There is specific data about your web site that you should be looking at in your log files on a regular basis. Several variables should be examined monthly or even weekly to ensure your site design and page optimization is on right track:

1. Entry Paths

Most sites can be developed and analysed around concept of visitor pathways. If, for example, your site is a Business to Business (B2B) site and you service small, medium and large businesses, there should be pathways through your site designed for each class of visitor. An extremely simplified example would be:

Clients coming to site through an optimized home page:

home page ---> small business page ---> order page ---> order confirmation page home page ---> medium business page ---> order page ---> order confirmation page home page ---> large business page ---> order page ---> order confirmation page

The site entry pages for these pathways are often optimized home pages or optimized content pages. The final page of this route is often action that you want clients to take on your site (e.g., sign up for your newsletter, buy your products online or contact you for further information). You can easily determine how effective your pathways are by tracking entry paths on a regular basis via your site stats.

You should have some idea of main pathways that clients take through your site, both for monitoring effectiveness of your page optimization and conversions, and for purpose of subsequent site redesign(s). A good starting point to track pathways through your site is via graph or chart called "Entry Paths" in your log files / site statistics.

2. Top Exit Pages

These are pages from which most visitors click away from your site. Why is it useful to track these? Because exit pages can tell you:

a. If there is a technical problem with page that is causing visitors to leave your site. For example, if there are broken links, or form on page is not working properly etc.

b. If your site design is breaking strategic pathway, for example, you may have links to external sites that are inducing clients to click away before buying your product or signing up for your newsletter.

c. If there is something on these pages that is encouraging visitors to leave your site. For example, an unprofessional design or confusing layout.

In your log files / site statistics, graph or chart called "Top Exit Pages" is place to learn why visitors are leaving your site.

3. Single Access Pages

These are entry pages that are viewed once before visitor clicks away from your site. Similar to Top Exit Pages, Single Access Pages can tell you a lot about why people are not staying on your site for long.

Have a close look at search terms used to find your site. Single Access Pages can often indicate that your target search terms are too broad. For example, you may be getting a lot of traffic by targeting "printer cartridges" but if you only stock a particular brand of cartridge, then people seeking other brands are not going to find what they truly seek when they arrive at your site so they will leave immediately. This can be resolved by narrowing down your search terms to be more targeted and focused on your niche products and services, for example, by changing "printer cartridges" to "HP printer cartridges" and so on.

To see what pages of your site are viewed once, look for graph or chart called "Single Access Pages" in your log files / site statistics.

4. Most Requested Page(s) and Top Entry Pages.

When selecting most appropriate Directory category to submit your site to, conduct a search for your main keyword phrase and view various related categories. Study sites listed within these categories and choose category that is most relevant to or closely related to your site content. Some directories like ODP have specific Category Descriptions you should read before submitting, to ensure you have chosen most relevant topic for your site.

Another way to choose your category is to search for sites belonging to your direct competitors. It is likely that category they are listed in will be most relevant to your site.

If your site targets or discusses a specific regional market, you will need to submit to a regional category. For example, if my site was about rental cars for hire in Sydney, Australia, I would need to submit it to regional Yahoo category: http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Australia/States_and_Territories/ New_South_Wales/Cities_and_Regions/Sydney/Business_and_Shopping/ Shopping_and_Services/Automotive/Rentals/

and not general Yahoo rental car category:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Automotive/ Rentals/

I find it useful to submit a slightly different description of my client’s sites for each directory submission. That way, I can gauge which descriptions are more effective in terms of encouraging people to click and also which directories are providing my clients with most traffic. Many directories feed their database results to other engines and directories, so if I have a description unique to each directory and I see that description pop up on other search sites, I know it is result of that original directory submission and immediately recognize value of that original submission.

Remember that directory editors don’t care about your site’s ranking in their search results. If they are reviewing a site submission that contains an obviously keyword stuffed title and description, they are unlikely to find it appealing or beneficial for inclusion in their database! Always make sure your submission details are relevant, interesting and accurate. Try to highlight your site’s benefits for visitor and unique content that makes it stand out from others in same category. If your site sounds just like a cookie-cutter version of others of same topic, there is no incentive for editor to include it.

Submitting to Yahoo! Directory

There are a couple of sites where you want to take extreme care and do advance research when submitting your site. One of these is Yahoo! Directory. The way you submit your site to Yahoo! can make or break your site’s ultimate ranking in Directory and if you’re not careful, could also cost you USD 299 for nothing.

With Yahoo!’s huge market share and popularity worldwide, I believe it’s vital that your site is listed in Yahoo!’s Directory. The best way to get listed quickly is by paying fee for Express Submission. Yahoo! Express is an expedited fee-based site suggestion service for web sites submitted to Yahoo! directory. A member of Yahoo!'s editorial staff will look at your site, consider your suggestion and respond to you within 7 business days.