How To Yahoo
Yahoo! is one of the most popular search sites on the World Wide Web. For those sites listed in Yahoo and in other search engines, Yahoo often yields the most hits. (Some research results.)
Yahoo! is also one of the most difficult places to get your site listed. These two factors are linked. Users know that Yahoo contains quality sites organized in easily accessible directories, which is why they use it. The quality, up-to-date links and organization of Yahoo are maintained by human effort. The labor-intensive nature of Yahoo means that it may be slow to respond to your request to be listed. Their high standards mean that you may not be listed, without a great deal of work on your site. But it also means that finally getting into Yahoo will be something you can justifiably be quite happy about.
Tune Up Your Site
Make sure that your site is looking good and ready to Yahoo. One easy-to-use site validator is NetMechanic. Take your site through SelfPromotion.com's checklist on How to Win Awards. Make sure that your front page is very clear, very quickly, about what you have to offer, and that your pages are easy to navigate.
What Do You Offer?
I consider self-publication to be a good use of the Web. We all need a place to stand and sound out our faves, raves and pet peeves. However, to gain a really wide audience for your own poems and personal opinions, you really need to -- don't take this personally -- offer something that other people are interested in, too. If you have a unique offering on your page that is of wide interest, you will find it easier to find a category in Yahoo to enter.
Local Yahoos
There is an international Yahoo listing, at http://www.yahoo.com/. There are individual country Yahoo lists; links to these are at the bottom of the main Yahoo index. There are also local metropolitan Yahoos. You can search for the one nearest you by zipcode. Entering a local Yahoo may be easier than getting into the international engine.
Take ... Your ... Time
You are expecting something valuable from Yahoo, right? Well, you have to pay for it. You can't just enter your URL and click "Submit". You have to look through all of Yahoo and find the category (or two) that your site best fits into.
This is a lot easier if you have been working on the content of your site. It may be difficult to find a category for "Noah Belingoe's Pet Cat, Toothpick Sculpture and Stamp Collection". However, if you have taken the time to research and create the most extensive existing webpage on Toothpick Models, you can find a place under "Recreation: Hobbies".
Yahhoo has provided advice themselves on Finding the Appropriate Category.
Don't Lose Heart
If at first you don't succeed ... start from Step 1 and try it again. Or, try the Ceremonial Yahoo Submission.
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