Choosing The Right Directory
Author: Adrian Lawrence

When you're looking for the right directory to list in or to
use for research, it can be a nightmare. Everyone thinks of
Yahoo!, of course, but there are quite literally thousands of
other directories out there, many specialized, others not. How
can you tell the difference?

By being educated on what you're looking for. When you're
looking for the right directories to list in, use the following
guidelines.

1. Everyone lists in free directories. Why not? You can list in
as many as you want, and you're not losing anything by doing so.
Free directories include Yahoo! and Dmoz, as well as hundreds of
others who either use their own listings or license listings
from Yahoo! and Dmoz. You shouldn't stop here, though,
especially if you're running a commercial website.

2. The more directories you're listed in, the more inbound
links to your website you've got. And the more inbound links
your website has, the higher the search engines will rank your
page. Make sure when you create your directory listing to use
your keywords in the text; in some search engines, this will
help your ranking as well.

3. Some of the free directories are not being listed well by
Google and other standard search engines. This is not because
of some nefarious competitive advantage, but because the free
directories often look like search engine spam or because they
don't optimize their sites well. The paid directories are
careful to watch for this; after all, the more hits they get,
the more they can charge for their services.

4. After listing in all the free directories – which you
should, as it costs you nothing but a little time – you should
start listing in the better paid directories. Even though you
have to pay to get in them, they give you an edge that the free
ones don't. For one thing, they're more exclusive, and customers
won't be looking at your competitors as much. For another, as
noted above, the directory will probably place higher in a
search engine. And they tend to be specialized. If you sell
medical equipment, listing in a medical equipment directory
will almost certainly be a worthwhile investment.

5. If you list in really good and specific directories with
proven traffic from customers you want to draw, you're
investing your money in the right place. A few good quality
links will draw the perfect customers for your business.
Finding the right directory is hard, but search for directories
that specialize in your industry and in industries that cross
into yours; for instance, if you provide medical equipment,
don't overlook listings for scientific and laboratory
equipment.

6. The next generation of directories is here now. With sites
like MSN's Small Business Directory, targeted searching for
exactly what you want is easier than ever before. In addition,
many of the newer directories offer you additional small
business tools, more information, specialized content for your
industry, and many other services. You'll only find these with
paid directories.


About The Author: Adrian Lawrence is the webmaster of Indexplex
a leading web directory http://www.indexplex.com . Please feel
free to republish this article provided this resource box
remains together with a working hyperlink.