Submitting to Directories

Submitting to Directories is probably one of the first link building activities most web owners do.

It's one of those tasks that can take a significant amount of time, however it can reward you with lots of well qualified traffic.

Are all Directories worth listing to?

No.

Some directories carry more weight with the search engines than others.

It's worth spending some time to find the better directories. As a start, try looking for directories that specialise in your field of business. They are likely to give a better value link than the more general directories.

Also, look for directories that are moderated by humans. By this I mean that each new listing is reviewed by a human reviewer who will decide if the site is worth putting in the directory or not. It might take longer to get listed but at least your site will be listed alongside other quality sites.

The search engines like quality directories. It's a fact. If you have a link back from a directory that the search engines rate as having quality entries then your link is likely to be given a high ranking. So if you can get onto human moderated directories then that will be worth it.

If the site offers automatic inclusion rather than a human review then take a look at the other sites in the directory. Do they look like quality sites? If they do, then you can submit your site. If not, leave well alone and find another directory.

How to list

It's worth taking some time to prepare before you start looking for directories to submit to.

Most sites will ask you for a description of your site. Generally there will be a limit to how many words you can use for your description. Some sites even encourage a short description and then a longer more detailed description. So it's worth preparing a few descriptions of varying lengths. Three of 50 words, 100 words and 200 words should cover most needs.

Also, you might like to get yourself a separate email address from your normal email address. Most directories will require that you register with them before allowing you to submit a site. For this you will need to give them a contact email address so that they can verify that you exist. Some of the directories can be quite spammy in sending you various offers after you have registered to their site, so this separate email address will help you keep you main email clear of junk.

Once you start submitting to the sites, I strongly suggest you keep a log of who you have submitted to and when. It's useful to know where you have already been and you can check back to see if your link has appeared

Finally, when you are ready to submit to a directory, please do read their submission guidelines. Make sure you comply otherwise you run the risk of not being accepted and wasting all that time.

Directory Submission Software

One of the questions I see a lot on various forums (and one I get asked a lot myself) is whether software XYZ is any good for submitting your software to directories. In a word. No. I would not touch any software for submitting to any directories.

Don't get tempted by the claims that with this piece of software you can submit to thousands of directories quickly and easily.

In general the sites that submit to are not of good quality and usually automated submission sites. Also the search engines are reputed to downgrade links when they see a site suddenly appear for hundreds or thousands of directories. It's much better to slowly appear on various directories as this gives the impression of an organically growing site that is gaining reputation across the web.

Incidentally I would also avoid submission services that offer a low cost to submit you to lots of directories. They are unlikely to place you on quality sites and probably use software themselves.