Dot Com Not Listed in Regional Yahoo? Don’t Despair!

Although Yahoo!'s been around since 1994, the company is rarely mentioned in discussions about top search engines. If you're a local business and your website isn't showing up on Yahoo!'s list of local results when you search for your area, don't let this lack of visibility deter you.

That's because Yahoo! actually doesn't show all websites that are available to users on their US-based servers. In fact, the site was created in order to only provide information relevant to US residents — which means it'll never include foreign sites or anything that has a dot com domain name such as "www." This can be inconvenient if you've invested time and money into building your professional website — but don't worry.

Yahoo! doesn't allow anyone to publish dot com websites. So if you have a website that's available in the US using a .com domain name, you can still use it in the US with Yahoo! because Yahoo's servers are region-specific.

Another thing to be aware of is that Yahoo! isn't quite as good at finding local businesses as other major search engines. For example, Google is known for its ability to find local businesses even when searching only within the US (especially if you include your ZIP code) and Bing can find non-US businesses too (although it requires that you know the country of interest or use Google Chrome).

But Yahoo! is still a perfectly viable option if you don't mind dealing with its imperfection. And if a US-based business appears on Yahoo!, it's also a good indication that the website will show up for users who are looking for local results in other countries.

Before attempting to use Yahoo! as a search engine, you should be aware of some of its limitations. For example, Yahoo! doesn't support "page rank" — which makes it difficult for businesses to have their pages displayed at the top of the list when most major search engines index all pages from hundreds or thousands of sites. And because Yahoo! doesn't index every website, it's not a good idea to rely on its search results to find the latest news.

But despite its shortcomings, Yahoo! is still a great choice for anyone who wants to get their business in front of local individuals and businesses. Here's what you need to know.

LEARN MORE ABOUT YAHOO! FIRST

If you're looking for help with your search-engine optimization (SEO) strategy, there are ten free articles on HowToManagePPC.com about how SEO can help local businesses get more clicks on your website and increase your revenue.

You'll also find 10 free Pay Per Click keyword research tips .

Conclusion:

Yahoo! is a popular search engine with lots of traffic. Many businesses use it to attract new customers and get them to make purchases. The trick is to learn how the site works and how it indexes websites so you can have your website appear in the top search results when someone types in keywords related to your business.

Unfortunately, if you want Yahoo! customers to visit your website, you're probably going to need a good SEO company. And if you prefer not to rely on an outside professional, remember that you can always use Google AdWords or Bing Ads instead of Yahoo! Search Marketing.

Sources:

http://www.searchenginejournal.