Directory Submission
If you own a website, then internet directories are a great way of
getting links to your site for free. Directories can be a valuable tool in your Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts for your site. It is very important to get links
to your sites. If you don't have a large number of links pointing to your site then
the major search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo don't list you high in their
search results (SERPS). The only exception would be if there is very little competition
for the keywords that you are using. Of course, links are only one of many factors
but it is likely the most important factor. Most keyword phrases have quite a bit
of competition in the SERPS. If many of these terms are new to you then you many
find this SEO
/ SEM glossary handy. It is part of one of our sister sites http://www.101-SEO-resources.com.
How long does it take?
It usually takes a little while to get the full value of your directory submissions.
Many directories may approve your links the same day but others could take weeks
or months. When you do get listed, you many often get a listing on a fairly new page
(maybe with a pagerank of zero). Pages with lower pagerank usually get spidered by
the search engines less often. It appears that some of the search engines don't assign
full value to new links for a number of months. There is also a bit of a delay until
the effects of new links are reflected in the search results.
Which directories?
There are thousands of internet directories on the web. Some are what we call DMOZ
clones. They just put a copy of DMOZ data. Ignore these as they rarely take submissions
from the public. If you take a quick look at dmoz,
you will get an idea of the category structure so that you can recognize a clone
site.
If your site is focused on a specific subject then I would search for
niche directories in that field. I would then submit to as many as I can find or
can afford. The search engines are getting smarter all the time and they do / will
give more weight to links from sites with similar or related topics. Best Web Directories
has some of the best niche directories listed but if you want a more comprehensive
coverage then I suggest you visit another sister site of our for a complete list
of niche directories.
Web-directories.ws has a list of about 2000 web directories. This website has well
over fifty categories of niche sites like sports, travel, education, business, health,
webmaster, blogs, SEO, religion, hosting, and law. If you own a niche website, you
will find directories that you will really help your SERPS. Remember that the search
engines like links from similar themed sites. For example, if you own a travel site,
a link from a travel site is worth more than a link from a movie site.
The owners of this site know directories well. They have used their
directory experience to offer a manual
directory submission service. For a small fee, you can put your feet up and have
someone else do the tedious submissions. They combine knowledge and web tools to
be able to offer human submissions at a reasonable fee.
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