New Orleans Internet Marketing

There was a front page thread on WebmasterWorld about this recently, and it’s something that’s frequently asked. Probably because it’s so infrequent that someone gives a good answer. I posted on the thread, but I’ll go into more detail here.

So what’s the good answer? “Maybe,” is the best answer.

This is what I consider when I’m thinking of listing a site in Yahoo!

1. How deep is the category where the site will be listed?
   
   

   Is it a deep category like this?
   
   Regional > U.S. States > Louisiana > Cities > New Orleans > Business and Shopping > Business to Business > Communications and Networking > Internet and World Wide Web > Web Site Designers
   
   If so, it will have much less value than the upper level categories that get more traffic and have higher PageRank.
   
   

2. Is the category relative to the keywords you want to show up for?
   
   

   In most cases, the category will be relative to the keywords you’re targeting. If it’s not, you should consider changing or adding content to your site that represents those topics.
   
   

3. How many other sites are in the category?
   
   

   If your site looks like it will be buried in with 100 other directory listings, the value of the listing will be less.
   
   

4. What is the PageRank of the category your site will be listed in?
   
   

   Some of the upper level categories have good PR, while some of the deeper level categories have none at all. PageRank should not be the deciding factor. There are many other factors that make the listings worthwhile, but it should be a consideration.
   
   

5. How will the Yahoo! editors list your site?
   
   

   This we don’t always know, and if the title and description aren’t relative to the keywords you’re targeting, the listing will be less beneficial. So consider the accuracy of the listing you’re about to submit, if you feel like you need to “manipulate” the title or description of the site, that might be a sign that you won’t get what you want. The editors can also put your site in a different category if they feel it’s more appropriate.
   
   

6. Is the category likely to get traffic?
   
   

   I have one listing that gets enough traffic from the Yahoo! directory to make it worthwhile regardless of other factors, but most of my listings benefit very little from natural directory traffic.
   
   

Lastly, Yahoo! directory is definitely one of the oldest, most trusted, and top ranked web directories in the search engines. Your listing’s acceptance into the directory is a sign of trust to Google, and any other search engines that consider such factors. Therefore I feel that in most cases, it is beneficial.

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