These days, you will see lots of SEO experts saying that directory submission are dead and does not counts any worth as like it was to be in couple of last years. Well, this is true to some extent, but it is still possible to rank well in Google search engine through directory submission. However, you should do directory submission to quality directories and this is a little bit tricky part. There are lots of directories but they aren’t worth your time. If you are good with searching then try to find quality directories where you can submit your site, you will be able to rank your website for competitive three word-long keyword phrases.

How to Tell Whether a Directory is Legit?

To get started with directory submission, first you should search for the directories which are related to your niche on one of the major search engines. If you find relevant directories that rank highly on Google, then this is a good sign. Directories that have good value in search engine counts worth for buying the links. If possible, try to avoid free directories because lots of them are not having a good reputation in search engine. However, there are exceptions to this rule of course.

In one more way, you can check the quality of a directory is by examining the submissions and seeing if there are any good sites or not. If you only find low quality linking, sites with low ranking, then it is just a waste of time. You should also make sure that the crawl date of the index page and another page in the directory for the reason that if it has been more than a month, chances are that search engines don’t trust that specific directory. Search engines like Google make manual adjustments so as to diminish links from spammy directories.

Directory Submission Tips

If you want to keep yourself on good side of Google, then do not submit your site to several directories at a time. Give a brake to your submissions for couple of months. Search engines knows this well that SEOs use directory submissions to build links and improve page ranking so keep your campaign simple to avoid being penalized. For example, avoid copy-paste of similar anchors and descriptions on every directory submission. Try changing your directory listings slightly to make your efforts seem less obvious. Take care that your anchor text includes your business name. Don’t use a target keyword alone because it looks suspicious. For example, if you own Web Hosting Company, make sure your anchor text says something like, “Bod Host UK Dedicated Servers“, not something as generic as, “UK Dedicated Servers”.

Directories were one of an easiest ways for SEOs to achieve higher Google rankings but Google took some action to ensure that directory submission would no longer be abused. Generic directories that exist only for selling links possess a big minus in Google’s eyes because they provide little value to users. Google is always interested in providing highly valuable search results so it’s not a surprise that Google devalues links submitted to sub-par directories.

High Quality Directories

Yahoo Directory and DMOZ are the only top directories. It sounds to be pretty expensive when it comes on paying around $299(annual fee) to get listed in Yahoo as of this writing but the investment counts worth. It is not important to submit to the Yahoo directory to rank on Yahoo but it will boost your Yahoo ranking if you do so. Google also trust Yahoo directory. From couple of last years it was hard to get listed in Yahoo but due to recent economy troubles, it has become easy to get accepted, as long as you pay.

DMOZ, also called The Open Directory Project (ODP), is one of the biggest categorized directories of websites and pages, which is maintained by volunteers. Every website and page that is added to the directory is manually reviewed before it is included to the directory. The listing of a website in DMOZ is completely FREE.  You can learn here more on How To Submit Your Site Into DMOZ. Other respected directories include Business.com, the Librarians Internet Index, and GoGuides.

Related posts:

1. The Right Way To Do Directory Submission
2. Why Manual Web Directory Submissions are ideal then Automated Submissions?
3. DMOZ – The Open Directory Project
4. Has Google Stopped Counting Directory Links?
5. Important Questions to be Asked Before Submitting Your Site to Directories