It used to be a business was listed in the phone book and if that business were truly serious about drawing in customers, they might print an ad in the yellow pages. This was the only directory that really mattered, but times have changed and directories have taken on an entirely new meaning. A website for any commercial or even information purpose should be listed in as many online directories as possible for various reasons. Of course, like all things online, some directories are excellent and a valuable tool while others are more than a waste of time and money – they might actually be damaging to your site.

Ideal Directories
The ideal directory is a large project or website with an excellent reputation. If your website is included in such a directory it automatically increases in value in the eyes of consumers and search engines. Human edited directories are immensely popular for this reason alone. While many of these great directories are broad and general in nature, others are more specific to a particular subject or field. Regardless of scope, if a directory is well respected, such as Yahoo, Business.com, or DMOZ, your website has been proven to be of substantial quality and has been prescreened by a human editor.

Poor Directories
Not every directory is well-known or highly respected. In fact, for every popular and quality directory, there are countless others struggling to grow or bouncing along under the radar of most internet patrons. Other directories are little more than a collection of reciprocal links for SEO purposes or perhaps an Adsense collection.

While having your website contained in one or two of these poor directories will most likely not cause harm, if your website is continually found among spam and other junk websites, it can significantly lower its value in the eyes of potential customers as well as search engines. While this is contested to some degree, especially regarding the affects of the bad directory links on search engine rankings, human visitors really will take into consideration the company your site is keeping.

Finding a Solid Directory
While there are a handful of terrific directories, there are also many decent directories that are up and coming. If you are having trouble with the long wait times experiences with most websites submitted to these powerhouse directories, it might behoove you to spend some time and dollars in other directories.

A quality directory will have certain characteristics such as quality descriptions of categories and websites. It will not be filled with spam or nonworking links. Each category of the directory should have a comfortable level of decent sites included, but not too many. If there are quite a few sites in each category, this is a sign that the directory is not as organized as it should be and that more subcategories need to be created. Avoid directories that include junk or spam sites. Directories, especially those with human editors should be clean and free of nonworking links and copied websites. After all, the editors should be screening new submissions and periodically checking to be sure all contents of the directory are meeting the standards of quality for the site.

Submitting Your Site to a Directory
When your site is completed and you are ready to begin submitting that site to directories, have a clear understanding of your purpose in doing so. Are you submitting your website for pure SEO purposes? If so, there are many more things to be done in addition to submissions. Certain directories cater to SEO submissions, however. The more highly a website is ranked by search engines, the more quality that particular directory link will be to your website.

Low ranking directories can still provide decent links, but it is far better to spend a few extra dollars and invest time in finding and meeting the criteria for the largest directories available. These large directories do more than increase search engine ranking. By becoming listed in a directory of this magnitude, you are also making your site much more appealing to visitors.

If you are seeking directory submissions for marketing and advertising purposes, seek out the directories frequented by human visitors. High quality directories for specific areas or subject matter may prove to be even more valuable as visitors will have less to sort through to find your site. Some directories are specific to location, and becoming listed in these is better than being listed in the simple phone directories of the area.

With more individuals searching for businesses and information online, it is crucial to use directories to your advantage. Directories can be beneficial to both search engine rankings and true marketing. Find and begin submitting your website to the best directories available to ensure you stay ahead of the competition and are able to reap the rewards of increased exposure online.

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