Sep 9, 2008
Placing your website in directories is one of the easiest and best things to do when building inbound links to a website. However it is important to submit to directories that are reputable and place your website in the correct category.
When launching any website it is best to always list your website with Yahoo’s directory. It costs $299 a year but is worth it. The search engines do take into consideration if a website is listed in the Yahoo Directory. This directory is one of the oldest directories around.
Although some say it is not to valuable when it comes to search engine optimization, the search engines can tell if a website is listed in the Yahoo directory and also know that it cost $299 a year. Most spam companies and fly by night companies will not want to pay $299 a year and the search engines know that. So being listed in the Yahoo directory is important as it shows the search engines your company is here to stay.
Another directory that you should also list in is the DMOZ directory. This is Google’s open source directory. This directory is free and also like Yahoo as it is edited by humans. It may take a while to be listed in the directory so it is important to get listed as soon as you launch your site.
When submitting to both of these directories it is very important to write an effective description about your website. They do not like verbage that looks like an advertisement. It is also critical to get listed in the proper category so search for the most appropriate section.
Other directories to submit to are topical or niche directories. Directory Critic is a good place to go and find good directories. I would submit to all of their best free directories. Then I would submit to directories that are related to your field.
There are several ways to do this. It seems that now days everyone has a list of directories. Searching Directory Critic is a very good place to start. Then you can go to the search engines and type in your keyword followed by directories. So for example if we are targeting swimming pools then I would type swimming pool directories in the search engine.
This will pull back and show all of the directories that are related to swimming pools. This will also act as a qualifier as the search engine is doing the qualifying for you and presenting to you what it feels is the best.
When submitting to directories you will want to use a variety of your keywords for the title and a variation of descriptions. This will look more natural to the search engines. Also you will want to submit to the directories over time and not all in one shot. Constant steady growth is better than one shotgun blast.
There are several pieces of software that can help with this process like Submit Eaze, Directory Maximizer, Submit 2 Please, Directory Submitter and more. You can do your own research to see which one would be the best and easiest for you. Good luck with your submissions.
I’m a representative of Directory Maximizer & would like to commend you on the advice you’ve given your users through this post. However, with your permission there’s one small clarification I’d like to make pertaining to your last statement regarding us… We aren’t a software, we are a Manual Directory Submission Service, that submits client’s websites on their behalf to online directories.
Best Regards