Figuring Out Yahoo?

[Web Gazelle]

Anyone have the Yahoo algo figured out? I can't see any pattern for what they like and don't like. Some how I have been able to rank #1 for "bala shark" but how they decided to put me there, I am still trying to figure out.

I guess I just optimize for Google and MSN. If I show in Yahoo then that is a bonus. :rolleyes:

[maha]

Yahoo algo is totally messed up as far as I'm concerned. I manage 10 sites. 9 of which are SEO optimized, but they cannot be found in the top 100 in Yahoo. (they're in the top 5 in both Google & MSN for almlost all the KW). I have one site, which I have done little or no SEO work, and the one I care least about is ranked#1 in Yahoo (#30 in Google, #26 in MSN). So I cannot figure Yahoo out!

[mystikmedia]

From what I have seen, Yahoo places a great deal of importance now on the listing in their directory. For example, my directory listing has video editing in it. So, I come up on page one for video editing in Yahoo, and it uses the information from my Yahoo listing (it does not use anything from the site itself...title, tags, etc.). Same for a few others. However, it seems to be hard to rank for anything else. Like you said, other than that, they seem to be very mysterous. What is really, really weird is this one... If you search for AMR Converter (http://www.mystikmedia.com/amr_converter.htm), you will see my listing for that page at www.abizdirectory.com as #3 and my listing from www.agrreviews.com as #6, but the actual listing for the AMR Converter page is not until #8. Now the AMR Converter page has a couple hundred links pointing to it, whereas those other two above it do not have any links at all poining to them other than links on that site itself. So, one thing that does not seem to be very important to Yahoo (unlike the others) is incoming links.

[Web Gazelle]

Intersting. I am convinced that Yahoo has a very messed up algo. I can not figure out how they decide where a site should rank.

[Nitin M]

So, one thing that does not seem to be very important to Yahoo (unlike the others) is incoming links.
This isn't true for me. I have several sites, SERPS doing extremely well in yahoo. Some are highly competitive and others I would say are mid-level competitive. For me MSN is the most predictable at the moment and both google and yahoo are hard to predict/control with any level of certainty. At this point I resign myself to making 2-4 versions of a new site with slightly varying content, URLs, link supprt and then after 3 months deciding which to keep alive based on their performance.

Yahoo is still very very sensitive to on-page tuning. I have a page competing for the one of the most competitive 3 word search phrases and just small tweaking of on-page factors has moved it consisently up 2-3 notches per week and it now sits at position #2.

[Mia]

Intersting. I am convinced that Yahoo has a very messed up algo. I can not figure out how they decide where a site should rank.

Why? Because of the CooP thing? I'm not sure the algo is necessarily messed up. I have noticed somethings that are pretty intelligent. For one their ability to deal with keyword stuffing and cloaking. I personally witnessed a cloaker pulled out before my very eyes.... Slowly through each DC.

I'd love to know how that one works. Pretty cool if you ask me.

[Ian]

Anyone have the Yahoo algo figured out? I can't see any pattern for what they like and don't like. Some how I have been able to rank #1 for "bala shark" but how they decided to put me there, I am still trying to figure out.

I guess I just optimize for Google and MSN. If I show in Yahoo then that is a bonus. :rolleyes:

Yahoo seems to rely heavily on anchor text links from other sites. If you're a new site, you need to have inbound anchor text links from an established site with your related keywords pointing to each page that you want to appear in their index, otherwise you'll probably just see your index page and that's it. I don't know why that is, but it seems to work in both getting the page to appear in the index and to get it to rank well. As I posted in another thread I found this out completely by accident, but for whatever reason it works. After your site has been around for awhile or gains enough inbound links, the rest of the pages will begin to show up.

Ian

[longcall911]

I think Y! likes lots of content, keyword rich, and with lots of related words. The number of IBLs does not seem to be nearly as important as it once was.

/*tom*/

[phoenixcarpet]

Yahoo seems to mostly care about anchor text, then # of backlinks, then it goes to on page keywords, doesnit seem to care about density, Im glad of this because the actual name of my business and the name I chose for my site before I new about seo is the same thing as my #1 keyword.

[Ian]

I forgot to mention that much like MSN they seem to favor keywords in your URL also.

Ian

[Web Gazelle]

Thanks for all the insite. Seems you have mentioned many things I have done with my aquarium site.

[End]

Yahoo places more emphasis on on-page factors IMO

[Web Gazelle]

THen they must like my on-page seo of my index page. :D