Google and Yahoo! are the most used search engines on the Internet with about 35% of all Internet searches run on one or the other. That's about 70% of all Internet traffic from just two search engines. Actually it's more than 80% when you consider Google's affiliation with AOL, Netscape, and others.
Recently there have been major changes on both these engines. Many sites with top placements have lost their positions while others have achieved top positions on both engines without doing anything.
You can take advantage of these changes and get more traffic from both free.
Recent Changes at Google & Yahoo!
Google recently changed their page ranking system for search results. These changes have far reaching ramifications for your website. The quality and ranking of the pages you link to and those that link to you now matter more than ever.
Previously, Yahoo! would display its own directory listings first, before displaying Google's web listings. Now Google and Yahoo's! results are displayed together on one results page, in a simpler display.
Submission to Google is free, while submission to Yahoo! costs $299.00 PER YEAR, just to be considered for inclusion. Yahoo! only includes websites it considers unique in content. About half the websites that pay for inclusion don't even get listed.
A Yahoo! listing used to have a great deal of value for unique websites but now every listing will be competing with the entire Google database. Now, if you have a page that ranks high in Google, you'll be getting the same listing in Yahoo!'s web results free.
Following are some pointers on exactly how you might take advantage of these changes.
A Simple Google Placement Strategy
Simply put, your Yahoo! ranking is now determined by your Google ranking. If your site is doing well in Yahoo!, It now must also do well in Google also. Your Yahoo! strategy IS now your Google strategy. This makes your website optimization easier and more productive.
The Internet's purpose is to make in-demand information available, and a search engine's job is to provide the highest quality, most relevant information in its search results. Pages with the highest quality content will always rank higher in Google.
So getting good ranking in Google has always involved getting as many high quality links to your site as possible. It's even more important now. It's also important to make sure that your outgoing links take your visitors to high quality pages.
The Google Search Toolbar
Google has released a search toolbar for Internet Explorer. This toolbar provides you an insider's method to determine and boost your ranking while helping Google (and Yahoo!) deliver more relevant results.
You can install it from the following URL
>> http://toolbar.google.com/
After you install the toolbar, click on the Google icon on the left and choose TOOLBAR OPTIONS. Make sure you have enabled the ADVANCED OPTIONS so you get a display of the actual page ranking of any pages you search.
Look for a headline that says "PAGE INFORMATION" and check to "INCLUDE VOTING BUTTONS" on your toolbar. You will see new smiley and frowning face icons on your toolbar. These are important, as you can send an instant ranking suggestion to Google for relevant keywords used in the search results generated by Google.
Near the bottom of that page you will see "EXPERIMENTAL FEATURES" click on the text link to customize these features. There is a feature here that disables exit popups in your browser.
Google Optimization & Submission Process
The first step is to optimize the quality of your page for Google. Check your rank in the toolbar, any pages you link to should rank as high as or higher than your own page. Your rankings will improve over time.
Don't bother requesting links from low quality link pages because just a few links from high ranking pages can have a much greater positive effect on your ranking in Google than 1,000's of poor quality links.
Include a menu of links to your other important pages within your own website on each page. This will help build your link popularity ranking within your own website.
Work on obtaining links from high-value sites that are related to the theme of your site. When Google finds these links, your rankings will improve.
Include links to other relevant high quality, high ranking sites where your visitors can find quality related information and suggest that they link to you in return. Explain how your ranking can boost their page rank even higher. Soon you'll see how a few high ranking links can make all the difference in the ranking of your pages.
Last submit your page to Google
>> http://www.google.com/addurl.html
Google will schedule your page for spidering and the Google-bot will examine and index your page, as well as the links to and from your page. Submit each page separately as you optimize them. Google's robots will find all your pages eventually, and some experts feel it's even better for your ranking if they are found than if submitted.
Developing Your Yahoo! Strategy
Yahoo! will only display one result from one domain in its directory results for any keyword. If you have not paid to have a SPECIFIC page included in Yahoo!, the page will not be shown in the Yahoo! directory. For websites in highly competitive niches a Yahoo! evaluation may not be productive enough to justify the cost.
Yahoo! doesn't search its own index for keywords anymore. There is no longer any need to pay for a listing in Yahoo! IF you already rank well in Google.
So why would you even consider purchasing a Yahoo! evaluation?
A Yahoo! listing can help boost your Google ranking. If you don't already have a good ranking in Google, and you have a quality and unique commercial website, a listing at Yahoo! could make a huge difference. If you don't have a page rank before you get into Yahoo! you will get one soon because Google will know you are listed in Yahoo!.
A Yahoo! listing, will not only bring you more traffic from Google, it will bring you traffic from the Yahoo! directory listings as well. In addition, since Google often displays multiple listings for one domain. A Yahoo! listing may actually help generate multiple pages from your domain in Google's results.
A neglected backdoor to getting a free Yahoo! listing is to create a content based non-commercial website on a separate domain which Yahoo! will consider for inclusion free. It's cheaper to obtain an additional domain than to pay for a commercial listing in Yahoo!.
Use your non-commercial website to help drive traffic to your commercial website where you actually sell your product or service. Some experts feel it's better to wait until you actually get listed in Yahoo! before you add a link to your commercial website.
If you can afford it, a Yahoo! listing pays off in the long run for most businesses. Just make sure you understand that the $299 listing fee does NOT guarantee that your site will be included.
Getting Listed in Yahoo!
Actually obtaining a listing in Yahoo! is not easy or automatic.
Before you decide to purchase a Yahoo! evaluation I would suggest purchasing the ebook. "Getting listed in Yahoo!" is all about delivering to Yahoo! what they are looking for. The $17 cost is well worth it when you consider the $299 Yahoo! submission fee.
In Summary
Getting high quality free-targeted traffic from Google and Yahoo! can be a daunting task, but for many of us it's the only affordable method to get traffic. That's why there are SO many books written about search engine optimization. If it was easy, anyone could do it. The top listings go to the top optimizers and to the highest quality websites, which is as it should be.
Success in the search engines is about providing unique and compelling content related to your product, service, or solution in order to earn your visitor's confidence and credibility, BEFORE you ask for the sale.
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About the Author
ROBERT SMITH helps thousands successfully market their Internet based home business at: http://www.smithfam.com/
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