I totally DISAGREE - you can definitely "optimize" your Yahoo directory listings.

Of course, Yahoo uses google right now, but in many popular searches, the primary results are a mix of Google & Yahoo directory results under the "WEB" tab, some show the Google snippet, those that do well in google AND are in the directory show a red arrow with their directory listing instead of the snippet. I have the feeling that when the switch to Ink finally happens, it will still be similar.

Once you learn the proper style for submitting a description to yahoo, it becomes very rare that an editor changes much in it.

In any case, but when you are targeting a fairly competitive industry, a good Yahoo directory listing will help you rise to the top, particularly if you focus on just one or two EXACT keyword phrases in the description you submit to yahoo editors.

for example, search Yahoo for "Maine lobsters" or "live Maine lobster" both very popular searches that drive decent traffic & sales - i have two clients in the top 20 results, both are showing the Yahoo directory description..

it's not a great example for the fact that there's only 47-49K competing sites, but i've seen it work well in tougher places, too.