Is it really worth paying Yahoo! $300 to be listed in their directory? If so, why?

Will it help page rank? Will it drive traffic?

Thanks all!

Jim

It depends on the category you ask for /get placed in, and the quality of your title and description. If you study the category & related serps with directory descriptions in them before you submit, then you'll have a good chance of writing a decent one that doesn't get edited.

If that category has good PR, then yes, there may be some benefit - it's another decent quality link from a trusted source. Also, it depends on whether or not Yahoo is showing directory matches within the SERPS for your major keyword phrases.

It's not the old days when you could instantly see the benefit from getting a directory listing in Yahoo, but it may still help.

if I were a search engineer I would trust links from Yahoo!'s directory more than links from joe-average-link-swap-meet.com, so a few links from sites like Yahoo!s directory or DMOZ might help satisfy algorithms that would look for some types of quality links.

if the pages are getting indexed it may also help search engines cluster you with other pages on the same topic.

Hmmm, I had to give it some thought. If $300 is not a big spending for you in the greater scheme of things, then spend it. But I don't think I would. I don't think its nearly as important as it used to be. I guess it also depends on your reason for wanting to be in the directory.

We all know that the directory is not nearly as important to Yahoo as it used to be. That ought to be a sign.

the biggest value of the Y! directory is the help it will give you in category-related searches at not only Yahoo but also Google. I would say it's worth at least the $300, if not double or triple that. Just make sure you use both categories you can, and make them as specific to your main keywords as possible.