Your tags are also quite important. Image tags are used to display graphics like GIFs and JPEGs. You should include one or two graphics on your web page, linked to your home page. Here is an example of an image tag: . Notice “ALT” property of image tag. That text will be displayed if mouse cursor hovers over graphic. Search engines use this text in their ranking algorithms.

Form tags can also play a role in search engine rankings. Here is an example of an optimized form tag.

It is important that you have links on your entrance pages. Wise webmasters link both to their own home page and all their other entrance pages. Following is a good example of a link on an entrance page: keyword phrase goes here.

Last, but definitely not least, is your body text. Start your body text with your keyword phrase. Begin next sentence with a synonym. Different engines require different amounts of body text, so experiment and see what ranks best for you. Don’t just repeat your keyword phrase or synonyms over and over. It’s best to sprinkle them throughout your text lightly.

One of tricks professionals use is to analyze their page with a keyword density analyzer. There are several available. One that comes to mind is “Keyword Density Analyzer”. A keyword density analyzer is best way to make sure you are not repeating your keywords too many times on your entrance pages. For most search engines, a keyword density (number of keyword repetitions on your page compared to number of other words) is about 3% - 4%.

The final, most important thing to have on your entrance pages is a link to your website. DO NOT have a “meta-refresh” tag that automatically forwards people to your website and DO NOT use a JavaScript command to do it either… both will massacre your search engine ranking.

Once you have created your entrance pages, uploaded them to your server and submitted URLs to search engines (don’t do too many at once – you’ll be penalized), wait a month or two and you’ll have fantastic rankings. Be careful, unscrupulous webmasters search for high ranking entrance pages and like to steal code to get their own high placements. One way to protect against this is by using cloaking software. It’s fairy easy to set up and use, and has added bonus of never letting web surfers see your ugly entrance pages… they are automatically forwarded to your home page without ever knowing they went through an entrance page.

Check your rankings often, and experiment to get best results. One good way to check your rankings is to use software like WebPosition Gold. You can also check them manually by visiting each search engine and searching for your keyword phrases.

Final advice: be patient and don’t give up. It isn’t always easy to get top rankings, especially when competition for your keyword phrases is tough. Be creative, work hard, and you will get hits your website deserves!

3. After you have determined that your site is indeed not listed in Yahoo directory and you have designed your site to comply with their requirements, you will need to find an appropriate category to list your site. Take your time and explore all of different categories and sub-categories of index. This is very important, because if you submit to wrong category your site will be rejected. At very bottom of page (and sometimes also at top), there will be a ‘Suggest a Site’ link. If there is no such link, then you are probably viewing a category that does not allow submissions. After clicking this link, you will be brought to Suggest a Site page, or directly to Business Express page if you are submitting to a Business category.

4. Be sure to carefully review all of their suggestions on site submissions before proceeding. You will be prompted for, among other things, your site's Title, URL, and Description. Carefully fill these out, double-checking your information for accuracy. Take some time with your description and remember to include crucial keywords related to your services or products. Give some thought as to how a Yahoo editor might edit it down. Try to word your description so that it is as concise as possible, and therefore hard to make smaller.

After you have filled out all of your information and submitted your payment (if using Business Express), keep your fingers crossed and patiently wait for their answer. It’s true that you risk loosing $199, but Yahoo is simply too important to pass up. Following these suggestions will greatly improve your chances of getting accepted into Yahoo! directory.