Journal fragmentate's Journal: YSS/SiteMatch eXchange/Yahoo!
Ovid (whoever that is) has a good analysis of a tool we're forced to comply with. The problem is, the only ones that can validate the data is Yahoo! We've been submitting these XML like files sans the XML header. In their specification they require it, but, frankly it confuses our browsers.
How does this kind of "work" get into something as big as Yahoo!? You'd think that Yahoo! would have scoured the Inktomi code to either learn what to do, or what not to do. It really is annoying to have to validate this stuff via e-mail rather than using an XML parser.
What?! XML can be parsed?! What a novel idea!
But that's not really the only issue with YSS (formerly SMX, formerly Paid Inclusion). Basically what this service provides is a means to appear in their natural search results. In other words, your site sucks, you haven't cleaned it up. You have URLs that are hideously long and conflagrated. Yet, for a price, you can appear mixed in with sites that have spent years trying to make their place in the supposed "natural" results.
It's hokey to begin with, and what's worse is Yahoo!'s clients bear all of the responsibility for the unverifiable file format. It's a good deal for Yahoo! They do practically nothing. You have to find the keywords, and they have to be the right keywords. Which keywords are right is subjective -- and Yahoo! is the judge. If they know what your keywords should be why don't they just give them to you? Then, after you do all the work for them, you have to pay them!
I'm in the right business!
How does this kind of "work" get into something as big as Yahoo!? You'd think that Yahoo! would have scoured the Inktomi code to either learn what to do, or what not to do. It really is annoying to have to validate this stuff via e-mail rather than using an XML parser.
What?! XML can be parsed?! What a novel idea!
But that's not really the only issue with YSS (formerly SMX, formerly Paid Inclusion). Basically what this service provides is a means to appear in their natural search results. In other words, your site sucks, you haven't cleaned it up. You have URLs that are hideously long and conflagrated. Yet, for a price, you can appear mixed in with sites that have spent years trying to make their place in the supposed "natural" results.
It's hokey to begin with, and what's worse is Yahoo!'s clients bear all of the responsibility for the unverifiable file format. It's a good deal for Yahoo! They do practically nothing. You have to find the keywords, and they have to be the right keywords. Which keywords are right is subjective -- and Yahoo! is the judge. If they know what your keywords should be why don't they just give them to you? Then, after you do all the work for them, you have to pay them!
I'm in the right business!
