Search Engine Journal

When Aaron Wall talks, the SEO community listens. Mr. Wall has recently noticed some major changes in the Yahoo ranking algorithm which could have a major effect on sites which enjoy Yahoo rankings, or can’t seem to break the Yahoo Top 20.

Aaron noticed these changes :

* botching part of a sitewide 301 redirect that they had followed for months - now both sites rank, but each ranks well for some portion of the queries
* a bit more weight on domain names

Personally, I’ve noticed some sites with high authority domains, in the perception of Yahoo, such as TheFreeDictionary.com, and all of its keyword heavy definition pages, rising in Yahoo rankings. Could such domain be what Aaron is talking about? Or is it keyword heavy domains?

These pages seem to also be ranking higher in Yahoo again, so authority seems to be more important than keywords in the URL.

• Yahoo Directory
• Yahoo 360
• Google Groups
• Google Translate
• Topix
• About.com

Note : Netscape and Propeller.com listings seems to be falling in Yahoo ranking importance.

We know that Yahoo takes a close look at domain history and domain recognition, even on the paid YSM side of things, so perceived authority may be the case.

A short post from AWall, but one of large significance. Be sure to check and keep an eye on your Yahoo rankings.