More details about LookSmart's express submission option, from when it launched. No, Yahoo is not selling listings nor bumping up sites in the rankings in return for payment. It is selling the ability to be considered more quickly. More about how the program works. There are plenty of companies that work to influence the non-paid listings at search engines, and as this article points out, it's a major business.
Some purists hate the idea of search engines selling listings.
But the reality is that paid listings are already being sold through third party optimization companies. This article looks at one example involving State Farm Insurance. Corp. All Rights Reserved.