if we pay them, do we get listed again?

dropped from yahoo listings

[Dusty1000]

Hi, we are a small local business in the uk and for years have enjoyed good placement with google and yahoo, being #1 in the free results for certain keywords. Nothing has changed with google (if anything we're doing better), but I had noticed slurp visiting our site less and less often and now I've found we're no longer in yahoo's directory.

The only changes I've made recently have been to add a couple of jpeg images and to type "" in all the alt images tags which were previously blank (there are only 5 images and they are relevant)

A few months ago someone from yahoo phoned to ask if we would like to pay them a non-refundable £60 (to participate in sponsored search - we have been doing google adwords for a while), to which I said no thanks. I only paid google £5 to set up adwords if I remember correctly. Whether I said yes or no to yahoo surely wouldn't make any difference to our free listing results - or would it?

[ecmedia]

As everyone knows if there is one search engine that is totally broken it is Yahoo. I wouldn't be surprised that some desperate and frustrated sales guy screwed up your organic listing.

From what Y says on its website paying for a review does not guarantee listing.

In other words, better focus on Google. Most respectable websites derive upward of 80% of visitors from Google.

[Quadrille]

It's most unlikely that Yahoo! would link the two - and they both have different rules. It's quite possible to be in the Y! directory and not do well in search - and vice versa.

I'd consider other possibilities; if Y! search does not like your site, £60 won't buy their affection.

[walrus]

As everyone knows if there is one search engine that is totally broken it is Yahoo

Broken for sure. I am wondering if broken on purpose now as the authority sites are still back in the 150 - 200 range.
Broken and or corrupt. Could it be that certain employees of these major engines have beem taking advantage of their positions and in fact by anonymous proxy own a lot of these sites propped up by strategic dmoz/Yahoo/whatever listings to the master url in the link farm?
If its a search engine why do they need dmoz anyways?
If its not corrupt why does it continue to deliver bad results considering all their experience as a search engine?

[Quadrille]

The reason SEs like ODP listings is simple; they are verified, human-being reviews of websites.

And let's not have the whole debate again ;)

Yes, ODP isn't perfect, but it is by far the best of the human-reviewed options (name one that comes close? no?), and that gives a little ballast to the machine-gathered results.

And a way to flag up certain rather outdated practices :)

It is perfectly possible that some rogue Y! employee is selling top positions on selected searches for a fee. Just a wee bit unlikely.

[Dusty1000]

Much thanks for all your advice. ecmedia I think you're right - the guy perhaps assumed I would play ball with Yahoo, assuming he had info that we participate in Google Adwords, and took offence when I said no. Either that or he was aware that inktomi seemed to love our site and thought we shouldn't be getting so much exposure for free.

I hadn't heard of ODP so looked it up (on Google) and am initially impressed. For the meantime it seems there's lots I can do to improve traffic without worrying about Ya who?

[walrus]

Well, i agree that ODP was a great idea but it is a many tentacled animal that has grown to the point there are not enough mods to properly police the less than scrupulous editors. I thought Yahoo and Google were supposed to be artificial intelligence so why do they feed them hand edited directories?
I think its safe to assume most editors had their own intersts at heart. Who has so much time to give away with no benefit? It is not human nature.
It is more human nature to lie, cheat and steal.
What isn't corrupt, the government, big business ,evangelists? Well,... at least evangelists tell me its gonna cost a buck to save my soul.