Weight of Yahoo directory wording in Yahoo search results

[lobofenris]

I know having a listing in the Yahoo directory is a quality inbound link, but putting that aside for a moment I'm wondering about the benefits, or lack thereof, of the restrictive wording in a directory listing and its impact on how you might fare in Yahoo search results for your targetted keywords (versus having not listed, and getting your page TITLE as the search result description instead of the directory description).

I'm sorry, I'm trying to think of a good example to use to frame my questions, but can't, so forgive me if I use my real company and predicament. I have a new site called California Beds which is a directory of bed and breakfasts, inns, etc., in California. I've listed in the Yahoo directory, so if someone searches 'california bed and breakfasts' or 'california lodging' my search result comes up always as my directory listing description:

"California Beds - lodging directory of bed and breakfasts, inns, and unique travel accommodations throughout California
Directory link > California > Bed and Breakfasts"

The wording of this is OK, but not as good as my Title on my homepage which I think is better optimized for my keywords. So these are my questions:
1) Even though my directory listing is appearing as my description in the search results, is Yahoo still weighting my site page TITLES and content for a given keyword search?
2) Is much weight given to the directory link description at the bottom? So if someone searches 'california bed and breakfasts' is Yahoo recognizing that I'm in their Directory under 'California > Bed and Breakfasts' and giving me weight for that?

Thanks so much. This has bothered me for a long time, and I always wonder whether I should list with Yahoo Directory for exactly this reason.

Lobo

[krisval]

I think what your asking is: Does Yahoo use the Directory Title Rather than your site title to "Rank" it in the Search Results.

If this is what you are asking. I do not believe so.

Example: Search for "Investing"
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=inv...222&fl=0&x=wrt

Morningstar is listed #7. The title that appears in the search results is the one in the directory, but Morningstar's page title is "Morningstar: Stocks, Mutual Funds, Investing and Personal Finance"

Yahoo seems to look at several factors including but not limited to Page Title, Content, and IBLs to determine that the Morningstar site is related to Investing.

One small point....If your title in the directory does not match the keyword that the user typed in, the Click Through Rate May be Much lower than if it did match.

My opinion about the Yahoo directory is that if you have a main site that you really want build in the long run. Get a listing. If you run 100 smaller sites each about a niche topic, the price may not be worth it.