What are web directories? A web directory is a service based website that lists other websites in categories. Think of the phone book (Yellow Pages for example), its the same principle except online! Web directories will usually list the site, a description, a hyperlink to the page, and sometime even an thumbnail image of the homepage. Web directories are not search engines, they do not associated web pages by keywords, only by category. Most web directories get their listings from site owners, who are eager to get their sites listed to increase their visibility online. You will usually notice a prominent link to 'Submit a Link' or 'Add Url' or similar, which will take you to a form to fill out your site details. The directory owner will then review the submission and add or remove the site depending on suitability. Why should I get my site listed in a web directory? Well, there are a few good reasons for getting your site listed in a directory : Reach. In the old days it used to be said "Build it and they will come". To some extent that's true, but on the most part you need to reach out and get the people to come to you. A web directory listing will contribute to your site reach by putting your site in front of people. Exposure. Established web directories have lots of traffic on a day to day basis. Getting you site listed into your category of choice will mean that should receive targeted traffic to your site. SERP rank, or search engine result page rank. Having links to your website, from other websites, means that your ranking goes up in search engines. This contributes to your page being higher up in the results page (page 1 as opposed to page 10 for example). Web directory listing types when submitting your site for inclusion in a web directory, you should bear in mind the following: Directories have various types of listings, often dependent upon the price paid for inclusion. Paid Submissions - a one-time or recurring fee is charged for reviewing/listing the submitted link Free Submission - you can get your link listed free of charge Reciprocal Link - to get listed you must place a link back to the directory on your site No Follow - there is a rel="nofollow" tag added to your hyperlink, which essentially means search engines will not follow the link back to your site Featured Listing - the link is given a premium position in a category (or multiple categories) or other sections of the directory, such as the homepage Bid for Position - you can place a bid for a position on the page Affiliate links - where the directory earns commission for referred customers from the listed websites
Things to take into consideration There are more benefits to getting your website listed in directories than not, however, some advice from a veteran directory submitter : The free web directories are great, set up a reciprocal link and your away. If you just want your site listed, and you are not bothered about enhancing your SERP rank then fire away to all of the free directories. If, however, like me you are interested in getting a higher page rank I usually go for the Paid Submission, or Bid for Position links, and I'll tell you the reason why; Its a One Way Link to your site, and usually from a directory with a high page rank which is gold dust in SEO terms. What this means is that google, or yahoo or any other search engine which values the links to your page, will give you a better ranking for the link. Happy Submitting!
