The New & Improved Yahoo
The New & Improved Yahoo
On February 18th, Yahoo implemented serious changes to its search directory, in an effort to better compete against Google and, to a lesser degree, MSN.
Since the 18th, I’ve carried out extensive testing with Yahoo and, so far, I like the new features implemented on their search property. I think the changes represent some positive improvements, both in the quality of the results and in their relevancy. Using a ‘spider robot’ that crawls the whole Web, in a similar fashion that Google does it, we need to change Yahoo’s category from search directory to a real search engine.
If you would like a peek ‘under the hood’, Yahoo has a new crawler known as Yahoo Slurp, similar to the Inktomi Slurp bot many webmasters have been seeing in their logs over the past few months. Yahoo Slurp works very much like GoogleBot (Google’s crawler). Yahoo Slurp is designed to follow every text link found in a website.
Some of the changes implemented
Among the positive changes I have noticed in Yahoo:
• For sites with direct RSS feeds, a link to the feed URL is now available with this new implementation. If required, you can even add the RSS feed to your My Yahoo page with a click of the mouse.
• Like Google, a cached version of each Web page is now available.
• AltaVista and AllTheWeb continue to use separate search functionality, using an independent search index. (Note: All the Web and AltaVista are both owned by Yahoo).
Note that a customizable and uncluttered (read no ads) entry point to Yahoo’s various search databases has been available for some time at www.search.yahoo.com.
I’ve also observed that Yahoo seems to be analysing similar page content and features as Inktomi does, despite the results being displayed today are somewhat different. Important criteria such as keyword frequency, keyword density and features such as keyword-rich title tags and key phrase placement appear to be important factors in Yahoo’s current algorithm.
We have also seen some sporadic Google results popping up from time to time. This is very likely a temporary measure to ensure search-continuity, as Yahoo engineers continue to develop and continuously improve their search algorithm.
Recommendations to site owners
Remember that all search engines crawlers, including Slurp, are incapable of following hyper links imbedded in a frame, in an image or graphic, and certainly not in a site that was created using Flash technology as its only means of presenting information.
As I wrote about the importance of usability in one of my articles two weeks ago, by making certain that your site is search engine-friendly, it will usually rank higher in the search engines, including the new Yahoo.
If any of you missed that article, you can follow this link to read it: usability & SEO.
If you want your site to rank high in any search engine, and if your site includes frames, remember that the correct use of the tag is very important. For more on how to optimize a site using frames, just follow this link: optimizing framed sites
For sites that are database-driven, Yahoo Slurp will try its best to follow dynamic links, but as a precaution, Yahoo is advising site owners and webmasters to place static pages with text links directed to certain parts of their sites that have any kind of dynamic content. For more on the correct way to optimize dynamic links, go to: optimize dynamic links.
Finally, just like Google, the description meta tag is a critical aspect in Yahoo’s algorithm. For maximum benefits, site owners and webmasters are encouraged to write keywords in their title tags, descriptions tags and body copy for each individual page in their sites. As always, quality and relevancy always yields the best dividends.
Stay on-topic for maximum efficiency in the results pages. Remember that Yahoo, as well as most of the major search engines always look at the ‘theme’ of any individual page, and will use its algorithm to determine what the topic is about that page. If the keywords used in the title tag reflect the same keywords used in the body of the copy, it will usually grant a higher ranking for that page than if the page happens to be inconsistent with the proper placement of its main keywords or key phrases.
Conclusion
Yahoo, as any other search engine, is only interested in one thing: quality and relevant results for its users. If your website delivers that information in a consistent and clean manner, it should do well in the search results pages. All recommended SEO techniques and procedures that have been taught for the past two to three years still hold, both in the case of Yahoo and the others.
Build and integrate your site in the most logical way, make it search engine-friendly and create great content are three of the best ways to significantly improve your rankings. If you can add new content every day, your site will be perceived as one that is well maintained. Search engines prefer sites that consistently feature fresh and new content, when compared to other websites that don’t change much and are somewhat dated.
Here’s a tip of the hat to Yahoo for a job well done!
Author Name: Serge Thibodeau
Company: Rank For Sales
Email: info@rankforsales.com
