There are numerous reasons for webmasters to submit their sites to various web directories populating the Internet. The positives of having your site listed in a popular directory have been discussed in previous articles and on a multitude of search-related forums.

Step Right Up To The Yahoo Directory!

Would you consider paying a recurring fee to be in Yahoo’s Web Directory? Discuss at WebProWorld.

Being listed in a popular directory benefits your site’s popularity and may directly impact a site’s SERP position. However, is it worth $299 (minimum) to have your site listed in Yahoo’s web directory? That depends on who you ask.

According to Yahoo’s page for directory listing information, sites without adult content are required to pay $299. With your investment in hand, Yahoo then, “provides expedited review of web sites you submit for possible inclusion in the Yahoo! Directory. We will respond to your request within 7 business days.” Sites that contain adult content are charged $600 for possible inclusion.

Be aware that these fees are recurring. If you’ve paid to be in Yahoo’s directory, you must continue to pay; provided you want to maintain whatever benefit being listed in their directory gives you. Also remember Yahoo’s policy concerning paid submissions:

“Use of the Yahoo! Express program does not ensure that your submission will be accepted for inclusion in the Yahoo! Directory. Final judgment on the suitability, placement, and description of all sites submitted to Yahoo! is solely the responsibility of the Yahoo! directory team.”

Also, being listed in Yahoo’s directory in no way guarantees a Yahoo Search listing improvement. From the Yahoo Express Help page: “A listing in the Yahoo! Directory does not guarantee your site will be listed in search results for any particular query.”

With these stipulations in mind, I return to the original point of this article: Is paying for submission to Yahoo’s directory worth the money? Some support it; some do not.

One popular question concerning Yahoo Express is “How will being listed in Yahoo’s directory benefit my Google ranking?” This question stems from a growing belief that Google may not value directory listings as much as they used to. Anthony Parsons gives a concise response to those doubting directory listings, “Whether Google has dropped weight from directories or not is irrelevant really, as the link is still counted and still from a unique IP you ARE going to benefit regardless.”

The question was brought up on WebProWorld’s forum as well. A poster asked “I am thinking of listing of my website on the Yahoo directory for their express fee of $300. My question: is it worth it or not?” As expected, responses were mixed. Bill Hartzer answered pragmatically, saying if your competitors were there, you should be too. According to Bill, “Yes, it’s definitely worth it. Forget about the PageRank benefit, PR doesn’t mean much nowadays. Rather, it’s the on-topic link from a very reputable, powerful site that counts.” Which is an excellent point when talking about SERP positioning. Most, if not all, search engines place a high value on relevant links pointing to a site.

Of course, there are opposing views also. The majority of them have a hard time justifying the recurring price. Their counter point involves a number of directories that require no payment for submission consideration (DMOZ, BlueFind, Zeal, Jayde, and so on). David Wallace, SEW forum moderator, had these thoughts: “I don’t even submit paid listings anymore. There are so many other directories out there now that will help to build your link popularity, some for free and others for a lot cheaper than $299 a year.”

However, the consensus seems to be that there is some value from a Yahoo directory listing. In a long discussion at the ihelpyou forums, Doug Heil, administrator of ihelpyou, says, “A Yahoo directory listing helps with the Yahoo search engine visibility. That by itself makes the 300 bucks worth it.” Just be prepared to pay a recurring $300/600.

Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest search news.