Submission Tips
for Improving your Approval Rates
to Free Directories

The following tips will help you improve your chances of being accepted in the web directories you submit to. If you are doing a round of directory submissions or paying someone to do it for you, you should try to improve the chances of your site getting approved.

Many free directories receive thousands of submissions per month. I know from experience from the one general directory that I run. It doesn't take long for editors to see patterns in certain types of sites. Spammy looking sites can be declined in seconds, often before even looking at the actual site. You can improve your chances with the following tips.

1. Improve your homepage
   General directory often don't get past the home page so make a great first impression. Ideally, your site should look professional and provide something useful to users.


2. Remove Excessive Adsense
   When someone clicks on your site they should see your content first rather than ads. Advertising should not be overpowering. Adsense ads should never make your content look unimportant. IF it does, your site will not be taken seriously.
   
   Everyday, thousands of sites get created for the sole purpose of making money through Google Adsense clicks. These sites often have scraped (duplicate) content. They may also provide the same information that is available on hundreds of similar sites. To avoid getting confused as one of these sites you should not have excessive amounts of Adsense ads on your site (especially your home page). Adsense ads should not be have all the best real estate on your site. If your site has too much Adsense I would recommend removing some for a couple of weeks after your submission.


3. Titles:
   Your title should describe (in a few words) what your site / page is about. It can also be your Company name. Titles should not be a keyword list. Do not use ALL CAPS.


4. Descriptions:
   Your description can describe (in 150-250 characters) features and benefits of your product or service. Like the title, it should not be a list of keywords. Avoid outlining things that change over time such as prices or sales. The description should not sound overly promotional. Avoid using too many superlatives like best and greatest. Do not capitalize The First Letter Of Every Word.. Today, many directory editors prefer longer descriptions. An original description would be best.
   
   
5. Submit to the appropriate category
   These days, some automated submissions that make it through the image verifications. These submissions are usually obvious because they are submitted to high level categories or inappropriate categories. As a result, fewer and fewer editors are taking the time to correct the category. Its much easier to delete the submission. Take an extra couple of seconds to submit to the most appropriate category.


6. Follow the directories' submission rules.
   Many directories have submission rules. Although many of them may not make any sense to you, the owners have probably implemented them to cut down on the massive amount of questionable submissions they receive. For example many free directories do not approve:
   - internal pages
   - non English sites
   - multiple submissions