subject: Useful Tips On How To Optimize Your Site For Yahoo [print this page] Internet usage around the world is steadily rising. According to the results of the study conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings, Internet usage dramatically increased about 208.7% in year 2007 from 2000. The World Wide Web is now a potent tool in ensuring that your products and services are sold and marketed to a lot of people for a lot less.
If you want to make it big in the cyber universe, you need to make sure that your website is recognized and ranks high in the top search engines, particularly Yahoo And Google. However, since search engines use different algorithms and ways of ranking a website, it is often tricky to concentrate on one and just ignore the rules of another.
Since Google is considered the most popular, many site owners or developers just ignore the rules and nuances of other search engines. However, there are ways in which to optimize your site for Yahoo without sacrificing your ranking in Google. Below are some useful tips on how to do that:
Consider keyword density
If you want to get the attention of Yahoo, you need a keyword density of at least six to seven per cent. Since Google only require about two to three per cent, a key word density of six per cent might already be considered keyword spamming by Google. Do you know that you can get penalized for keyword stuffing?
So how do you achieve optimization in Yahoo without hurting your chances for Google? The answer is really quite simple: make use of synonyms, prefixes, suffixes or inflexions in your keywords or phrases. Since Yahoo uses algorithms that are language sensitive, it recognizes the nuances of the written language. If your keyword is scribble, Yahoo will also consider scribbling, scribbles, scribbled or even probably write and writing.
Google, on the other hand, will only consider the basic keyword. In the example given above, Google will only take in consideration the number of the word scribble that are included in your text. So you can also have rankings for writing or scribbles in Google.
Using word variations, synonyms and inflexions will also help you make your article more readable and natural. Internet users hate articles that are keyword dense but do not make sense or appear unnaturally stuffed with key phrases. Therefore, never cram your articles or texts with keywords that are not coherently joined together just so you could optimize your site. Keyword or key phrase spamming is considered a mortal sin in the Net world.
Fresh and relevant content is key
One of the most important factors that Yahoo looks for is quality content. If your website provides a content that is fresh and current, you are on your way to achieving Yahoo optimization. If you want to rank high, do not be lazy and offer new articles and texts on your website at least once a week.
Since new updates are very important to this particular search engine, it is also advisable to add blogs to your site. Blogs are truly popular for Yahoo, compared to other search engines, because they are usually updated daily or more than once a week.
Don't forget about Meta tags
For some popular search engines, Meta tags are ignored. However, in Yahoo, such items are still considered relevant and essential. Just to be on the safe side, it is advisable that you use keywords in your Meta tags so that they can help achieve Yahoo optimization. However, do not ever use keywords in your tags that are not related to the content available on your site. Ensure that the words written in your Meta tags are congruent to the subject matter being discussed in your web page.
An organized and clear sitemap helps a lot
Table of contents is very important in determining what a book or a research paper is all about. With just a glimpse of the table of contents, you can determine how organized and comprehensive the author of the report or book is in tackling a particular subject matter. The same is true for web sites. The sitemap is an important feature that will help visitors determine the depth and range a certain content is tackled by a website.
Yahoo and even other top search engines want a site that has a clear and organized sitemap. An easy to understand and uncomplicated sitemap is a reflection that the website maker or developer is serious in making a user-friendly and informative site. Aside from frequently bringing your sitemap up to date, you can also score big if you submit your sitemap to Yahoo's sitemap submission section.
