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I submitted a new product to Yahoo Express. The product has a new URL, but of course it is under my main domain name.
Yahoo rejected it saying it was not "substantially unique". Since I have another product listed in another, unrelated directory, Yahoo deems that "adequate".
Am I angry? You bet.
There is not a problem with the site. It's professionally done and works perfectly. The new product is totally different from the other product currently listed in Yahoo. It clearly belongs on the category I submitted it to. There are only 7 other listings on that category.
Furthermore, I notice that Yahoo routinely provides separate listings in separate directories for separate products of the same company. For example, a quick search on Macromedia reveals a dozen listings in a dozen categories, one for each of their products.
The only problem is that the URL has the same domain name as another listing on the site.
If I appeal and explain all this to them, will they be reasonable? How can I get each of my products listed in the appropriate categories? Do I need to set up separate domain names for each product?
You should have just put it on a new domain name, made complete new site for it, how ever simple, then they would have let you in I think.
Submissor is right...your probably fighting a lost cause... Yahoo generally only allows one listing per site (with some exceptions made for large companies like Macromedia)
Same EXACT thing happened here. This week too. Maybe you are working in the same building? hehe.
Drats.
So what's the best way to deal with this? I can easily put all the content under another domain name. But I want to brand it the same with my company name, logo, etc. Will the yahoos at Yahoo look at that and say "Ah, same site" and throw it out again? Or can I submit a domain name that consists merely of text links to my main site? Or a redirect to my main site? Can I submit a bogus site without my company branding, and then add my company branding after they accept it?
In other words, how can I make the dingdongs at Yahoo think it's another site while letting my customers know it's all from the same company?
This is your best bet (you need to make them believe that it is a totally different company).....you do run the risk of them finding it in the future..... but this doesn't happen very often....
jason
Lets us know how it goes for you....what your describing is definitely not the norm and goes against Yahoo's terms of service.. Good Luck!
I think your best bet is to set up another domain and add the branding afterwards.
I'd encourage you to try and appeal first. Perform some research and show them some instances where they've already done this. Put together a convincing argument as to why it's in their benefit for your site to be listed in that category. Emphasize how it'll benefit Yahoo's users.
If you put together a good appeal, they can be convinced of many things.
Good luck! And welcome to WmW, SanMiguel and Jason4656!
Does the Yahoo! Directory allow duplicate listings?
No. If you find a company that is listed under more than one URL or title, please let us know by sending an email to our Directory Support Department.
url-support@yahoo-inc.com
If branding rather than theming is the object, sufficient care in setting this up should get them accepted.
Can you tell us what you said to Yahoo in your appeal and what they said back to you? Has anyone ever appealed Yahoo successfully?
Check and double-check to make sure your site works well in older versions of Netscape and IE.
Then, if you can, add a couple of pages of UNIQUE content.
In your appeal, mention that your site is fully operational AND contains unique content.
Focus on emphasizing why listing your site will benefit Yahoo through happy users.
Also, I've noticed Yahoo seems to be getting better about customer service. This may be part of it.
Good luck!
One quick point about using examples of other sites in your appeal. Make sure you don't use a company like Macromedia. They have multiple listings because they are a public company. All public companies get multiple listings. (One of the perks of an IPO :) )
Try to find and example of company similar to yours. Plead your case politely and try again. If that doesn't work, a separate domain that hides an connection to your orginal site is the only other choice.
a friend has just had their site rejected due to a lack of backward compatibility with older browsers.
The site specialises in highly innovative 'streaming video' services. It really is a great site which targets its market perfectly.
Yahoo have completely missed the point, as it is clearly NOT targeted at those with older browsers or those who do not care to download/view video or have high bandwidth connections. The first page of the site clearly states this.
In other words if you can't access it successfully with Netscape V3 and without plugins the site is not for you, just leave!
This is another example of Yahoo putting their head in the sand as the modern web increasingly contains a combination of excellent 'plain vanila', text and information-based sites together with those who are trying to do something 'different'.
By the way, the site was accepted in Looksmart.
Sticky mail is where it belongs, I would hate for a "private" email of mine to be posted on a public board [or even in a sticky mail!].
Yes, I got the mail. Looks great. I wish I'd seen yours before I sent mine in, because I could have used some of your ideas. I'll just have to wait and see what the Yahoos do with mine. Thanks.
I based my appeal on three things: 1) Yahoo visitors will expect our site in the appropriate category, 2) Yahoo allows other sites to have multiple listings - I gave an example, 3) There was no way I could predict my site would be rejected just because it's under the same domain as another listing - the terms of service don't say anything about that .
In the future, though, I'm not taking this chance. All future submissions to Yahoo will be published, at least temporarily, under a unique domain name with no company branding.
