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Get Quality Directory Links To Your Site

Always read the submission guidelines before submitting

Description: To get listed in a directory, you submit your web site URL using the directory's submission (add URL) form. Your submission is then reviewed by a human editor and ranked according to the description provided on the form.

Reviewers check every submission to decide if it belongs in the directory, and if it was submitted to the most appropriate category.When submitting to any directory, be sure to keep your reviewer in mind! Directories are different from Search Engines, they do not spider pages. Humans review and decide what gets into a directory.

Always read the submission guidelines before submitting, and follow them closely. As with everything in life, being polite and following the rules will get you far. Reviewers can change the content of submissions at will, so think about your Web site as objectively as possible and prepare accordingly.

Choosing the best category must be done with care.

One good method involves doing a search using the most relevant keyword phrases for your site, and noting which categories pop up. Look for the most appropriate category and choose the category your site truly belongs in, not the one where you'd prefer to see it.

Choose subcategories over top-level categories. If you submit to a top-level category even though appropriate subcategories are available, there's a good chance your submission will be denied. Similarly, if your site is local in nature, be sure to submit it to the appropriate geographic region.

Once you've decided upon the most appropriate category, find and click the "add a site" (or submit URL) link. Now you're ready to begin the submission process.

Getting listed in Wikipedia

Wikipedia is an open source encyclopedia (not reaaly a directory) that anybody can contribute to. In most pages you are allowed to suggest some related sites.

If the topic is not too competitive then chances are if you add your link, it will remain there for a long time. However, in competitive topics we have found that links get removed very quickly, sometimes within hours. Anyway, it does not hurt to try. Find out how exactly your site could get listed in this incredibly successful directory/encyclopedia.

 

Steps to your Internet Success

In choosing a title, most directories do not allow you much leeway. To be safe, a good rule of thumb is to use your company name or the official name of your Web site. Adherence to this rule varies by directory, however. Yahoo! is very strict and allows company or Web site names only. Along with optimizing key pages of a Web site for good rankings in the spidering search engines, it's usually necessary to create individual directory descriptions and submit them to the major Internet directories.

The Web site description posted with your URL is a big factor in how your site will rank once it's listed in the directory. It is very important to do this right the first time. If you put too much promotional jargon in your description or make it too long, for example, the editors are sure to change it. When they do, you can bet your keywords won't appear in the final listing.

Be concise, be sensible, and, most of all, include your most important keywords whenever possible. Move words around until you have the shortest yet most descriptive sentence possible. If you do this correctly, chances are the editors won't change it. They'll appreciate the fact that you saved them editing time.

Be sure the words you're using in your description appear on the pages of your Web site. If they don't, and the site appears to be about subjects other than what you described in your form, your description might be edited. If you don't have a good grasp on how to do this, you might want to have a professional do it for you. Remember it is very difficult to change a site description once it's listed in most Internet directories.

Once you've taken the steps described, your submission should be successful. Each directory has its unique procedure, but the basics of choosing the most appropriate category and creating the best description apply across the board. Nevertheless, some Web sites can't be rewritten or redesigned as necessary to achieve good rankings in the spidering search engines. Examples would be highly graphical or Flash sites.

However, when submitted carefully and correctly, these sites can still achieve good rankings in the major directories such as Yahoo!, Zeal and DMOZ.

 

Directories and Search Engines Provide Each Others' Results

If a search turns up nothing in the directory's database of sites, it will instead show the Search Results from one of the spidered engines. All the directories use one of the major engines. Most Search Engines also provide directory results, in addition to their own Search Results based on their own relevancy algorithms. All of them use one of the "Big 2" (Yahoo!, DMOZ, Zeal).

Directories such as Yahoo!, DMOZ and LookSmart, make you submit all the information about your site, including its URL, Title and brief description, using their special submit form. From the information you provide on this form, their human editors make the final decision on how your site gets listed in their Directory.

Search Engines such as AltaVista, Google, and HotBot have you submit only your Web site address (URL). Using the URL only, their automatic robotic spiders go to work "reading" your site and soaking up the pertinent information that it naturally supplies.

 

Finding Second Tier and Speciality Directories

Once you got your site listed in the major directories you might want to look beyond and get more quality inbound links from other directories such as the so called Second Tier Directories and the Specialty and Niche Directories since it is important to find credible sites that are willing to link to our site.

Good quality links bring traffic in their own right, along with establishing link popularity and PageRank. Unfortunately, it's difficult to figure out where to find places that will list your site.

As search engines place more and more emphasis on "link popularity," web site owners find themselves pressured not only to optimize their site, but to find other quality web sites in their niche market that are willing to link to their web site. Many niche web directories like Business.com, IRED.com and MedMarket.com are willing to list your web site, but at a price. For those web site owners that are working on a tight budget, paying for every link is not only expensive, but not in their budget. But don't despair; there are many quality, free niche directories out there. The biggest challenge is finding them.

 

Here are three Ways to find free Niche Directories

Search Engine Search: Go to a major search engine, and type in general keyword(s) related to your site. Usually, well-ranking niche directories will place in the Top 10 search results.

Click through to the site and look for an "Add a Link" or "Join Vendor Directory" button or link somewhere in the navigation to list your site in that directory.

Directory Search: Go to a standard directory, like the Google Directory, and click on "Reference." Click on "Directories" and then select the major category that relates to your web site.

Competition's Links: Go to a search engine and search for the web sites linking to your competitor by typing in link:http://www.competitorswebsite.com.

Then click on each link and find directories that your competitor submitted their site to. You can also go to your competitor's site using the Google Toolbar's Page Info Backward Links feature or the Alexa Toolbar's information on "sites linking in".

However please keep in mind that both tools won't list all the incoming links. Keep in mind that you might have to go through several directories before you find some quality, free niche directories that are right for you; however, your persistence will pay off.

You will find some great directories that will boost your link popularity and maybe even bring in some quality, targeted traffic as well.

Directory Submission Service

Get experts to do the site submission for you and concentrate on building the business.

If you feel this process would take too much of your time or you would leave it to experts who might have a higher probability in getting a site listed below are some resources. Most experts have years of experience submitting to Internet directories, and know how to carefully craft directory descriptions that utilize your important keyphrases. Expert descriptions usually have a better chance of receiving favorable editing by directory editors, because experts understand each directory's submission criteria.

Directory submission services normally include keyphrase research to find the most appropriate keyphrases for your site; carefully crafted directory descriptions utilizing your most important keyphrases; as well as category research to ensure your site is submitted to the most appropriate category in each directory.

 

How to find directories that would increase your Search Engine Rankings

Directory submissions if done right could be a great way to increase the number of links to your website and hence increasing your rankings says Pierre Zarokian of Submit Express, Inc. One major benefit the directory links provide is that the link would be from a highly relevant category to your site, which now days could be a factor in deciding the theme of your site and helping you rank better for keywords related to that topic.

When doing directory submissions there are several factors to look for in picking the right directories and not wasting your time or money.

 

Does the directory have a PageRank?

Check if the directory has a high PageRank. A PageRank of at least 5 is preferred for the main page. Also, check the internal category pages of the directory to see if PageRank is passed on to the internal pages, most importantly you want the category that your site would possibly be listed under to have a at least a PageRank of a 2.

The way the Google PageRank system works is that a link from a higher PageRank page will give you a higher value. Getting links from low value PageRank sites is a waste of time, unless you think the PR will go up sometime in the next few months.

 

Does the directory use dynamically generated pages that have trouble getting indexed in search engines?

A quick way to find out if the category pages of the directory are getting indexed would be to use the site command in Google and Yahoo to see if there are many pages that are indexed. The command is typed in the following format in Google search box: Site:www.domainname.com

If you see hundreds of pages listed with their own unique title tags and descriptions, that is a good sign that the directory is search engine friendly and you should continue to the next step. If not, forget about using this directory.

 

Does the category that you are submitting to have too many sites listed?

Preferably you want to be listed on a page of the directory that does not have too many other sites listed. We prefer 25 sites or less per page and no more than 50 at worst case scenario.

Google has published in their Webmaster Guidelines page to keep links under 100. However, the way the Google PageRank system works is that the more links on a page the lesser value is passed on to each site, so you should try to find categories that do not have too many other sites listed.

Does link credit get passed on to the sites listed in the directory?

Pick several random sites from the directory, preferably from pages with at least a PR 3 and check their backlinks in Google, Yahoo and MSN.

- In Google and MSN you would check by the following syntax:
link:www.domainname.com

- In Yahoo type in this format:
linkdomain:www.domainname.com

Check the results and see if there is a link from the particular directory appearing in the search results. This might be a little time consuming if you get hundreds of backlinks in the results. If the link command is showing hundreds of links for the site you checked, it is probably good idea to skip checking that one and go back to directory and pick another site to check. Keep doing this until you find a site with less than 50 links. Then go though the search results to see if you can find a result showing a link from the directory.

Most of the time Google would not show backlinks to many of the sites from the directories in question, especially if the PageRank of the category of the directory we were checking was less than 4. However, this does not mean it is a bad directory. Keep checking several sites, maybe about 10-20 and if you find at least one backlink in Google then that is a very good sign.

Usually Yahoo and MSN display more backlinks then Google does, so it also could mean that directory links could benefit you more in Yahoo and MSN, more than in Google. If you do not find backlinks in Google to justify a submission to the particular directory, do not discount that directory, because you could still get a benefit in rankings in Yahoo and MSN.

Should you choose free directories or fee based directories?

Many free directories are tough to get in due to the volume of submissions they receive. In addition, many are not actively adding new sites as the owners are either too busy or already make enough money from advertising or paid submissions to bother looking at free submissions. However, if you have the time and you feel that the free directory you are looking at is an important one and there are signs that it is getting updated often, then go ahead and submit to them, if the above criteria pass.

In the other hand fee based directories offer a guaranteed review within a few days, but not necessarily a guaranteed inclusion! Make sure to read the submission criteria before you submit, because sometimes if your site does not correspond to their standards, then your site would get declined and you would most often no get a refund.

There are hundreds of directories that have a low submission fee of $20.00 to $40.00 that are defiantly worth the price. There are a few such as Yahoo and business.com that charge much more, which should still be considered due to their popularity and authority.

Should you choose general directories or industry related directories?

In our opinion both general directories and industry related directories would benefit your rankings as long as they pass our criteria above. In addition, some industry specific directories might bring you additional traffic, so you should definitely try and find specific directories in your industry and consider getting listed in them.

Now we are going to do some of the leg work for you and recommend some good directories that we have found based on the above criteria. Please note we have broken down the directories in free or fee based, but some directories might have both options, which would be indicated.

Free Directories

Yahoo: $299.00 (Annual Fee)
A listing in Yahoo directory is very beneficial in rankings, especially in Google. Most Yahoo directory pages have high PageRanks and it makes sense paying this fee to get listed in Yahoo, if the category you would be listed under has at least PR 3 or more. Otherwise try this method to get listed for free.

Business.com: $199.00 (Annual Fee)
Business.com is a B2B directory, so you can only submit if you provide services or products to businesses. In certain occasions some consumer sites get through the cracks, but most often you might get declined if you submit a consumer related site and loose your submission fee.

Business.com recently raised their directory submission fee from $99.00/yr to $199.00/yr. With this fee hike, there might be better places that you could spend this money and you should only consider getting listed in Business.com, if you are in a highly competitive industry and the category that you would be listed at has at least a PR 3.

GoGuides.org: $39.99 (One Time Fee)
GoGuides.org was formed by an ex-editor of the original GoGuides Directory which was part of Infoseek. Infoseek was bought out by Disney several years ago and renamed to go.com and the GoGuides directory was put to sleep.

This directory has done a good job to bringing back to life a similar version of the old directory. The main page has PR 6 and many internal pages have high PR.

Gimpsy: $40.00 (One Time Fee) or Free
Here is another directory with a PR of 6 and internal category pages having high PR's. The fee based submission will also list you in the top of the category for 90 days. The free submission states that it would take over 4 months to get reviewed, and they will also refund you $20.00 if your submission is declined.

Best of the Web: $29.95 Regular Sites and $49.95 Adult Sites (One Time Fee)
This one has a PR of 7 on the main page and many internal categories of PR 5. This is one of the oldest directories on the net and has been around since 1994.

Microsoft Bcentral Directory: $49.00 (Annual Fee)
The main page has PR 7 and most internal pages have high PR. The only problem with this one is that it lists 10 sites a page, so new submissions might end up on the bottom or last page which has the least PR.

Before you submit, check the category that fits your site best and go to the last page to see if it has PR of at least 3.

 

Resources

Directory Submission Service: WTR Directory Submission Service, HighRankings, Submit Express

Major Directories
2nd Tier Directories
Specialty Directories and Niche Hubs
Free non-reciprocal Directories

Specialty Search Engines

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