August 30, 2007 Comments (9)
Ever since I started blogging I have noticed that Yahoo! has provided abnormally low number of search engines referrals to my blog. Over the last 4 months, the number of Yahoo! referrals in relation to all search engine referrals to my blog has been 2% whereas Google's share is over 80%. So why is Yahoo! so low? Well, it could be because of the niche I'm in and my visitors tend to primarily use Google. Or is it because my blog is hosted on a blogspot sub-domain and Yahoo! assigns it very low relevancy in its search algorithm. I asked Matt Cutts his thoughts on this at the Google Dance at SES San Jose and he wasn't quite sure what the reason was and he hoped that Yahoo! wasn't purposely applying a low relevancy filter to blogspot addresses.
I ran a quick search engine ranking test for my top referring keywords for Google vs. Yahoo! and noticed that most of the top rankings were at Google and for more than 50% of the keywords my blog was outside the top 30 at Yahoo!
| Keyword | Rank at Google | Rank at Yahoo |
| actionsource | 3 | >30 |
| analytics comparison | 1 | 3 |
| clickdensity | 18 | >30 |
| clicktracks | 9 | >30 |
| david cancel | 8 | 9 |
| digg apps | 4 | >30 |
| embed audio | 12 | >30 |
| facebook vs orkut | 2 | >30 |
| how google makes money | 6 | 29 |
| kpi | 9 | >30 |
| manoj jasra | 1 | 1 |
| noindex nofollow | 5 | 15 |
| omniture actionsource | 3 | 16 |
| omniture flash tracking | 1 | >30 |
| orkut vs facebook | 3 | >30 |
| seo conference san jose | 12 | 14 |
| ses conference | 8 | >30 |
| ses san jose | 16 | >30 |
| ses san jose 2007 | 16 | >30 |
| troy bolton | 15 | >30 |
| ultimate web analytics | 1 | 2 |
| web analytics | 16 | >30 |
| web analytics and search marketing | 1 | 4 |
| web analytics blog | 10 | >30 |
| web analytics comparison | 1 | 1 |
| websidestory | 25 | >30 |
| webtrends | 11 | >30 |
| yahoo api | 7 | >30 |
| yahoo search api | 5 | 20 |
I don't have the same problem now, but Yahoo took longer to rank a blog when it started out
Yahoo is very slow to update blog rankings/listings
I like it when someone one in SEO can actually back up their point of view. I read so much that is only speculation. This was very refreshing!
Interesting post! I never really pay attention to which search engines my visitors come from, I just look at the terms. I wonder if there's any similar patterns..
I guess I am just looking for the 20-25% market share of referrals that Yahoo typically provides. For now Google is doing the enough for the both of them.
Can you blame me for wanting more traffic :)
I'm new to the world of blogging and am trying to work out how to determine where my visitors come from?
Blogspot doesn't provide any logs (as far as I know), so how do you guys know where your visitors are coming from?
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks
Giz
ggalor (at) yahoo (dot) com
Hi Giz,
Try putting some Google Analytics code onto your blogger template. You can find it here: http://www.google.com/analytics.
I, too, suffer from LYR (low Yahoo referrals). Comparing Google to Yahoo, the percentages are about 90%-10% with Google supplying the larger number. It could be a subdomain blog thing, but just not sure. The pattern seems to follow my other sides, i.e., softwareenginneringjobs.net as well. I have to believe it could be as simple as nobody uses Yahoo search anymore.
***To the person looking to get great website stats, while I use Google
Analytics, I find gostats.com to be quicker and easier for data review.***
I was just looking at my site statistics. It's about 90% Google / 10% Yahoo search.
My site is hosted on blogpost also, and it's been around since early last year. Granted, I also get infrequent hits from MSN, AOL, ASK, etc...
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 Manoj Jasra has been in the search marketing industry since 2002 with Enquiro Search Solutions, where his technical background in programming and software made him a key member in the development of several proprietary industry tools. Since then, his learning in marketing and business strategies as they relate to online has led him to become a resident expert on Search Marketing/Web Analytics. Manoj also authors the blog, Web Analytics World, which features Manoj’s insight on the Search Marketing and Web Analytics Industry.  Enquiro offers a complete solution for your business needs - everything from Organic SEM & SEO to managing your Sponsored SEM strategies (PPC). Enquiro also provides in-house research to help you build stronger Search Engine Marketing relationships through usability resolutions with your target market - leveraging technology to bridge the disconnect between intent and lead. However, more than anything else, Enquiro knows the value of having a robust analytics solution to track and measure success. |
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