Search engines such as Google and Yahoo! are leading the way in sorting and indexing the world’s information, making it easy to simply type in keywords and display results. Search engine rankings are a valuable part of marketing any idea or business… whether you are promoting a blog, article, video, or simply a comment, it’s important to know the details about how to write it effectively so that the search engine can index it appropriately. A high search engine ranking not only offers visibility, but you’ll increase your page rankings for similar sites and help with promotions.
Yahoo! Answers has taken user forum participation to an entirely new level. Combining the power of search engines with a human touch, it represents a segment of Yahoo! communities with much success. Users can simply enter questions and answers in a simple text box and use as many resources to link within their responses. Unlike a chat room, Yahoo! Answers only allows users to ask and answer about a range of subjects; there is no ‘free-form’ chatting involved, and the community can rate the best answer as a group effort. Yahoo! Answers is currently used in the United States and around the world. Popular international sites include Canada, India, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, and a U.K.-based version.
Uses of Yahoo! Answers can also become a part of the Yahoo! Publisher Network. This is a place where you can start making money with an integration of Yahoo! Answers. Users of Yahoo! Answers can submit a question or response on a variety of subjects. After a question is submitted, it is indexed within the appropriate category section and made available to the community. Any community member can view it, flag it, or provide a response. Instead of counting on an automated process to retrieve information, Yahoo! Answers counts solely on the users in the community. Yahoo! Answers works on a basic point system to encourage user participation. Questions are opened up for four days only, at which point the asker can extend their question if a sufficient answer is not found.
To ask a question, you simply need a Yahoo! account that has a positive score balance. A positive score is assigned each time your respond to another user. Each new user is given 100 points when opening the account, then assigned two points for every answer given, and one point for every vote on an unresolved question. Ten points are assigned if the user’s answer is chosen; it is up to the asker to confirm if the answer was helpful to them or not. Other users can give thumbs up or thumbs down rating based on what was chosen, and this can further bump up the point factors. The point system is also weighted so that users can answer questions appropriately, and limit the amount of spam comments that are prevalent across the network. The levels and points assigned are as follows:
Level & Points
1. 1-249
2. 250-999
3. 1,000-2,499
4. 2,500-4,999
5. 5,000-9,999
6. 10,000-24,999
7. 25,000+
