~~~High Search Engine Rankings~~~
[Moderator Comment: I didn't receive any questions that called for a
long response this week, so I thought I would clear away a few shorter
questions instead. Most of these are common questions that we get
asked a lot, so hopefully the answers will be helpful to many of
you! - Jill]
From: Tom Meuzelaar
Hello:
In Rank Write 030, I did not understand the following two sentences:
"What DOES seem to boost rankings in many search engines is having a
good ranking in the major directories (e.g., Yahoo!, Dmoz, NBCi, Go).
Nearly all of my top-ranked sites have no external links pointing to
them, but have top 10 rankings in most of the directories."
Are there 'rankings' within directories? I thought there were only
listings, but no one listing in a directory is favored over another
(except Yahoo, which has 'popular sites') - can you elaborate on this?
Thank you,
Tom Meuzelaar
RockWare Inc.
~~~Jill's Response~~~
After Issue 030, I received a couple of questions on the rankings
within directories, so apparently there is some confusion about this.
Yes, there is a ranking system in directories, just the same as in
search engines. If you drill down through the categories, the sites
are listed alphabetically (in some directories). But if you're doing
a search in their search box, you'll often get a list of sites that
come up in no apparent order. For the most part, people search
through directories the same way that they search in search engines,
by typing keywords into the search box.
To illustrate how directories rank sites, do a search for something in
DMOZ or Yahoo!. You'll get 20 results (or whatever) that are ranked
in one way or another. It's true that sometimes you get category
results first, but you also get regular site results. You'll find the
same thing happens in NBCi or LookSmart, and Go. I hope this clears
up the confusion a bit!
Jill
~~~Next Question~~~
From: KATHLEEN Beaudin
Hi, I would like to know how long it usually takes for DMOZ to list a
site. Because I submitted a site on the 31st of December and today is
the 11th of January and still nothing, should I submit again? How
long should I wait?
Thank you.
Kathleen
~~~Jill's Response~~~
Kathleen,
According to DMOZ's "How to Add a Site to The Open Directory" page,
[ http://directory.mozilla.org/add.html ], you must wait 3 weeks after
submitting a page. If your site doesn't show up after three weeks,
you may submit it again. I've done just that a number of times, and
usually the second time around, the site does get listed. If the site
still does not get listed the second time you try, you might want to
rethink your category and/or the title and site description. Try
changing those a bit and see if you have better luck. Unfortunately,
if a DMOZ editor rejects your submission, they don't let you know why.
In fact, they don't even let you know that they rejected you.
Therefore, you really have to be a detective and try to figure out for
yourself why your site may not have been added.
For a better chance of getting your site listed in DMOZ (or any
directory), please remember to follow the posted rules. For instance,
don't submit a mirror site, don't submit redirected sites, don't
submit sites with illegal content, and don't submit sites that are
still "under construction." The "How to Add a Site" page referenced
above, lists all of DMOZ's rules for submission. It's always a good
idea to read through it every now and then. All of the other
directories have similar rules. If you familiarize yourself with
these before your submission, you'll have a much better chance of
getting listed, both quickly and painlessly!
Jill
~~~Next Question~~~
From: Rick Stoneking
Hi Jill and Heather,
I just wanted to share some information with you that I just uncovered
and thought was very curious. How do you get listed in Yahoo!, not
once, but in several areas without ever submitting to them?
While I am pleased, this has me puzzled. The information in the Yahoo!
listing is not the optimized information I now provide. Nor was the
information referenced in my business sites on my sites when I
submitted them. So, I cannot figure out how I got into Yahoo! for
either of them.
Successfully Yours,
Rick Stoneking, CEO
Technology Solutions
http://www.handtech.com/thecomputershop
and owner of The Internet Marketing Resource Center
http:/Internet-Marketing-Resource-Center.com
~~~Jill's Response~~~
Hey Rick,
This sounds like yet another case of confusing a Yahoo! directory
listing with a Yahoo!/Google listing. This is one of the things that
confuses people the most about Yahoo! and the way they list sites.
Most people don't realize that Yahoo! provides 3 separate listings.
They have "Category Matches," "Web Site Matches" and "Web Page
Matches." The category matches are what might come up if you do a
general search for something like "silver jewelry." The first results
will be categories within the Yahoo! directory that have sites which
reference "silver jewelry." The next set of results is usually the
"Site Matches." These are lists of actual sites that have been
submitted and added to the Yahoo! directory. You'll usually see the
category the sites are listed in, right above the grouping of sites.
You can also click on a link at Yahoo!'s results page called "Web
Pages," which will bring you to their Google results. The Web page
results are NOT sites listed in the Yahoo! directory (although they
might also *happen to be* in the directory). If the results you're
looking at are Google results, as opposed to actual Yahoo! results,
you'll find the little Google logo at the top of the page. Being
listed on the "Web Page" results at Yahoo! most definitely does NOT
mean you've been added to Yahoo!'s directory.
I realize this all sounds quite a bit confusing, however, if you go to
Yahoo! and search around a bit, you should be able to see what I mean.
I'll bet that the site that you thought was in the Yahoo! directory,
is actually only in Google's database and is showing up in the Yahoo!
"Web Page" results, as opposed to the "Web Site" results.
If you've never submitted to Yahoo!, it's highly unlikely that you'd
be listed in their directory. It's hard enough to get in when you
*do* submit to them (for free at least)! Also, if you submit to them
and do get listed, you will receive an email from them that lets you
know that you've been added. So if you never received that email,
chances are you're not in the directory.
Jill
~~~Send Us Your Questions~~~
If you have questions about online copywriting or search engine optimization (or both!), just zip us an email to questions@rankwrite.com. We've had some folks ask if their question
was "too basic" to be printed - and you don't have to worry about
that! There are no "stupid" search engine optimization or copywriting
questions, so ask away!
