SEO Directories – A Godsend?
Author: Danny Wirken

Directories have been around for some time now, even longer
than search engines have. Directories, like search engines, are
used by people to search for websites containing the information
they seek. However, the way they do the search and present their
results are very different. Search engines use web crawlers to
find and index websites on their own and will produce search
results from the database of these indexed sites. Although
there is an Add URL page in some search engines, websites
generally are added to the search engine's index automatically
and not via submissions. On the other hand, websites owners
need to submit their URL directly to directories in order to be
included in the directories' database. The submitted websites
are then placed under specific categories with each site having
a brief site description. Most directories take some time to
approve websites before they can be added to the directories'
listing.

Traffic from Directories

Although, as mentioned earlier, directories arrived in the
Internet scene before search engines did, search engines have
become the more popular way for searching websites. With the
advent of search engines people have come to question the
viability of directories and whether people still use them to
search for websites. In David Wallace's article on Directories
and Your SEO Campaign – Love 'Em or Hate 'Em, he found the
answer to this question by going to his web servers that track
all the activity in his websites. He found that not
surprisingly most of his traffic came from search engines but
that there were some directory referrals that still existed as
well. Though it is true that in comparison to the traffic that
search engines generate for web sites the traffic from
directories seem measly, a website owner should not discount
the importance of this traffic. As they say every cent counts,
rather, every visitor counts.

SEO and Directories

Directories, however, have a new use for website owners,
especially those who are SEO conscious. SEO people know that
link popularity is very important when it comes to scoring well
in order to get higher page ranks and thus get listed among the
top results of search engines' results pages (SERPs).

There are two important factors in link popularity. One is the
quantity of links and the other is the quality of links. SEO
Directories help websites in that they are able to boost a
website's link popularity as soon as a website is added to the
directory. This is because the directories can pass a large
quantity of links from various websites belonging in the same
category of a specific website. In addition to this good
directories are selective in the quality of websites they allow
to be added in their listing. Hence, the quality of links passed
on by directories is almost always of good quality. So once a
website is listed in a directory it is almost always sure that
the site's link popularity will rise and so will the site's
page rank.

New Websites and Directories

SEO directories are also very useful for new websites in that
web crawlers usually crawl directories and get to index new
sites from there. Although a website can submit its URL to
search engines, search engines prefer automated indexing of
sites. Aside from getting noticed by search engines new sites
should keep in mind that being listed in a good directory will
automatically give them a good link popularity instead of the
site having to build it up slowly. It is possible for a new
site to establish high link popularity without being part of a
directory but it would take much effort and time and will most
probably not even happen to many websites unless the site is if
superior quality.

Choosing a Good Directory

When choosing a directory to submit your website to, there are
several factors to keep in mind: the directory' reputation or
quality, the cost of getting listed, the length of time it
takes to get listed upon submission. In the last few years
there have been quite a number of new directories that have
popped up. However some of these directories offer virtually no
quality control and tend to accept any kind of website that
submits themselves for listing. Although the nature of
directories are supposed to be such that only sites of quality
get listed, the new breed of indiscriminate directories, whose
real purpose is to simply build link popularity for the
websites has marred the reputation of directories as a whole.
Google and other search engines of course quickly caught on to
the new questionable practice of trying to get higher link
popularity in this way. Because of this Google has been banning
some directories and have given less value to the links found in
others. This is entirely justifiable since link popularity, as
mentioned earlier, depends on the quality of links, and since
the directories accept websites of even low quality then
naturally the value of links from these sites is going to low.
It is therefore imperative that website owners do some research
on the web directory they plan to submit their website to since
and submit to only those with sound reputation.

Cost is also always a factor in choosing directories. For low
budget sites there are plenty of directories out there that
offer free listing. Usually the free listing of course comes
with conditions like slower processing time, being required to
have a reciprocal link, or being a volunteer editor. The
condition that comes with it is worth it though and shouldn't
be a big issue. The free directories usually give websites the
option of not having to deal with the conditions if the website
opts to pay a minimal one time fee. The only directory that
remains to be truly free is the Open Directory or Dmoz.
Websites aren't given the option to pay but the processing time
is reputed to be particularly long especially if the volunteer
editor of the website's category is not very active. The length
in processing time is however worth it for quality sites since
Dmoz is known for accepting only websites of high quality.
There are also plenty of options for paid directories out there
with prices ranging from a $25 one time fee to as much as a $299
annually recurring fee. Whatever directories you choose to
submit to, whether paid or free or a combination of both,
remember that the quality of the directory should be your first
consideration. Remember also that before you do submit your
website for listing on any directory be sure that you have made
your site as appealing, full of fresh and quality content, and
as of high quality as possible. This would not only ensure
inclusion in the directories' listings but would determine your
site's success as well.


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