Articles >> Vol.2 Issue 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I- Search Engine Watch
II- Webmaster Tools

I. Search Engine Watch

As many of you already know, a search engine war is brewing between the Goliath of the search engines, Google.com, and Davids, Yahoo.com and MSN.com.  Here's a brief synopsis of what's going on and what is in store for the future.  With new changes, it is very important for webmasters to be aware of the potential implications of their Internet marketing strategy:

1.  Both Google and Yahoo have been playing around with the idea of a "localized search" to make it easier for users to find local businesses since beginning of year 2003.  The search engines have never been a good place to find local businesses before; You would not go to search engines to look for a local mechanic in your area.  But Yahoo now has beaten Google to the punch.  On 3/9/04, Yahoo launched "SmartView" where if you type in a zip code or as city, you can access all businesses by categories in the neighborhood.  To check it out, go to http://maps.yahoo.com and type in a zip code or a city.  On your right hand side of the map, you will see a SmartView navigation. The downside of their program is that it is limited by the local information available.

Google if and when it is launched, on the other hand, will probably require that that all websites insert new meta tags on each web page specifying the local area of coverage.

What does this mean to us? It means that YellowPages as we know it will slowly lose its power as source of new leads for local businesses and local businesses have to wake up to the new way of advertising.

2.  In continuation of last issue's story of Yahoo's new Site Match inclusion program, this is what is known:

To participate in SiteMatch, website owners pay a flat yearly fee,  plus a flat per-click charge that ranges from 15 cents to 30 cents per click, depending on the nature of the website. The flat yearly fee is $49 per URL for one URL, $29 per URL for URLs 2-10, and $10 per year for URLs 11 and above. The sites that are included will be fed into not only the Yahoo! search results, but also the search results of All The Web, AltaVista and other sites to which Yahoo! provides search results.

For example, if your site gets 3,000 clicks per month, at $.20 you'd have to pay $600.00/month plus the yearly fee of $49.00

To better understand Site Match and see if your website need to be included, here's a brief excerpt from 3/12/04 article from the Search Engine Journal:

Yahoo Answers Site Match Inclusion Questions 

Yahoo has recently drawn heat over its new Site Match paid inclusion system used to add sites to the new Yahoo Search index. The Yahoo Team recently answered a lot of the questions posed on the Jim World Search Engine Marketing Forum about Site Match to clear up some of the doubts that may be lingering in the search engine marketing community. Here is the list of Yahoo Site Match questions from search engine marketers, and Yahoo´s responses.

Q. Why should I pay for Site Match if my site is already indexed or may soon be indexed for free? 

A. Our primary goal is to discover and include all content on the web through our free web crawling process. Today 99% of the information in the index comes from the free crawl. Site Match, however, provides many benefits to content providers even when their content is already indexed. 

Both content providers and search users benefit from greater interaction between sites and the search engine. In fact, for several years a good number of message board posters have been asking for greater clarity from search engines about how to participate and what the “rules” are. The Site Match program addresses this additional need by providing a value-added service that focuses on providing a clearer, more consistent way to interact with Yahoo! Search. Specific components include: the ability to proactively submit content to us, frequent refresh, quality review, detailed reporting, and support when problems arise. The program is cost-effective, easy to manage, and includes the ability to control total cost. 

Yahoo! believes that Site Match delivers:
1. Higher quality search results for users, including reducing the amount of search spam (spammers are economically disincented to participate)
2. A clearer, more consistent way to interact with Yahoo! Search for content providers who historically have been subjected to unpredictable changes in the way their content has been discovered and presented by search engines. 

Customers in particular who will find Site Match extremely valuable include those with:
- Sites that have harder to find content or with information that can’t currently be crawled by any search engine (e.g. sites with dynamic content, such as extensive product catalogs)
- Sites seeking more control over the content that is discovered
- Sites seeking more control over how the content is presented
- More dynamic sites seeking faster refresh rates
- Sites that are looking for more user data and clearer, more consistent interaction with the search engine 

Yahoo! believes these benefits are of value to many businesses, and the considerable demand for the program we’ve seen thus far would seem to support that. However, the program may not be valuable to everyone. We understand this – not everyone wants or needs the value-added service that Site Match offers. That’s OK, because it’s likely that we already have your web pages through our regular crawl, and if we don’t yet, we’re working to get them over time. This is a cornerstone of our mission to provide the highest quality search experience on the internet. 

More specifically, you may not find value in the Site Match program if the following is the true:
- Your site is well discovered by the free crawl
- The right content is discovered and you are consistently satisfied with when and how your content is presented
- The information on your site is fairly static and the faster refresh is of less value to you
- You don’t think you need more user data on search performance 

If this describes your site, then the free crawl may be adequate for you and you don’t need the added value of the Site Match programs. 

Q. Does Site Match require both a per-page, per-year fee and a cost-per-click? 

A. Site Match includes a yearly review fee per URL and a cost-per-click fee. Site Match has a much lower up-front cost (less than 1/3) than the 3 programs it replaces: Inktomi Search Submit, AltaVista Express Inclusion, and FAST PartnerSite PFI. One concern with the old programs was that some sites paid upfront and then got relatively few clicks (a common scenario for specialized sites). This resulted in the service working out to be quite expensive on an effective cost-per-click basis. The new cost-per-click pricing is more equitable in that it scales with the value the program provides to each participating site. In addition, we offer a range of budgeting options that allow content providers to cap their spend at whatever levels they are comfortable with. Finally, and most importantly, cost-per-click pricing helps ensure a high quality user experience. Cost-per-click pricing motivates content providers to submit only relevant content (no one wants to pay for an irrelevant click), further improving the quality of the search experience for users. Without CPC pricing, content providers have no incentive to provide high quality content and avoid gaming the system. 

Q: What if I can’t afford this program? Will you have a lower priced program in the future? 

A: If your primary goal is to get your site indexed and if your web site has not already been crawled by Yahoo! Search, it is possible it will be crawled in the future. As of March 1, 2004, 99% of all content in our index has been discovered via our free crawl, and our primary objective is to discover all content on the internet for free. Furthermore, we now offer a free Add URL service (http://submit.search.yahoo.com). We will continue to evaluate different product mixes and pricing models and will evolve our programs based on market demand. 

Q. Will Yahoo! Search results sacrifice quality by favoring sites that pay for the Site Match program? 

A. Absolutely not. Since its inception, the Yahoo! Search mission has been to provide the highest quality search experience on the Internet. The motivation behind this is simple: if we do not provide the highest quality search experience we will not be providing users with an incentive to stay and continue to use our product. It is the quality of our results – as defined by their relevance, comprehensiveness, freshness and presentation - that will ultimately lead to our success in search and we will not compromise the quality of these results. 

Q. If I participate in Site Match, will my site be “banned” from the search index? 

A. No. The Site Match and crawling systems are separate (one doesn’t affect content in the other) and participation in Site Match does not impact the efforts of our crawlers to index all of your content. For instance, if you submit 1 page to Site Match, other pages that may be in the regular index will not be affected. 

In addition, content from both systems is reviewed and evaluated against the same criteria to ensure all content meets a consistent, high quality standard. If you joined the Inktomi Search Submit program, for example, you may have been reviewed. If problems were discovered, your site may have been partially or entirely removed from the search index. The same thing happens to sites that have been discovered through the free crawl process. If problems were discovered, your site may have been partially or entirely removed from the search index. Any review-related penalty is solely designed to ensure the best experience for our users, not to encourage ongoing participation in our inclusion programs. Also, removal of URLs from Site Match will in no way impact our crawlers’ efforts to index those URLs. 

Q. Will the Inktomi index be merged with the new Yahoo! Search index before Inktomi disappears? 

A: Today there is a single, new Yahoo! Search Technology (YST). YST powers Yahoo! Search and in the coming months will also be powering search solutions for all our partners. Yahoo! Slurp, Yahoo!’s new crawler, is already reaching and indexing more of the web than any of our prior technologies. 

Q. What happens to my site if I previously participated in a paid inclusion program (e.g. Inktomi Search Submit)? 

A: If you previously participated in a subscription-based paid inclusion program from Inktomi, AltaVista or FAST, you have the option of continuing your current subscription in which case the terms of your subscription will not change. This will continue until the end of your subscription. As an added bonus, your participation will also extend to Yahoo! Search results until April 15, 2004. Note that Inktomi Index Connect (feed-based) customers may continue participating in the full network of portals, including Yahoo! 

Q. Does Site Match allow URLs to be targeted to specific countries? 

A. Yes. Site Match provides a “geotargeting” feature. Through the Overture-branded system, just log in (after subscribing) and go to View/Edit URLs. Click Edit for each URL and you’ll see options to target by region or by country. This is another feature that helps us deliver a higher quality user experience: users don’t see results for businesses that can’t address their needs. By offering geo-targeting we enable content providers to improve both their experience and the experience of the user. 


 
II. Webmaster Tools

Dr. Paul E. Adams, contributing writer

Promote or Perish

"If I am not for myself, who, then, will be for me?" Hillel 

Do you enjoy promoting your business? Do you wish someone would do it for you? Is promoting and persuading others to invest with you or buy from you a task you are not comfortable with? If so, you are not unusual. Wannabe entrepreneurs come from many backgrounds: accounting, engineering, teaching, corporate America - careers that have not required phoning strangers, grasping flesh and smiling when you don't feel like it. Now you must. If you are going to succeed in this game of business, maybe it is time for you to fashion a few inner changes. 

As I have written in previous columns, it is not easy to taste success with your own business if economic conditions, shortage of money, aggressive, even unethical, competitors, and your actions all can conspire to bankrupt you. Take a moment and look inward. Do you have any suppressed self-destructive traits or childhood hang-ups that are roadblocks to promoting your dream? Are you putting yourself out of business? 

Your inner drive and wherewithal to promote your business is the underpinning of your future success. Can you do it? Or do any of these fears and beliefs hold you back? 

1. Fear of failure. I won't try, therefore I cannot fail. 

2. Fear of confrontation. I don't want anyone mad at me. 

3. I hate to ask for your business, as you might say no and reject me. 

4. I can't ask for an order, as I do not like feeling I owe anyone anything. 

5. I believe selling is lying. All salespersons lie; they have to, to make a living. 

6. I believe selling is manipulative and not sincere. 

7. I believe promotion is all personality. You must be a smooth- talking snake charmer. 

8. I will not beg to sell you. I will not lower myself to needing your welfare. 

If such self-defeating notions block your success, you have some work to do. Change your approach to business and focus on the following truisms: 

1. Successful entrepreneurs are always promoting the virtues of their business. 

2. Your success will come from your ability to persuade others to believe in you. 

3. Entrepreneurship is asking for money, products, cooperation, and relationships. 

4. A presentation is communication of your message. It must be effective or it will fail 

5. Poor, ill-prepared and unenthusiastic communication does not persuade anyone. 

6. The messenger must believe the message. 

7. When you get what you want it is fun to ask. 

Success is a series of beliefs. If you are looking for inspiration read Ralph Waldo Emerson. He is one of the original positive thinking gurus and my favorite. Within the philosophical content of his works is the belief that we act as we think. The next time these barriers to your success pop up, creating self-doubt, hit the delete key and insert "I believe." 

Easy to say, but not so easy to do. Those who make it in business demonstrate a conviction of their ability to succeed. They are focused on what they want and know how to get it. The rest of us are not quite sure and have to work at it. Self-doubts, even the guilty feeling of going after what we want as being selfish, stand in our way. Casting out our demons of defeat is hard work; it requires a constant vigil and a form of thought police. Just as you learn to get rid of your golf slice, to bid a bridge contract, prepare a gourmet meal, or sky jump, you can learn to believe and focus on what you want. 

Believe in your dream, believe in your company, believe in your product/service, and believe you can convince others to believe in you. Otherwise, check the help-wanted ads. -0- Dr. Paul E. Adams, Professor Emeritus, Business Administration, Ramapo College of New Jersey, is the author of "Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful," available at Adams-Hall Publishing (800-888-4452). If you have questions or comments or ideas for topics, you may reach Dr. Adams at xpaul@pikeonline.net