Yahoo is consistently one of the most popular search tools on the Web. Even though we call it a search engine, it's actually a catalog, organized by category with human beings doing the classification work.
Web users like Yahoo and other catalogs mostly because searching by category is what most of us learned in school.
The important thing to you is that when you develop your strategy for registering with catalogs, you pay attention to the differences between them and search engines.
First, when registering at a catalog, the most important thing is to select the right category for your site. That means taking some time and visiting the catalogs where you want to register. Look at the categories that they use. Figure which one would be best for you.
Then, follow the registration process that the catalog sets up for you. Do what they tell you.
Pay special attention to the title tag that appears in the code for your site. This is not the wording of the title, which may appear on the public page. Instead, it's the code tag that indicates a title for the page.
Make that title descriptive with a benefit or two if possible. If it fits, a title that begins with a number or a letter high in the alphabet is more likely, in many cases, to get you placed high in the list of results within a category.
Don't try to get too cute or fancy, though. It's in the interest of the catalogs to have accurate descriptions of sites. Since human beings are doing the evaluation and modification of some of your copy, they’ll be more than willing to change your title and other descriptive material if they think it's too hyped, forced, or inaccurate.
Making It Work
Follow the process that the catalog tells you to follow.
Take the time to make a good selection of the category you choose to be registered in. That's most important in catalog placement, and it's almost impossible to change once you've been listed.
Make sure you have a good title tag for your page, because that's likely to be the first thing that folks see in a catalog listing.
Created/Revised/Reviewed: 30 July 2002
This is only one Big Idea. You'll find more in Wally's book, What's the Big Idea? and in his Big Idea column. There's a complete list on the Main Big Idea page. You may also order the book by clicking here.
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