Why You Submit to Directories
Introduction
Directories have been well established within the World Wide Web (WWW) since its inception, mapping the web on a scale that automated crawlers (or bots) cannot. The difference in mapping ability is a direct consequence of the human element that most directories utilise. The difference between a directory and a search engine is that a search engine is automatic, it spiders your site through links pointing at it while using computer algorithms to determine the quality of your site. A human edited directory will have a person looking at your site, looking for elements of spam and assessing the user interface that a search engine cannot. A search engine is unable to interact with a site as a human can therefore creating a vast difference in assessment output.
Where Things Went Wrong
Where things in today's WWW society get tricky, is that a few years back, all the hype from the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) forums, was "submit to directories" and all that you can get your hands on. This immediately created a demand for more directories, so scammers, spammers and legitimate owners started up some new sort of directory, though instead of making them a free resource first, and paid second, they simply made them pay for inclusion. In the rush, directories of dubious quality were created with the end result being a feeling of distrust of the directory niche, which still lingers today. Many of the paid directories unable to sustain themselves disappeared taking user's money with them. The search engines cracked down on sites with overwhelming backlinks from directories only and websites suddenly disappeared. Saying this though, Google have recently done this with reciprocal links also.
Directories Today
Directories still have a viable place in today's Internet, and that is that human element of review that search engines still lack. Whilst the scammers and spammers have moved focus to building directories with scraped content (automatic submission from meta data) and the use of contextual advertisements (Google Adsense), instead of paid listings, many less than adequate directories still exist. A simple commonsense decision is required by the user whether to list with that directory, or not.
Whilst this is going on in every niche upon the WWW, there are more viable, honest and trustworthy directories still available today. The simple fact is that getting listed in a few quality directories is a sure fire method to having your site indexed faster and deeper. Most quality directories are human edited and list primarily quality results with search engines trusting on "face value" that the directory is a reputable source of information. The site is often listed as a vote of confidence that the search engines know a human element has assessed the source document and approved it. Generally today, all websites gather a trust element and that is where commonsense in your decision making prevails.
Whilst that probably means little in the scheme of the overall technology that the search engines use today, technology cannot identify some factors, or may confuse a legitimate site as spam, or vice versa, while a person can find this error faster and make a more accurate decision.
What To Look For
There are some basic elements that you need to look at before making submission to any directory, whether free or paid, they are:
Commonsense
Commonsense prevails every time. If it looks like chicken, clucks like a chicken, tastes like chicken, then chances are, its chicken. So use this to make your decision whether the site looks cheap, nasty, spam or will even exist in a years time.
The Page Your Being Listed
Perform a search for the page you're being listed on, by using its title or businesses that are already listed upon the page. If the page shows up within the rankings, then chances are the page is quite well trusted as a quality source and you should list upon it. Saying this, you may need to do multiple searches, and if you see nothing for a few or more searches, then move on to the next directory. It doesn't necessarily mean the directory is no good, it may just be the page your being listed isn't a viable investment to your marketing campaign. If its free, then you could list anyway.
The Future of Directories
Directories will continue to evolve as a viable operating component of the WWW, taking websites far beyond the conventional simple listing they have currently to a media type platform with full-page advertisements and detailed analysis of each website. They will vary from media platforms to portals that offer a range of web services in one convenient location.
Current Linking Strategies
Because we currently have three major search engines, all with their own unique portion of the WWW pie, you need to appease them all the best you can. Saying this, if you do nothing but get backlinks from directories, you will find your website beginning to perform in MSN and Yahoo, though not Google. The fact is, you CAN'T make a website for only one search engine, as that would be committing web suicide. If that one search engine dropped your site, then all your revenue / traffic is gone.
The smart policy for linking your website, and gaining as much exposure as possible, is for every directory you list within, get two links from a non-directory with the same niche websites. That isn't talking about link pages buried within a site or comment spam but actual legitimate links that highlight your website within its niche. This will ensure your site has a lower chance of being filtered for directory only listings. This same policy goes towards reciprocal linking, directory or non-directory.
Conclusion
Whilst some narrow minded online marketers believe directories hold no purpose other than ranking benefits, many users of the WWW utilize directories to find what they're looking for quickly, without sifting the myriad of poor results the search engines often deliver. Even when you put the search engines within the equation, it's another possibility that your site will be seen with exposure rates often equaling sales.
This article is copyright © 2006 anthonyparsons.com network. You DO NOT have permission to reproduce this article in full or part.
