Here's the change that was suddenly slipped into Yahoo's terms and conditions:
"If your web site is accepted for inclusion in the Directory as part of Yahoo! Express on or after December 28, 2001, then your web site's continued inclusion in the Directory will be subject to additional review each year and you agree that your credit card will be charged the Recurring Annual Fee. Subject to Section 1.3 above, the current applicable Recurring Annual Fee is US $299 for web sites ..."

The $299 Express Submission Fee used to be a one-time charge. It was considered an expediting fee to ensure that Yahoo got around to reviewing your site. Although it was a fine point of contention, Yahoo argued that it wasn't advertising, because paying the fee didn't ensure that they would accept the submitted site. In practice, this wasn't the case. Before the $299 submission (the original price was $199, by the way) a site owner had less than a 1 in 10 shot at getting their site into Yahoo. Since the Express Submission Program, after submitting dozens of sites, we have yet to have one not make it. Obviously, when it comes to getting into Yahoo's listings, money talks.

Regardless, Yahoo did have total control over how your site would appear in its listings. The editors had the freedom to change site titles and descriptions as they saw fit. Any obvious manipulation of keywords was soon spotted and cut with one keystroke.

When Jerry Yang and David Filo, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started Yahoo in 1994, it was to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Eventually, their list grew so long; it had to be divided into categories. The original site sat on their student workstations at Stanford. The pair soon realized there was a tremendous need for a site that would bring some semblance of order to the chaos of the Web.

The original purpose of Yahoo was to match web searchers with the sites they were searching for. Part of that goal was achieved by categorizing and organizing sites into a directory. The second part of that goal was achieved through the discerning eyes of the Yahoo editors, who reviewed submitted sites to determine if they would add value to the Yahoo directory. They took their job seriously, and far more sites were rejected than ones that actually made the cut. Since then, Yahoo has fallen into a common Internet trap. Their original focus has been superseded by the need to make money. Profitability, while undeniably vital, should never pre-empt your original business focus. It should be a product of that focus and the well-orchestrated implementation of it.

With its latest move, Yahoo has stepped across a line that moves it permanently away from its original focus. No longer is it an objective directory. On December 28th, it became an advertising vehicle, pure and simple. And that means Yahoo will have to re evaluate the way it treats its advertisers. The customer is no longer the web searcher. Now, the customer is the Webmaster that is forking out three hundred dollars every year to remain in the Yahoo directory. And Yahoo has had a terrible track record for its treatment of webmasters.

In the past, Yahoo has always defended it's Business Express submission by saying it was a administration handling fee charged to ensure that editors took a look at your site. Now that the fee is annual, the same defence can't be used. It's an annual advertising fee. If you don't pay it, you won't be included. The quality of your site really has nothing to do with it. While Yahoo may pay lip service to the fact that the objectivity of their editors remains unchanged, practice has shown this not to be the case.

The question remains, however, "Will Yahoo improve the way it deals with webmasters?" Will their tendency to rewrite site titles and descriptions cease. Will their previous unresponsiveness to webmasters requests continue? Let's face it; the reason people want to be in the Yahoo directory is to generate traffic to their site. In order to do that, you have to appear on the first page of results when a search for your keywords is done. Yahoo has always said that any attempt to manipulate your ranking through use of keywords in the title and description is forbidden. But that's the whole point! What use is it to be stuck in the directory with a keyword-bereft description that relegates you to spot 123?

With their switching to an annual fee, Yahoo faces a fundamental question. Who do they have to make happy now? Either they embrace the Webmaster and realize nobody wants to be on page 12 of their search results, or they stop taking money from them.

For a nice, friendly directory started by two well-meaning grad students, Yahoo has certainly turned into a bloodthirsty corporate entity. I have no quibble with Yahoo's wanting to turn a profit, but this particular move was handled with all the public relations finesse of the Exxon Valdez.

The Yahoo attitude developed over time and came from Yahoo's unassailable position as the leader in search sites. Since the day it was launched, Yahoo has been the number one search portal.

To call Yahoo's approach to website owners high handed would be akin to calling the sinking of the Titanic a minor naval mishap. They have consistently been arrogant, inflexible and downright obstinate. Polite requests from webmasters to relook at misplacement of sites in wrong categories or site descriptions that have been hatcheted by editors beyond recognition go ignored, or worse; prompt a threatening response implying that we're damn lucky to be in Yahoo and if we whine again, we'll be turfed out on our virtual butts.

There was no response to this, because Yahoo could defend it by saying that this attitude was consistent with their desire to provide a quality, unbiased index. Now, Yahoo has sold out that last remain bit of integrity for the bargain price of $299 a year. Unfortunately, the attitude remains. This was shown by the way Yahoo unilaterally imposed the charge without warning, continuing with their past history of saying, "This is for our own good, and you'd better like it!" Whether Yahoo realizes it or not, webmasters are unlikely to pay $300 a year for the privilege of being insulted by a bunch of arrogant Yahoos in Sunnyvale, California.

But beyond the question of whether a Yahoo can change it's stripes, comes the question, "What the heck is happening to searching on the Internet?" With each search site that either dies off or sells out, our options for valid, relevant searches become fewer and fewer. Most web users I know don't want a listing of paid advertisements when they conduct a search. They want the sites that are most relevant to their search terms. With each new charge that's imposed, it becomes harder for independent webmasters to be noticed amongst the corporate monoliths with the infinite marketing budgets. With their annual fee, Yahoo has just put another nail in the coffin of unbiased searching.

Advertising on Yahoo

For businesses with a limited online-advertising budget, Yahoo's featured directory listings are a great way to reach out to millions of potential customers. Having your company's Web site featured in a directory listing is actually quite easy.

First, you'll need to get your site listed in the appropriate Yahoo directory. Type your company name in to the search box. If your site doesn't appear in the search results, you will need to submit it for consideration. Unfortunately, this process can take a long time.

Your other option is to use Yahoo's Express Service, which provides expedited listing. There is a $299 annual fee for this service, and there's no guarantee that your site will actually be listed — only that it will be reviewed within seven days. However, if you don't want to wait a long time to be added to Yahoo's directory, this may be a solid choice.

Once your site has been listed in a directory at Yahoo, upgrading to featured status is easy. You will need to pay a monthly fee, which is determined by the directory where your site is located. This fee can vary from $5 to $300 per month. All you need to do is provide a credit card and your monthly fee will be automatically deducted.

Featured listings appear before the rest of the businesses in a directory, which means that you won't have to worry about having your company buried far into the listings. This is also a benefit for business owners who are having difficulty optimizing their site for Yahoo's search engine.

So, what does featured status actually do for your site? It provides targeted advertising, and targeted advertising means the right people will see your listing: people already looking for your product or service. Once your business is featured in a directory, your listing will be one of the first results when customers perform a search in your area.

With more small businesses jumping on the Internet every day, it's getting harder and harder for companies to retain their current customers and attract new customers. With literally thousands of choices for online shopping, it can be almost impossible to entice customers to visit your site first.

Having a featured listing removes much of this concern, since most users will click on the first match they find. If your site is at the top of the list, there's a much better chance your listing will be clicked on, as opposed to if your listing does not appear until page 20 of a user's search.

For businesses worried about advertising costs, Yahoo's fixed monthly fee is certainly a benefit. Knowing how much your advertising will cost each month makes it a lot easier to stay within your budget while still reaching out to millions of new potential customers.

Another way to guarantee appearing on Yahoo is by buying keywords through Overture, a subsidiary of Yahoo. With Overture's pay-per-click products, you purchase keywords related to your business. Then, when Web surfers search for those keywords, your listing will appear in Yahoo's Sponsor Results box. Overture's distribution network also includes many of the Web's other top search engines and portal sites, including MSN, Altavista, and CNN.com. For more on how keyword advertising works, visit the Internet Marketing area of AllBusiness.com.

With Yahoo still holding on to the number 2 search engine spot behind Google, your business should see a dramatic increase of traffic once your site is listed in a directory, and much more should you choose to have your site featured.

Staying on top in Internet business is never easy, but Yahoo has made it possible for small companies to effectively compete for potential customers.

Yahoo! Notes:

Yahoo! recently purchased Overture. Overture owns AltaVista and AllTheWeb. More info to come...

Yahoo! Results:

Yahoo! displays the top three Overture listings under the heading of Sponsor Matches.
Two more listings from Overture also appear toward the bottom of the page.
Yahoo! Directory listings are supplied by Yahoo! editors and require a fee for commercial sites.
Yahoo! search results are supplied by Google and the Yahoo! Directory.

Preparing For Yahoo! Directory:

Yahoo! has begun rejecting submissions with domains over 54 characters.
Yahoo! likes to see unique content that is not already available in the directory.
Catalog pages with lots of links do better with Yahoo!.
Do not include illegal content.
Large, information sites are preferred but smaller sites can do well also.
Your site should have recently been updated, if it hasn't been, now is the time to do it.
Content should be informational, appealing and easy to read.
Site must be professional and organized well.
The link navigation should be easy to follow.
All images should be optimized and of professional quality.
Yahoo may list flash pages as long as the content is good and the function and design is not complicated.
Don't include excessive flash or animation.
Don't include sound.
Load time must be quick.
No broken links. Yahoo! checks for dead links several times a month. If your site is down during a routine check, it may be deleted from the directory.
Include a company logo that includes your most important keyword phrases.
Include contact information.
Include a copyright notice with the current year.
Include a privacy policy.
Do not use excessive animations or flash features.
Do not use redirects.
Do not submit replicate sites with different URL's.
Aside from the review method of ranking sites, Yahoo! is now using click through popularity as a part of their relevancy ranking system.

Titles:

Your title should not contain more than 40 characters including spaces.
It should begin with your company name which should include keyword phrases.
Your title should contain your most important keywords.
It is especially helpful that you company name include keywords.
Do not use numbers or brand names in the title.
If you use ASCII characters (ex. @home or $ave $) in your title, you may risk a delay in the indexing of your site.

Descriptions:

Your description should be no more than 200 characters including spaces.
It should contain important keyword phrases found throughout your site.
Use your keywords early and often throughout the description, but do not just simply list keywords.
Your description should formally and effectively describe your web site.
NEVER use any marketing hype when submitting to Yahoo!.
Do not use all capital letters and do not capitalize the first letter of each word.
Use proper grammar when formatting your description.
Try to avoid small words like: and, the, of, etc. if you can to save space.

Keywords:

Yahoo! does place a value on how well your keywords are set up on your page and the information that surrounds your keywords, but they do not place any relevancy on your tags or keyword weight.
You will indicate your keywords on your submission form. The keywords that you list must be relevant to your site.

Yahoo! Does Not Consider:

Yahoo! doesn't recognize or support META tags.
Yahoo! does not consider comment or ALT tags.

Choosing A Category:

Research the categories that are available.
If you choose the wrong category, it is likely that your site will not get indexed.
Submit regionally specific sites only to that particular regional category.
Do not submit to main categories.
Find the lowest level of subcategories to submit to.
If you have another page in your site that is comparable to your index page and offers quality information, you can submit to a different sub-category.
You may choose up to one additional sub-category but no more than two.
To choose a category, do a search on your own keywords and see what categories come up. Consider the category that comes up first. The first one is normally the one most people will choose first.
Search your competitors to see what category they are listed in.
Remember that you are more likely to get listed in a less popular category with fewer listings.
Adult sites should be submitted to adult categories.
If Yahoo! does not have a category that you feel they should have, suggest it.
For more information on choosing the proper category, go to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/appropriate.html.

Submitting To Yahoo!

You can submit only one page to Yahoo!. They occasionally list sub pages of a site if the content is unique and there aren't many listings.
Select the category you wish to submit to. Click on the "Suggest A Site" link at the bottom of the category page. If your category includes commercial and non-commercial sites, you will see the option to submit through Business Express or Standard Free Submit.
All commercial sites must be submitted through Business Express. An explanation of this can be found at http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/
To qualify for Business Express, the conditions on this page must be met --
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/busexpress.html
Business Express submit requires a $299.00 non-refundable submission free. If your site is accepted, you will be charged the $299 fee each year to keep your site in the index.
Submitting through Business Express will not guarantee acceptance into the Yahoo! directory.
After you have selected "Business Express" or "Standard Submit", read the Terms of Services carefully.
If your site qualifies, click on the "Continue" link at the bottom of the page.
Sign in with your Yahoo! ID. If you don't already have one, you must register now.
Enter your title, URL (it is always helpful if your URL contains keywords), description and other information on the submission form.
Take special care in filling out this form. The manner in which this form is submitted will make a difference in your final results. Your title and description should be professional, grammatically correct with no marketing-hype or biased opinions.
Note: Yahoo! can and sometimes will change your submission information to suit their directory standards.
Proceed to the next step where you will enter your contact and payment information.

Providing Contact Information:
When providing your contact information on the submission form, it is important that you supply the same information as your site and InterNIC.
Your title and logo must match the company name that appears in the InterNIC registration. If you need to make any changes in the future, you will need the e-mail address you supplied on the submission form.
Make sure to make note of the date you are submitting, the category you are submitting to and all of the contact information you are supplying.

Acceptance To The Yahoo! Directory:

If your site is accepted to Yahoo! you will receive an e-mail telling you that your site has been added to Yahoo!.
If you are submitting through the pay inclusion program, you will find out if your site was indexed within seven days.
Your site should appear after the next update, normally within a few days. Once the directory has been updated, you will find your listing in the “Whats New” listings or by doing a keyword search.
If you find that your site is only listed in a regional category and feel that it should be listed in an additional category, it might work to send a short, polite note to the editors requesting an additional category.

If Your Site Is Rejected:
Normally Yahoo! does not send out formal rejection letters unless you have submitted through Business Express.
If your site is simply not listed, it could be because the editor did not have time to review it.
Check your server logs to be sure the site was reviewed.
If it was reviewed and you have not heard anything, you have probably been rejected.
Don’t give up.
Continue improving your site and resubmitting it after several weeks.
The next time you submit, consider an alternate category.

What Next?

Only 10-30% of submissions ever get listed.
Yahoo! is under no obligation to list your site.
If you have not been listed within two weeks, see what you can do to improve the information on the submission form or on your site and try submitting again.
If you do not get indexed the first time always submit again several weeks apart.
If another two weeks pass and your site still has not been reviewed, send an e-mail to
url-support@yahoo-inc.com. Be sure to include the exact URL and your e-mail address. You do not need to include the actual date you submitted on or the categories you submitted to.
Do not submit several times in a short period of time or you will be banned for spamming.

Change Requests:

If your site has been accepted through Business Express, you have only thirty days to request any changes in the title, description or category for your site.
If you need to change the URL, title, description or e-mail address, associated with your listing in Yahoo! or if you would like to suggest additional or different categories for your site, you can do so by filling out the form at http://add.yahoo.com/fast/change
Be sure to note the exact date of your request. You may need this at a later date.
The change request form can not be used as a means of improving your ranking.
The changes must be legitimate and only affect Yahoo! and customers--NOT you.
Yahoo! will not change any information that is already accurate.
If they do not see a reason to change your title or description, they probably wont.
If you have submitted changes through the change form at http://add.yahoo.com/fast/change and have not seen your changes take affect after ten days, send an email to the same address.
url-support@yahoo-inc.com. Include the URL, the exact date of the change request, and the desired categories.
Web marketers who submit multiple sites are asked to use the e-mail address for no more than five URLs per week.

Getting More Than One Domain
Listed In Yahoo:

If you are trying to list a second site for the same company to Yahoo! it is best to keep both sites completely separate from your first site until they are both listed.
It is important that they are both completely different and unique from one another.
Once both sites are listed, then you can link them together.
The second site must have a different domain name and hosting service.
All of your contact information, including your name must also be different.
If you use the Business Express option, use a different credit card and billing address than you used for your previous submission.
Your site must also fit into a different category than your previous submission.
When submitting your second site, be sure to clear your cookies.txt file from your browser and use a different dial up account with a different IP address when you submit.
It may be possible to get multiple domains listed in Yahoo! in an attempt to gain multiple listings for various keyword phrases. Keep in mind that this should be done with caution as it can be considered spam.

Removing A Page From Yahoo!

To remove a page from Yahoo!, write to their e-mail support address and request the URL be removed from the directory. url-support@yahoo-inc.com

More Yahoo! Features:

Bold Listings:

When you see a bold listing in Yahoo! it means that there are additional sub listings for that particular site. When you click on a bold listing, you will be taken to a special page for that company or site that contains links related to the site. Bold listings are provided by Yahoo! and can not be requested.

Other Options That May Help You Get Listed:

Buy A Banner Ad:

If you have tried several attempts to get your site listed through Yahoo! and your site still has not been indexed, consider buying a banner ad from Yahoo! In doing so, mention that you have tried on several occasions to get your site listed and it still does not appear in the directory. Some people have found success with this method and others have not.

Sponsored Listings:

With Yahoo’s paid listing program, your listing could appear at the top of the category pages (Not the search results) in a listing called, “Sponsored”. Sponsored listings appear in the most popular area at the top of the category results page in a gold outlined box. This could increase your traffic. The monthly fee is between $25 and $300. The fee will depend on the popularity of the category you are wishing to sponsor. Only five sponsored listings are allowed per category and are rotated on a regular basis. It may be easier to get your change requests recognized with a sponsored listing. It is said to be easier to achieve a sponsored listing if you have a keyword in your URL.