Yahoo! is still the most used portal on the internet, responsible for about 18% of all searches. It started life as a directory with real human beings considering all sites, but now it also draws some of its content from other sources. To achieve a worthwhile listing prominently on the first page of results is not easy, but it is possible if you are prepared to do what it takes. Be warned however that it will probably involve buying domain names and might even mean you have to acquire an alternative postal addresses.

Here’s a step by step guide:

1. Decide on one keyphrase that combines what surfers type in most to find the product or service you offer. (If you offer 100 products, my advice is 100 websites.). Remember, one keyphrase as this is the fundamental building block of search engine optimisation. Use wordtracker.com to help you decide on that phrase. It should be something like "murder mystery games" or "search engine optimisation". Dream up twenty phrases, then use wordtracker.com to dream up another two hundred. Next, delete all the phrases that are only typed in by a few people, or are not actually relevant, and preferably choose the most popular phrase. When you have got the perfect two or three word phrase, you should also have an idea of the potential number of visitors to your site each day and this is very valuable information.

2. Now you have the phrase, buy a URL (web site address) that closely mimics that phrase. Add a hyphen or two if necessary, choose .info, .biz .org if necessary - even .ws. (Go to www.ws.ws for more info) if you are really stuck. As a last resort, you could buy www.your-key-phrase-inc.com and rename your company or set up a subsidiary.

3. Write your whole website based around your keyphrase using it as the heading and concentrating all content on that keyphrase. There is lots of information out there on the net about search engine optimisation, follow it carefully otherwise all your effort will be wasted.

4. Write a title (which should just be your keyphrase) and a short description (which should start with your keyphrase) and keep them handy for using when submitting.

5. If you want to be sure to succeed and you also want to attract US surfers, just go to www.overture.com and get ready to pay, forever, to be at the top. Sorry, but that is the penalty of free market forces. (UK users see Espotting results on a 6 month trial basis.) If you are not ready for this commitment, then prepare to spend 299 dollars per year instead, but you must accept that you will not be at the top.

6. Type the keyphrase into your regional Yahoo! and spend some time looking at the results. With different keyphases the make-up of results and their data source differs drastically, hence so will your strategy. For instance, if you type in "news", Yahoo! spends half the page displaying categories of results, NOT results per se. Only the bottom half of the page lists web sites found in the Yahoo! directory. In this instance see if there is a category near the top that closely mimics your site content. If so, adapt your site to make sure it matches exactly, (even getting a postal address if necessary), and submit there. If the search term is more obscure, say "Redhill Diving Club", you may see that ALL results are fed by Google, meaning Yahoo! does not yet have a direct match to your keyphrase. In this instance, choose the best Yahoo! category for you to be in as you MAY be lucky enough to stand alone and proud at the top of the list.

7. When you have selected your category click on "suggest a site" near the bottom of the page and read every instruction that Yahoo! gives. You will be asked to pay in order to have your site considered and there is no alternative to getting out your credit card unless the site is a not-for-profit organisation.

8. If money is tight and you really cannot afford to pay for consideration by the Yahoo! directory you could continue researching keyphrases and pick a phrase which only returns Google results. After Yahoo! has displayed five Overture results, and its own directory results, it then displays Google results. You could optimise your whole site for Google - but that is the topic of a separate article. However - a word of warning before you spend many hours going down this route. Yahoo! took on Google's results for an eighteen month contract only. Google is really a competitor of Yahoo! and Inktomi, that previously fed results to Yahoo!, desperately wants Yahoo!'s business back.