Directory Submissions for Search Engine Optimization
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.
