Google VS Yahoo Search - Three Important SEO Differences
June 7th 2009 10:07 PM
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Google and Yahoo made up 85% of US search engine queries in April 2009. Google owns 64% of the search engine market in the US, while Yahoo comes in at 20%.
The search engine results can be quite different because of the different search algorithms each one uses. It’s important to know what these differences are so you can incorporate them into your optimization strategies.
Here are three important differences between Google and Yahoo’s search engine algorithms:
Age of Domain
Google places a much higher emphasis on the age of a domain than Yahoo does. Yahoo does favor older sites as well, but the impact is far less pronounced than Google.
This is why optimizing for multiple search engines is so important. Google should be looked at as a long-term strategy. If your website is relatively new, you will find it is easier to rank higher on Yahoo. To get around Google Sandbox Effect, you can purchase a well aged domain to place your website on, or get a link from an existing one.
You can use this tool to check the age of a domain.
Link Quality
Google’s algorithm for determining the quality and reputation of web links is far more advanced and accurate than Yahoo’s. Yahoo simply does not place as much effort in screening the quality of links, and as a result suffers from far more spam in the results than Google.
When optimizing for Google, you must understand that the number and quality of incoming links is a huge factor in determining your ranking success. With Yahoo, you can get away with worse quality links, however I don’t recommend this as it would impact your Google rankings.
Meta Tags
Yahoo places much more emphasis on the content of meta tags such as meta descriptions and keywords than Google. Above all else the description should be optimized for a reader, not a search engine. Clearly describe the content of your meta tags without keyword stuffing or sounding spammy and you will find much better conversions and click-throughs to your site.
For a more in-depth read on the differences between Google and Yahoo, as well as MSN I recommend reading Aaron Wall’s How Search Engines Work.
Do you optimize for Yahoo as well as Google? What are some differences you’ve seen between the search engines? Please share your thoughts below.
My name is Omar Zaibak. I live in Toronto, Canada and founded Blue Falcon Marketing to share marketing strategies.
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I don’t use Yahoo Much..I prefer and will stick to GOogle itself! Any feedback on Google’s New Searchology concept?