What is directory submission?
Submitting your website to online directories is an off-page optimization technique used to gain backlinks (or inbound links) which can help boost natural search rankings and improve your online presence. It basically involves finding an online directory and submitting your information, such as the domain and a short description, to be listed in the appropriate category.
Three key types of directories include vertical market (industry specific), general purpose, and local business directories. Some directories allow you to submit your information for listing for free, while others require you to pay an annual or monthly fee (known as paid directories or paid listings).
What are some guidelines for choosing quality directories?
It’s worth appearing in all sorts of directories, but it’s especially important that you identify where your competitors are and get listed there as well. Select a directory based on relevance to your industry and target market.
1. Once you’ve identified a few directories of interest, review them to make sure they’re reputable, relevant, have a decent PageRank (a numerical value, between 0 and 10, that Google uses to represent a web page’s importance relative to all other pages on the Web), and are up-to-date, all characteristics of a quality directory.
2. Take it for a test drive. Check the volume, quality, and type of listings, as well as the functionality of the site. If you don’t recognize any of the businesses in your industry and region, or if you only find one or two listings in the top categories when you do a search, it’s probably not worth submitting to that directory.
3. Also, refer to online forms, blogs, and industry sites to find out what people are saying about the directory you’re considering.
4. Beware of directories that require you to provide them with a backlink. If this doesn’t make sense to you and you can’t see how your visitors would benefit, find a different directory.
It is important to note that many of the good free directories hand-select their listings and do not guarantee inclusion, instead automating this process. In these cases, you may have to wait several months before you know if you’ve been listed in the directory. Check back regularly and follow up if you have questions.
What are some trusted general purpose directories?
To help you get started, here’s a list of good general-purpose directories we recommend:
Free:
Dmoz (The open directory project)
exact search
illumiRate
Paid:
Yahoo Directory – $299/year
Best of the Web (BOTW): $99.95/year or $249.95 one-time fee
Business.com – $299/year
What are some tips for finding good industry specific directories?
Find industry-specific directories by searching online for “industry name + directory” and research to find the sites your competitors are listed on by going to Yahoo Site Explorer or typing “link: + www + competitor website” into a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.).
How can I appear in local business directories?
Sign up for local business listings through GetListed.org. This is a great tool for appearing in local search results from Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others, determining listing status, and finding general information and resources about local marketing. Visit the website and enter your business name and zip code to get started.
Also consider getting listed on others like CitySearch (data from this site feeds Ask.com and Bing) and Yelp (data from this site feeds Bing and Yahoo).
I encourage you to be proactive and participate in directory submission as it is a great way to boost your link building efforts and increase your online presence. This is an ongoing process that deserves regular attention and will pay off over time, not overnight. But, the benefits are worth it.