Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (Full Version)

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cooper -> Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (4/30/2003 23:52:34)

So, how many of you paid the $299 to be included in the Yahoo directory, only to see the " directory" is now buried under the Yahoo Search (powered by Overture).

I didn' t notice the change on Yahoo (I like to use Google) until I saw my number of hits from Yahoo drop by 75%!

I contacted them, but they told me since I had " automatically" renwed, they could not cancel my listing and refund the $299 I paid for the second year of directory exposure.

Anybody else have an issue with this? I am just looking for a little " comfort in numbers."



Mojo -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/1/2003 2:03:57)

They did this a while back... my sales from Yahoo dropped to almost zero. I only get Yahoo sales now if I am running ads on the Overture network.



White Knight -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/1/2003 17:19:27)

[:j] Whew! Sorry you experenced that! I was just going to pay all that money to join the ranks until I stummbled across your post, Thanks you saved me. Better Luck to you.



drray -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/5/2003 11:27:32)

I' m not familiar with the service or with the contractual terms of service, but it sounds to me like a potential class action... .



cooper -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/5/2003 12:38:20)

Yahoo just informed me I missed the " 5 day grace period" at automatic renewal to cancel my account for 2003. (I missed it by 6 days). The " only option available" right now is to cancel now so I don' t get whacked again in 2004.

They are not longer responding to my emails after I asked if this was Yahoo' s new plan to exceed Wall Street earnings estimates.

I am contacting AMEX to see if this " change in venue" for the link I paid for is covered under their buyer protection program.

As far as the class action suit... I' ll sign up!



coreybryant -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/7/2003 13:28:00)

I actually just received this e-mail the other day from Yahoo:
Hi,

The URL you suggested

<url:http://www.tyrantsintherapy.com/>

has been added to Yahoo!. It will appear after our next update, probably within the next 2-4 days. You can find your site at that time by looking through the " What' s New" listings (http://www.yahoo.com/new/) or by searching on its title or URL.

It has come to our attention that various organizations have been sending unsolicited messages to new sites that appear in our listings. We' re sorry if you' re inconvenienced by messages of this kind; Yahoo! does not condone these messages in any way, nor do we divulge to anyone contact information for the sites we list.

Thank you for taking the time to suggest your site. We rely on our users to make Yahoo! complete and comprehensive. In order to keep Yahoo! accurate, please also let us know of any future changes that might affect your listing.

If you haven' t already done so, and you' d like to return the favor
and put Yahoo! on your own site, please see
http://www.yahoo.com/docs/yahootogo/ for detailed instructions.

Thanks again,

The Yahoo! Team

---------------
For more information about Yahoo!' s site suggestion process, please read the help documents located at http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/url/

I really do not remember submitting it to yahoo actually. I use a program to submit websites that i do once a month so apparently Yahoo will take suggestions as well.

Corey



pageoneresults -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/7/2003 13:49:57)

For those of you keeping up with this thread, you may be shooting yourself in the foot if you heed the advice of the above. Yahoo! is the largest directory on the Internet. A listing in Yahoo! can bring a very respectable amount of traffic for the $299.00 annual fee. There are also other factors to consider. One of those is Link Popularity. A link from the Yahoo! directory by itself is worth the $299.00 per year.

When submitting to Yahoo! there are a set of guidelines to follow to insure that you receive a quality listing. If you do not follow those guidelines, then you may not receive that quality listing.

Yahoo! is making lots of changes right now and has been over the past six months. With their purchase of Inktomi, that strengthens their position as a top provider of search results.

For those of you complaining about the annual renewal fee, you may want to read their terms as posted on their website. They clearly state the process for the recurring annual fee. Here is a little snippet of those terms...

quote:

2.2 In order for Yahoo! to consider your site for inclusion in the Directory, you must submit a valid credit card number as part of the registration form. You agree that your credit card will be charged the then current, applicable NON-REFUNDABLE fee for expedited review and response.

If your site is included, you agree that each year, your site will be subject to an additional review for minimum site criteria, and your credit card will be charged the then current Annual Fee.

I know that may not sit well with some of you, but, there it is written in plain English. Unfortunately the comments about Class Action are not valid. Always review the terms of service when submitting a credit card for any type of directory or search engine listing.



pageoneresults -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/7/2003 13:55:38)

Overture has been providing results to Yahoo! since 2001-11-15. The first three positions in Yahoo! are Overture listings and they are clearly marked. You' ll then find two more listings at the bottom of the first page. Inbetween those are results from Google and the Yahoo! Directory. The directory listings are marked with a red arrow.

When you browse to page two of the results, three more Overture results are presented, same at the bottom of the page. This continues as you browse through the results. The Overture listings are presented based on bid amounts. The highest bidders will be in those first three positions on page one. The next highest will be in the bottom two positions on page one. And then the next highest will be in those first three positions on page two and so on and so on.

The directory listings are dynamic. They will shift as time goes on. If you did not receive a first page listing upon first submission, give it some time. Eventually quality sites will begin to rise through the directory structure.



Cyprus -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/16/2003 0:23:06)

If you didn' t get the service you desire. You can always cancel your credit card charge. I think you can do this within 2 months of the charge. Good luck.



cooper -> RE: Yahoo stickin' it to ya' (5/16/2003 8:05:24)

quote:

Yahoo! is making lots of changes right now and has been over the past six months. With their purchase of Inktomi, that strengthens their position as a top provider of search results.


I guess my issue is that the Yahoo directory results used to be shown first and then a user would have the option of expanding the search to the web using Google. Now they are using Inktomi and the web search results are shown first with the directory link in small type at the top of the page.

When I paid the $299 for the includsion in the diretory, I was getting 30 to 50 hits from Yahoo a month. In essence, I was paying $0.49 to $0.83 per click.

Now the change in the order they display their search results has me paying $299 for less than 10 hits per month, or more than $2.50 per click!

My beef is they changed their strucutre and didn' t notify me that I had the option of cancelling my listing within five days of the " automatic renewal" date until 8 to 10 days after the automatic renewal date.

I' m sorry, but I think Yahoo has an inflated sense of self-worth! I' ll take a good Google page rank any day!



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