Yahoo! Search Supports NOYDIR Meta Tags

Many webmasters create keyword stuffed site titles to rank higher in search engine rankings. While researching paid submissions in Yahoo Directory, I read about many disappointed webmasters whose search engine results started reflecting data listed in the Yahoo Directory (which was not keyword rich) with a subsequent fall in keyword rankings. The falling popularity of the Yahoo directory (and the inhibitory $299 yearly fee) has prompted them to support the NOYDIR Meta Tags.

Now webmasters have the ability to exclude titles and abstracts from the Yahoo! Directory. They now provide support for ‘NOYDIR’ which will recognize the following Meta tags on your pages:

<META NAME=”ROBOTS” CONTENT=”NOYDIR”>
or
<META NAME=”Slurp” CONTENT=”NOYDIR”>

Now webmasters can participate in the Yahoo! Directory Submit program and benefit from inclusion in the Yahoo! Directory, while maintaining control over URL titles and abstracts in search.

Previously Yahoo had supported the NOODP Meta tag, that lets webmasters indicate that Open Directory Project (ODP) titles and abstracts will not be used in search results for their pages. NOODP is also supported by MSN and Google.