Yahoo Local - Controlling and Protecting Your Data

Posted: December 7, 2005

Yahoo local has quietly become one of the best search properties on the internet. It has allowed small businesses to update their business data and to tell searchers about their business. This distribution of local business data is crucial to the new wave of local business promotion.

Based on various verticals, the data being displayed is actually different. Yahoo Local was one of the first properties to realize that each vertical needs different display fields. A hotel doesn’t need a menu display, a restaurant does. A pizza restaurant needs a delivery area, but a plumber needs a service area.

As yahoo local expands, expect to be able to search based on your location and not see who is closest to you (the default options on most local properties now) but a list of those who will service your area - a very different algorithm.

It is estimated that 25%+ of all search queries have a local intent. This is a large number compared to the actual usage statistics of local search properties. Yahoo local has integrated very unobtrusively into Yahoo search (show screen shot of stars) by showing some listings when the search is determined to be local in nature.

Yahoo Local profiles are gathered in three different ways, user generated, spider generated, and data provider backfill.

If Slurp, the Yahoo spider, finds information on your website that it determines to be local, it may attempt to find your business address, name, phone number, etc and then match it up against data provider backfill and creates a profile for you.

The second way is user generated. If your business is not listed, then you can log into your Yahoo profile and fill out your business information. Yahoo not only allows you to have some custom information, but also allows for a small 5 page website. The website does have ads on the right hand of the page, often for a competiting business, so if you already have a website, you’ll receive very little benefit from this. If you don’t have a website, a registerlocal.com profile listing may be more to your liking.

The last method Yahoo uses to create business listings is by data provider backfill. Yahoo has some deals with large data providers to provide them with accurate business information and then takes this information and displays it on the Yahoo property.

How to Create Your Listing

The first step is to do a search on Yahoo for your businesses. If you find it, you should see a link that says [insert screen shot here of is this your business]. You can follow that link and take control of the listing. (Important: Please read ‘Hijacking Yahoo Local’ listings‘. You can lose a free business listing at any time, and there is only one way to make sure you control your own business information).

Once you’ve taken control of the listing, you can update the business information at will. There is usually a short delay as Yahoo reviews this information before it goes live on Yahoo properties. In some industries, we’ve noticed a longer wait time than others. Presumably, sensitive verticals maybe looked at closer before allowing information to be changed.

If you don’t see your business on Yahoo, then follow this link to add your business.

Important Information
Yahoo uses several different algorithms to determine Yahoo Local Rankings. The first is proximity. These results are based on the distance between a user and the business - pretty straightforward.

Another is user reviews. Other Yahoo users can review your business. This is very important to pay attention to - this is a public perception of your business. It is suggested that you review you businesses, ask your customers to review your businesses, and maybe even offer $5 coupons or something once a customer has reviewed your business on yahoo. The total number of reviews and the average star review (1-5 stars) can help your businesses rank higher in the search algorithm.

The last method used in ranking is keywords. Keywords, like in all search, matter. Keywords in your title, in your description, in your brands, in the reviews, everywhere. Do NOT stuff keywords. Not only will Yahoo possibly ban or remove your listing, keyword stuffed profiles look uglier to a user and the CTR from the business profile to the listing is lower. In addition, there is enough information at this detailed business view to call your company. If your profile does not look attractive to a user, the odds of them wishing to do business with your company is less.

Yahoo does offer an enhanced listing. This option is roughly $10 per month. I’ve not found any priority in the algorithm using these advanced listings, however, the data is protected. No one can hijack your listing if you’re paying for it.

Overall, Yahoo is one of the leaders in building a community around a local search property. Their forward thinking and success in this arena will only grow stronger over the coming months and years. If you’re looking to build your local presence, a Yahoo listing is a must.

Related Information:

« Hijacking Yahoo Local Listings

Google Announces New Tool - Use with Extreme Caution »

Written by Brad Geddes aka eWhisper · Filed Under Blog, Local Advertising News, Search Engines

Comments

One Response to “Yahoo Local - Controlling and Protecting Your Data”

Hijacking Yahoo Local Listings » bgtheory.com on July 6th, 2006 6:04 pm

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