How to Get Listed in Directories

Why Are Directories Useful?

Before I go over how to get your site listed in web directories, I want to say a few words about why you want to get listed. Most web directories do not provide a huge flow of traffic, so what’s the big deal? Well first they do provide a small amount of traffic and any traffic is good traffic, but the web directory’s real purpose is to create in-bound links.

Web directories increase the number of in-bound links to your website which increases your PageRank and that’s a good thing. Also directories like DMOZ are reproduced by webmasters, so by getting into DMOZ can literally get you listed in over a hundred directories.

Preparing to Submit to Directories

Before you submit your website to any web directory, you should first check a few things. First make sure your website is working on all browsers, is online, and contains unique content. If your website isn’t accessible or your site contains all duplicate content, your chances of getting your site listed will be less.

The next step is to prepare a small snippet of text on your site. Most directories will ask for a description when you submit your site to the directory. The description of the site is important, so do take your time writing it. Write your description in plain language, describing the site as accurately as possible. Don’t forget to throw in a few keywords into the description.

Most directories will ask for the same information. I generally find it to be a good idea to open up notepad and paste all that information into a new document so that I can just copy and paste to fill the fields.

Which Directories Should I Submit To?

DMOZ
DMOZ is the Open Directory Project, a massive, human-edited directory, and probably the most reproduced one of them all. It is free to submit to, but submissions may take anything up to six months to be processed. DMOZ is important to get added to because it is reproduced by other webmasters so that your submission can literally turn into 100 within a few months.

Yahoo Directory
Yahoo has their own directory which is quite popular, but it takes quite some time to get listed just like DMOZ. They do offer a 7-Day Guaranteed submission, but it’s costly at $299.

GoGuide
GoGuide popped up when Go.com went away from the search engine industry. It’s a fairly good directory, but it’s also $69.95 to get listed.

Niche Directories
Niche directories and small webmaster owned directories are generally just as good as the paid options for in-bound links. However, they probably won’t direct a lot of traffic to your site. DMOZ has a category full of over 1000 different directories, so have a look there to find a few to submit to.

I’m Lazy Do I Have to Do This?
For those lazy webmasters out there, you have two choices when it comes to directories. You can either decide to not submit your site to any web directory (not recommended) or pay someone to submit your site to them. If you go over to DigitalPoint’s Services Forum you can find plenty of offers from people willing to submit to directories for you. One thing to look for is a good rating and review of their work and a promise that they do the work by hand.

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