Yahoo! Directory coming into play again?

Just had a site rejected - a sign of more directory emphasis?

[Canton]

Hello all - I know there's been much conjecture regarding what Yahoo! will do with all its new technology (Inktomi, followed by AV and FAST), but I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the role the banished Y! directory might play.

I submit sites to Yahoo! to get a Google crawl...this works well and may or may not be worth the $299 (I usually don't renew). Lately I've submitted fewer sites and just rely on time and the ODP to get me the G crawl. However, I just submitted a site to Y! the other day for the $299 and the site was rejected (the 2nd rejection in 2 weeks in fact - though the first was a more legitimate rejection). These are the first times in recent memory (and only the 3rd or 4th time ever) that I can remember this happening. What's more, the rejection noted that they couldn't verify the business address, that no phone number was on the site, and that the order forms on the site must have SSL before they'd consider it.

Now I don't read the Yahoo! guidelines all that closely, but I do know that there's no specific mention of the need for SSL on order forms, so I'd say they're going above and beyond the requirements in evaluating sites. This is in STARK CONTRAST to what it had been before, when they would take any 8-page, thrown-together web site as long as you paid the $$$.

I can't see why they'd bother to be stringent with sites submitted to the directory if they weren't going to do something with it.

My thinking was perhaps that they'd have an MSN-like list of results (but with all the listings being Yahoo!-owned, unlike MSN). E.g. - first listed results are "Sponsored" from Yahoo!-owned Overture. Second results are from the Yahoo! directory and third results are from Yahoo!-owned Inktomi (very similar to the MSN featured/sponsored/looksmart/inktomi setup).

Any thoughts on this? I've heard that Ink will play a role sometime this summer, but I'm very curious about the directory. Perhaps the sites were rejected simply because Yahoo! doesn't need the $299 a pop revenue any more. Or they just want a good rep. as a true search destination so they're no longer playing loose with their own rules.

~Canton

[pixel_juice]

>>What's more, the rejection noted that they couldn't verify the business address, that no phone number was on the site, and that the order forms on the site must have SSL before they'd consider it.

When you say rejected, I assume they gave you some time to correct the ommissions. The guidelines above are reasons I have come across for sites being refused, however they normally give you a chance to fix it in my experience.

I think you may have just came across a tough editor instead of a policy change.

[mack]

If you use express submmission they offer a time period for you to make the changes. They will then re-review your site. If you used free submission they may have rejected your site because it is commercial.

Mack.