SEO Tips: Higher Yahoo Rankings

Now that Yahoo has pulled the plug off Google and brought their search results back in house, webmasters must once again focus on a different algorithm.

Optimize for Yahoo: The Next Big Step

Not only does this indicate a challenge of Google's authority from yet another prominent contender in the search market but it also prepares the war of SEO between the top search engines and all eyes are now on Yahoo.

The New Guy

The SEO rules are constantly changing and so must you. Now Yahoo has a new search engine on display. Good thing for webmasters is that the new Yahoo algorithm is a slight resemblance of the Google algorithm in a few ways, making it less cumbersome to optimize for the new Yahoo. This erases the need to start over fresh while optimizing for Yahoo.

Although Yahoo is using part Inktomi algorithm for its SERPs and that algorithm being similar to Google's algorithm one would have to find the line that formulates the distinct separation of the two and to find out what works and what doesn't to rank well in Yahoo.

Keyword Density

In SEO labs where the new Yahoo algorithm was examined, it appears that Yahoo gives more weight, compared to Google, to a page that displays more keywords. The study suggests that most of the high ranking pages generally had a higher number of keywords or keyword density in the body and title of the page. Of the top placed pages most had a keyword density of around 10%, however some of the highly ranked pages had a keyword density of around 3%. This was an indication that backlinks with anchor text played a part. Below is a chart of the on page elements Yahoo looks at and the keyword densities that make up the total keyword density of the page:

. Title - 15 to 20% (title tag is one of the more important on page elements for the new Yahoo algorithm)
. Body Text - 3%
. Meta Tags 3%

Anchor Text of Incoming Links

Anchor text has been one of the most focused aspects of search engine optimization since Google stepped into the arena however Yahoo looks at them a little differently. Although anchor text of incoming links is looked at with a slight twist in Yahoo they still play a major part of ranking well, however not with as much weight as Google puts on them. You will still need to incorporate strong keyword density into your title and body tags.

Keywords in Directories and File Names

In our labs we studied the relationship between keywords in directory names and file names. As stated above keyword density plays a major role in ranking well for the new Yahoo algorithm. Naming your directories and file names as such:

www.my-domain.com/keyword/file-name-with-keywords.html

will have a slight impact on your overall keyword density.

Conclusion

Keywords in title and body tags and anchor text of incoming links are the areas you should focus on when you optimize for Yahoo search engine to be well ranked.  Also ensure that you have proper Meta Tags as Yahoo ranks sites partially on that as well.

Source: http://www.web-inspect.com/yahoo-tips-for-higher-rankings.php