Directories are search engines powered by human beings. Human editors compile all the listings that directories have. Getting listed with the web's key directories is very important, because their listings are seen by many people. In addition, if you are listed with them, then crawler-based search engines are more likely to find your site and add it to their listings for free.

Preparation

You should prepare before submitting to any directory. This preparation means that you have written a 25 word or less description of your entire web site. That description should make use of the two or three key terms that you hope to be found for.

If you have time, you should consider researching what are the best terms for your site, rather than guessing at these. The What People Search For page has a list of resources that will allow you to do such research. Search Engine Watch members have access to a More What People Search For page with additional information and resources to help in search term research.

It is essential that the description you write not make use of marketing language. So, if you sold shoes and wanted to be found for terms such as "athletic shoes" and "running shoes," you might write a "just the facts" description like this:

You would not want a description like this, which is full of marketing hype, which editors dislike:

Do a search on Yahoo, and the main results that come back generally will be "powered" by Google . Despite this, Yahoo maintains its own independent "directory" of web sites, which are compiled by its human editors. As being listed in this Yahoo Directory MAY potentially help you get included and ranking better in Google's results. And, since Yahoo uses Google results for its main listings, this means it MAY help you at Yahoo itself.

Yahoo has two submission options: "Standard," which is free, and "Yahoo Express," which involves a submission fee.

Anyone can use Standard submission to submit for free to a non-commercial category. You'll know the category is non-commercial if the "reverse bar" containing the category name at the top of the category page is blue. You'll also know because if you try to submit to a non-commercial category, the Standard submission option will be offered in addition to the Yahoo Express paid option, discussed further below.

Why might you choose to pay when the free search engine submission option is available? Simply for a fast turnaround time. If you use the free submit choice, there's no guarantee that your submission will be reviewed quickly or at all.

Your submission to a non-commercial category is more likely to be accepted if your content is not overtly commercial. For example, submitting the home page of a site that sells running shoes is likely to be seen a commercial and not accepted. However, if you have a page within that web site that discusses in depth how to select the right type of shoes for different running races, then that page might be deemed helpful, non-commercial information and accepted.

As for commercial categories, Yahoo requires that sites pay a Yahoo Express submission fee of $300 (well, $299) per year. This fee doesn't guarantee that you will be listed, only that you'll get a yes or no answer about being accepted within seven business days. However, the vast majority of most decent sites are accepted.

If accepted, you'll be reevaluated after a year and charged the submission fee again, if you want to stay in Yahoo's commercial area. You should review the traffic you received from Yahoo over the past year, to decide if it is worth paying the fee again. If not, you can decline to be listed, and you will not be charged.

But what about Google? If you originally signed up with Yahoo hoping to influence Google, won't dropping your Yahoo listing cause you to be dropped by Google? Not necessarily. Google will keep listing your site on its own. Whether it will rank it well is a separate question. However, after a year of existence, your web site may have other important links pointing at it. This means that losing your link from Yahoo may not have much of an impact on your ranking. If money is tight, you could try dropping the Yahoo listing and only submit again if you find it does have an impact with how you rank in Google's results.

The annual fee only applies to commercial categories. If you submit to a non-commercial category using Yahoo Express and get accepted into that area, the fee is charged only once, not on an annual basis. You might get the opposite impression, because you'll keep seeing references to "recurring annual fee." However, in the terms and conditions for Yahoo Express, the annual fee is only for sites in the Yahoo Commercial Directory.

You'll know you are submitting to a commercial category if the "reverse bar" containing the category name at the top of the category page is yellow. You'll also know because if you try to submit to a commercial category, only the Yahoo Express submission option is offered.

How do you submit? If you are submitting for free to a non-commercial category, click on the "Suggest a Site" link that appears at the bottom of category page. That will bring up a submission form. Fill it out, and you're done.

If you are paying to submit, you needn't pick a category. Instead, just go to the URL below:

Yahoo Express Submission Form
http://add.yahoo.com/fast/add?+Business

From there, Yahoo editors will choose a category for you. All you need to do is fill out the form that's presented.

The above tips are the bare essentials to getting listed with Yahoo. If you are in a hurry, you can follow them, and you'll probably get listed and receive some traffic from the service. However, you may want to do even more preparation before submitting to this important service.

Alternatively, you might consider working with a search engine optimization company which has experience in submitting to Yahoo. You'll have to pay for their services, but the price may be worth it in relation to the additional traffic you'll receive from a carefully conducted submission to Yahoo.

Finally, even if you choose not to submit to the Yahoo Directory, you may still appear in some the results at Yahoo that come from Google. The next part of this guide explains how to submit to Google.