Getting listed in Yahoo

Yahoo is probably the most important place to get your site listed in. Too bad that it is also a hard place to get into, especially if you don't know what you're doing. Before submitting to it you should read the general instructions on how to submit to directories from the "Directories" section of this site. The resubmit time mentioned in those instructions is two months for Yahoo.

Yahoo uses a directory structure and it is maintained by a small group of professional editors. In addition to their main site they have international and regional sites that lists sites directly related to different countries or regions.

Submitting your site is free of charge, but there is also a "Business Express" option that guarantees a prompt review of your site. It does NOT guarantee that your site will be added. The "Business Express" option is only available to companies located in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand or Ireland. It was previously limited to "Business and Economy>Business to Business>" and "Business and Economy>Shopping and Services" hierarchies, but was recently expanded and can now be used to submit to any category within Yahoo. It costs $199 ($600 for sites with adult content). Because Yahoo is a major traffic provider, it might be a good idea for E-commerce sites to cough out the $199 if they can afford it. Going trough the free submission route is usually much slower and there's a smaller chance of getting in. In addition, if you use Business Express and are not accepted, you will be told why you didn't get in and given a second review after you've corrected the problems they pointed out to you. When using the normal submission, you're going to have to figure everything out yourself.

Because the "main site" is the toughest of these to get into, it might be a good idea to try to get listed first in one of the regional or international sites if your site is somehow related to a region or a country. Getting listed in one these "mini-Yahoo's" will either get you automatically listed in the main site also, or will at least help you to get listed there. However, do not try submitting your site into one of the regional/international Yahoo's if your site has nothing to do with that region/country. You'll just waste your time and tarnish your and your site's name.

If you are accepted by one of the regional/international versions and after waiting for a while your site doesn't appear on the main site, submit to the main site and mention that you're listed in one of the international/regional sites (remember to tell them which site you're listed in, and in what category).

If your site is good enough and you have followed the rules Yahoo has for submitting your site and used the tips from this site, your should be able to get your site listed within 6-8 weeks (this however varies - some sites might get listed in a couple of days while others have to wait longer).

However, if you believe that you have followed all the rules, your site is alright and you have tried to submit it several times (of course keeping in mind the two month resubmit time), you can try to ask them why they won't accept your site.

Send the query (be polite!), along with the URL you have submitted to url-support@yahoo-inc.com and if everything works out well, they might get back to you in a couple of days. If they do, they'll tell you why you didn't get your site listed and you can change it so that it will get accepted.

Remember that this E-mail address is not a way to ask for priority service or to complain about their policies. If they don't respond to your query, try to resubmit, following the rules about how to submit to the letter. Don't E-mail them again unless you have tried resubmitting a couple of times and you're still not getting in. This E-mail address is a valuable tool to everyone who's having trouble to get listed, so don't abuse it and ruin it for everyone!

If E-mailing them didn't help, or you'd rather exhaust all other means before contacting Yahoo (a wise choice), you might want to visit the Search Engine Forums Yahoo section. There are no Yahoo staff members there, but the regulars will probably give you a few pointers on how to improve your site so that it will pass the review process if you ask nicely.

You can also contact Yahoo by snailmail or by phone and ask them about your submission if you've tried everything else:

Yahoo! Corporation
3420 Central Expressway
Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA

Listing Support Phone : 408-731-3333
Phone : (408) 731-3300 -- 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM PST
Fax : (408) 731-3301