Search Engine-I want to search my site.

[Guest_imported]

I am currently working on a web site.<br>I have introduced the meta tags with key words for my site, and now when I search on Yahoo.com or Metacrawler.com,<br>my page is missing. I tried all the combinations necessary but still I can't find my site.<br>Help me find my site. <p>Vijay Donthi<br><a href=mailto:vdonthi@ezode.com>vdonthi@ezode.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>

 

[Vec]

What is the URL that you are trying to find? -

Looking Toward The Future

http://www.webfusiondesign.com

 

[Vec]

Yahoo comes in three flavors; the main (original) Yahoo; the international Yahoo sites; and the regional (city) Yahoo sites.
The original site is by far the toughest to get into, so if your site is in, or relates to, a country or region served by one of the other Yahoo indexes, you should first try to get listed in them. If you get accepted by one Yahoo index, you almost always get into them all - and if for some reason getting into a regional Yahoo index doesn't get you listed in the main Yahoo index, then the fact that you are in the regional index will be a big help when you apply to the main index - and you should point it out in your application.

First, be patient. It often takes 6-8 weeks for the overworked Yahoo staff to even look at your site (though recently, I've been seeing sites accepted in a week or less IF the submission followed the rules to the absolute letter).

If you wish a listing in the Shopping & Services or Business to Business main sections of Yahoo, you now must use Yahoo's &quot;Business Express&quot; submission option. You pay $199 ($600 for adult sites) and get a quick thumbs-up/thumbs-down on your application.
Paying the money does not guarantee a listing!
Note that you can still submit commercial sites to Yahoo for free as long as you don't submit them to the main Business to Business or Shopping & Services sections of Yahoo! This is particularly easy to do by submitting to the Regional section; just drill down to the relevant country, US state or region, and you'll find a Business to Business and Shopping & Services subsection that you can apply to for free!
You can also use Business Express to submit non-commercial sites, though you don't have to. What Business Express buys you is a faster decision, and perhaps a little more attention to your submission. But if a free submission is properly formatted, you should get in anyway (just slower).
Also, if you submit properly, don't get in, and you're absolutely sure that your site is good enough to get into Yahoo, then it might be worth using Business Express to get them to take another look quickly. But for most non-commercial sites, it's not necessary.
Second, don't even THINK about bothering them until your site is 100% up and running, with nothing &quot;under construction.&quot; Good site design, fast loading pages, and content are important.

A subtle gotcha when it comes to getting commercial sites listed on Yahoo is that Yahoo requires that the site list the physical address of the business somewhere on the site (and the easier it is to find, the more likely it is that the Yahoo reviewer will find it and you'll pass this test). This address must be a physical one; post office boxes don't cut it.
Third, be gently insistent. If you apply and don't get in after two months, submit again. But before you do, go look at your site once again, and see if you can't improve it.

Whatever you do, do NOT bombard Yahoo with submissions. If you apply more than once a month, they'll ignore you until the end of time. Another good way to get banned from Yahoo is to submit a site to a regional index that has nothing to do with that region. Boy do they HATE that!

Visit the main Yahoo site or a regional site (as appropriate), and do a search (your site title is a good one) to determine if you are already in the Yahoo index or not. If you are, then you need to consider asking them to change your listing using the advice further down on the page. If not, you need to apply for a new listing.
It is crucial to understand that Yahoo search results have several components; Yahoo Categories that match your query; Web Sites that are in the Yahoo index; and Web Pages that are drawn from the Google database. Your site may appear in a Yahoo search and not be in the index!
If your site does not appear under the heading Web Sites, it isn't in Yahoo. Many people get confused by this. They see their site appear under Web Pages and think Yahoo has listed them. Not so!
Assuming you are not in the index, take your time, and find the category page that best fits your site. At the very bottom of this page will be a small &quot;Suggest a Site&quot; link. Click on it to get to the site submission page.
If there is no &quot;Suggest a Site&quot; link, then the page you are on does not allow listings to be added to it, most likely because it is a very general top-level page.

A good method for finding the right category page is to do some searches that you think people looking for your site will do, and see what categories are listed. In the past, the trick was to submit to the topmost category (so your listing would appear higher up), but this no longer works. Instead, look for a category that has the least number of entries in it, to reduce your chances of being &quot;buried&quot; in a huge category. This usually means a very specific category. The exception would be if your business name is alphabetically very high (ie: starts with a number or the letter &quot;a&quot. Then you'd want to be in the most general category possible.
If your business is geographically limited in scope (for example, you're a Real Estate Agent), then you'll want to be in the most specific category you can find in the regional directory section. This is because Yahoo searches take into account the words in the various category and subcategory names under which your listing is placed -- it is as if these words are in your title and description. So by being in such a specific category, you get your state and city names &quot;for free&quot; -- they don't have to be in your description. Use those precious description words to mention other geographical locators (county) and services.
Also note that at present, you can submit commercial sites to the regional section of Yahoo for free, so if the cost of Business Express is an issue, this is one way to avoid it -- even if your business isn't really geographically limited.
Take your time, and carefully read their suggestions on how to submit. They REALLY mean it. Follow their instructions to the absolute letter, as if they were inscribed on stone tablets handed down from Heaven. If you break the rules (for example, using numbers or brand names in your descriptions), forget about getting in. Read those rules. Re-read them. Re-read them again, out loud.
The #1 mistake people make is that their title and description read like promotional ad copy. Bad mistake! What Yahoo wants is a descriptive title and description. No hype allowed! And if you can make your description one sentence of at most 15-20 words, you're less likely to have it edited down!
Apply with an eye to making the job of the Yahoo reviewer easier; for example, use the &quot;comments&quot; field in the application form to point out special things about your site that the reviewer ought to look at. -

Looking Toward The Future

http://www.webfusiondesign.com

 

[gerrygerry]

Hey Vec, feel like writing a FAQ? -gerrygerry
Go To

http://quickfreewebsite.com!

 

[Thongdude]

Yup! Yahoo is a tough one... probably the toughest.
In the mean time find some small-time search engines and put them there.

Here's a site you can go and submit to a group of search engines at one time. You probably won't be at the top, but at least you'll be there. I hope this helps.

http://www.mallagent.com/submiturl.html

Thongdude

http://thongdude.com

 

[moltar]

wow, Vec, nice compilation of Yahoo! information!

I would like to mention a small footnote - Did Yahoo migrate to a $299 ANNUAL LISTING FEE business model recently, instead of the previous $199 lifetime fee?

Also, I don't think that it can be understated how important it is to make sure that your site is finished and as near-perfect as can be, before taking the step with Yahoo. It's something that you really need to do once and do right; you don't want to mess up your Yahoo listing.