Now that search engines like Google produce accurate search results, more and more users find themselves using a search engine to find what they’re looking for.  So are directories listings completely useless?  The simple answer is: “No…well at least not all of them”. 

What you will find is many ‘General Directories’ out there are loosing their significance.  General directories tend to produce little to no traffic whatsoever.  If you’re submitting your website to a general directory simply for ‘link juice’; don’t be mistaken – major search engines can acknowledge the fact that there is little relevance between your website and the general directory you submit to, and therefore putting very little weight on the link established.  There are a select few general directories that are still worth submitting to.  My top 3 include:

http://www.dmoz.org – Free submission (but probably the hardest directory to get in to), and most likely the most valuable directory link you can create.  If you get into this directory, you are also in Google’s Directory, since Google uses Dmoz results for their own directory.  

http://dir.yahoo.com – This paid submission directory has a recurring annual fee of approximately $300.  Yahoo directory provides a very trusted link and also generates  quite a bit of traffic.

http://botw.org – This paid submission directory has 2 options for payment.  You can either pay a recurring fee of approximately $100, or $250 for a one time fee.  This directory has been around the longest and boasts the fact that they only cater to the ‘best of the web’.  BOTW is a very trusted link according to the search engines.

If you are a business than you might want to look into http://www.business.com. This paid directory is very good for businesses in many industries.  It also has a pricy recurring fee, just like Yahoo!, but has a fair bit of traffic and also provides a trusted link.

The future of directory submissions and link building for search engine optimizers is in niche directories.  By submitting to a directory in your niche market, you are creating links that are much more related to your content and thus more trusted by the search engines.  Ultimately you can expect higher search engine rankings by creating fewer, more trusted links; as apposed to 10 times the amount of less important links.

For example, if you are a Canadian mortgage company you may want to look for mortgage directories or perhaps even real estate directories.  Another good option is to seek Canadian based directories where you can submit your website to.  All these directories would be highly relevant and would be more beneficial than submitting to spammy, general, low traffic directories.

There are a few good lists of directories out there.  One fantastic, but more general directory one is: http://www.avivadirectory.com/strongest-directories/.  

In essence, stick with the top general directories, and search for the niche / relevant directories to submit to.  Directory listings should not be your only means of link building, but should be one of several means of building valuable one-way back links.

So many people ask me - How did you learn search engine optimization?  The truth of the matter is, you never stop learning.  ‘The day you stop learning is the day you die’, and that also applies to your website’s rankings when your no longer staying current with today’s SEO. 

I started off like any other person curious about learning search engine optimization.  I Googled various terms like ‘SEO’, and was overwhelmed with millions of results.  Many sources seem to have repetitive information.  Sure you will also find a variety of perspectives - but who can you trust with your SEO knowledge? 

Over a period of time, I have researched various SEO resources and have developed a top 5 list.  This is not to say that these are the top resources for SEO necessarily…this just happens to be my favourite ones.  The below list is in no particular order:

1. www.seobook.com
2. www.bruceclay.com
3. www.seomoz.org
4. www.searchenginewatch.com
5. www.google.com/support/webmasters/   

I know the last one is a little ironic because it’s Google.  But hey, if anyone is going to tell you how you can market your website properly and rank well on the largest search engine in the world…than that person must be Google.

When building a website you must focus on the functionality of your site.  In other words – how are users going to easily navigate, search and find what their looking for on your website?  Building a user friendly website can be quite tricky for some new designers.  However, if you can design and build a proper website from the start, you will save yourself from having to re-design your site in the near future.  Here are some useful tips that you should consider when building your website:

Creating a Sitemap

Whether your website is 4 pages or 4000 pages, you need to have a text-based sitemap.  It’s imperative that you have static links of all your pages directly on the sitemap.  If you’d like you can provide a short description of what each page is about right beside each static link.  This will allow users to find what their looking for more efficiently.  Having a sitemap also allows the search engines to easily spider your entire website and index all of your pages.

Consistent Design & Layout

When designing a new website make sure that each component is consistent throughout.  In most cases, a website will have a unique home page layout and inner page design.  The most important factor once again is consistency.  Make sure you have the same color scheme, font, text size and navigational menu throughout your site.  The last thing you want is a user to feel like he/she is going to another website when they click on a link that goes to one of your inner pages.

Navigation

The way you structure your website’s navigation will determine the level of ease your customers can access information.  If this crucial step is not done properly, you face the risk of loosing potential customers.  By providing various visual paths or links to inner pages, you ensure that people can easily find information throughout your site.  One excellent way to do this is through a menu, also known as a menu bar.  A detailed menu bar should be visible on each page on your website.  Most effective menu designs are created down the left side of the web page or across the top.  Since it might not be feasible to include your entire sitemap in the menu bar; pick your main categories / funnels to include.  A drop down menu can be created to include sub-categories within the menu bar.  Also try to avoid using too much flash or complicated java script for you menus.  It may appear to be visually appealing at first, but can just cause a great deal of confusion for your users.

Website Legibility

Make sure your website is legible. A website that can be easily understood, with a professional design layout will maximize your online sales potential.  Using dark text on a light background is the standard practice for creating legible text.  Split up content into short sections and use subheadings to highlight the major topics.  Organize your content with headings, bullet points and accentuate key areas with bold key-phrases.  By making your message clear you can count on users spending more time on your website, and ultimately converting into customers.

Check for Errors

Review your website on a regular basis for content, design and/or technical errors. Having a professional website with spelling and grammar mistakes can destroy the message that you are trying to convey to your audience.  Even if you are working with a professional content writing team – make sure different people are editing your content for grammar/spelling mistakes. 

We all know how frustrating it can be when we browse a site and end up clicking on dead links that lead nowhere. As new pages are created and/or deleted on the World Wide Web, it’s pretty common for a link to go bad.  Check your site for dead links on a regular basis.  Just type in Google “free broken link checker” and you will find plenty of them. Here is one free tool that will display the broken links within your site: www.dead-links.com.

A good way to avoid technical / design errors is to validate your code.  These days, users have many options when it comes to web browsers and this means that your website runs the risk of not displaying properly in one of them.  The best way to avoid this issue is to use validation tools to ensure your web pages are W3C and CSS compliant.  Visit: http://validator.w3.org/ and http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ to diagnose your site’s code. 

Contact Information

No matter what product or service you’re selling, if a prospective client has a hard time contacting you, than they will surely go to one of your competitors who are more easily accessible.  Make sure all your phone numbers are displayed on a contact page.  Sometimes, it’s a good idea to even have your phone number in the top header/banner of your page.  On your actual contact page, include all your phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc.  You can also have a contact form for users to fill out so they can get more information.  Some people prefer to be contacted by an agent, as apposed to calling in right away.  The more contact info you display, the more assessable you become to your users and the more reliable and trustworthy you appear to be.