Directories are very important in aiding a site’s web visibility. Crawler-based search engines will, upon finding your site on a directory, or string of directories, think about these directories as one-way links. This will then add importance to your site’s relevance in the ‘eyes’ of these search engines and will probably boost the probability of your site being added to their listings.
Relevant reciprocal link exchanges are given some significance by search engines but the most appreciated links, those which are most likely to boost up a sites rankings in the most important SES are one-way links – sites that accept your link without requiring a reciprocal link from you. These links are greatly regarded because of the analysis that other sites must hold your site in high enough value that having your link on their site is good enough without an exchange requirement. Therefore, the more one-way links, the better!
Few, if any, sites today will agree to a one-way link favoring your site. The only way to achieve this is thru submitting to web directories.
Web directories and search engines have made a conscious effort to exclude bulk submitters. You’ve seen the ads – ‘We submit to 1,500 search engines and directories for $10.00, etc.’ Therefore, many directories need your registration and maybe entering a security code. Basically all of these directories need you to provide an email address. Even if hotmail or gmail is frequently accepted, a few directories will ask for an email related to your domain name and will let you submit your site only after verification so it is best to set up an email especially for web submissions.
An important consideration in submitting is to be sure the directory has a page rank of no less than three. Four or more is better – the reason being that the big search engines like Google and Yahoo will attach more relevance to the link if the directory is well rated. In fact, submitting to a directory with a low or no page rank can – if done frequently – lower your own site’s page rank.
One of the most excellent sites in which to find relevant web directories is Vile Silencer (www.vilesilencer.com) . This site will direct you to suitable directories and even displays the page rank of each directory.
As directories are search engines edited by humans, thorough homework should be made by the site owner or webmaster prior to submission. Make clear in your mind that you offer to the point description of the sites offering, staying inside the word allowance limits of the directories. Additionally, the description should not consist of such self-promotional terms as ‘the best’, ‘the largest’ or ‘best prices’. Directory editors think about this marketing hype and will definitely decline the submission.
Concerning cost, several directories suggest the option of free in addition to paid submissions. A lot of older directories with a large database may no longer accept free submissions – even though some still allow freebies in spite of their size. Newer directories nearly always allow free submissions in order to more quickly increase their database. The larger these directories grow up, the more their significance on the web becomes and the more possibly they are to charge for submission.
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Wednesday, 3. June 2009
Do you think there is any downside to directory submission. Or can you be hurt by too many directories?