Are You Cashing in On the Little Known Opportunity in Yahoo?

By John Gergye
Posted Thursday, September 16, 2004

When it comes to search engine rankings do you have both Yahoo AND Google covered?

You’d think so but I bet not.

In fact have you even bothered to check to see how your site is doing in the "new and improved" Yahoo?

Might be a good thing to do you know. Since Yahoo could be, or rather should be, accounting for maybe 20-25% of your site’s total traffic?

But if you’re like most you’re probably still focused laser like on Google. And perhaps not even aware of the little known opportunity Yahoo has to offer right now.

Opportunity?

Right. This is the absolute PERFECT time to grab a number one ranking in Yahoo! Or at least some top 10 rankings. From what I’ve seen most markets are ripe for the picking.

That’s because few of the top guns riding high in Google have locked up a similar top listings in Yahoo.

Don’t believe it?

Well, let me prove it to you.

To research this I used a nifty tool called Thumbshots Ranking. (http://ranking.thumbshots.com/)

Along with the whiz bang graphic it gives you a mini-report. The report shows how many listings make repeat appearances in the top 100 of both Google and Yahoo. They’re called "overlapping links". A confusing choice of terms but it still means the number of listings in the top 100 in Google that are also in the top 100 in Yahoo too.

All you do is simply stick in any keyword (phrase) and let it rip.

The numbers are nothing short of shocking. Best, or is it worst case, only about a third of top 100 listings in Google made the top 100 in Yahoo.

Take a look for yourself. Here’s some keyword phrases I checked followed by the number of overlapping listings.

bed and breakfast - 37
wedding invitations - 35
email software - 33
logo design - 32
pet supplies - 28
satellite tv - 22
business cards - 21
dating services - 19
ceramic knives - 17
furniture shopping - 15
medical transcription services - 14
wine racks - 14
business opportunity - 11
web designer - 6
digital phones - 4

I tried to come up with competitive and not so competitive terms.

Admittedly this "study" of 15 keywords is far from comprehensive.

And maybe it’s just me, but it sure looks like there’s an opportunity for prime listings in Yahoo.

Again I don’t know if this is because most webmasters are so focused on Google or what. But I think that’s part of it.

The other issue may be that Yahoo ranks pages more based on content. While Google weighs links and link text more heavily.

Regardless, just because you can’t crack the top 20 in Google all is not lost. Roll up your sleeves and focus some attention on ranking well in Yahoo. What have you got to lose?

IMPORTANT: I’m NOT saying a top 10 ranking in Yahoo is worth the same amount of traffic as a top 10 ranking in Google. But I AM saying if you don’t have a top 10 Google ranking and prospects of landing one anytime soon look bleak, maybe Yahoo is a promising alternative. Because some search engine traffic is better than none, right?

In any case, get in on this now before it’s too late. And get the jump on your competitors sitting pretty in Google. Because like Zig Ziglar says the "Opportunity of a lifetime is only good for the lifetime of the opportunity."

About the Author
John Gergye shares more ideas like this in his just updated eBook "Traffic From Google in 35 Days". Find out more here: (http://www.traffic-test-tube.com/j/tfg35cl.shtml) Or test your search engine IQ by taking his seo quiz (http://www.traffic-test-tube.com/search-engine-quiz.shtml) and get the free special report "Coming Out On Top".