1. What is a Web directory?
Web directories are similar to the yellow pages phone book. A Web directory provides pages for many different categories and on those pages they list Web sites that are relevant to that category.
2. What are the benefits of submitting to Web directories?
There are three main benefits for a Web site being in quality Web Directories. a) Click though traffic; b) Web site indexed by the search engines; c) Higher rankings on the search engine results page for keywords you are targeting.
2a. Click Through Traffic
For searchable directories that have lots of traffic you will get what is called click through traffic. People view the category pages that interest them and go to the Web sites on those pages.
2b. Web Site Indexed
The search engines send out spider programs to the links they find in the directory pages. This will bring the search engine spiders to your site and will get your site pages added to the search engines indexes.
2c. Higher Position In The Search Engine Results
In the anchor text of the link from the directory to your Web site you should place the main phrase a person looking for your services would have in mind. This gives better click though rates. So if you are a Website Design Company and you want the people searching interested in Website Design Companies you would put that key phrase in the anchor text line.
This also helps you ranking higher in the search engines. The more links you have pointed to your site, with some variation of the key phrase you want to rank high for, the better ranking in the search engines you will receive.
3. Do some directories offer extra links and what is their value?
Some directories provide more than one link to your Web site. These links are called deep links as they link to pages other than the home page. Some times these extra directory links are right under the description of your submitted Web site and other times they are on their own page which has a link under the description.
The anchor text of these links should correspond to the topic of the content of these deep linked pages. In some cases the additional links have a higher review fee, but they are well worth it. These extra links bring the search engine spiders to your site more often and will help gets deeper pages crawled, they give you more click through traffic, and give higher ranking for the keywords in the anchor text.
4. How do I get my submitted Website to the top of the directory category?
The easiest way is to have your domain or company name start with a number or the letter "a". Of course if you already have your Website it's too late for that but you can have your Website voted to the top of the category if the directory has a voting system. Also a number of directories have a featured subscription price that puts your Web site in the featured area at the top of the category.
5. What are the characteristics of good directories?
The following characteristics are what you will find in quality directories. a) Free submissions or editors activity adding Websites; b) Large number of Websites in each category; c) Large number of pages in Google, Yahoo, and MSN; d) Large number of backlinks in Google, Yahoo, and MSN; e) Low Alexa ranking; f) Pagerank on pages; g) In DMOZ and Yahoo directories.
5a. Free Submissions or Editors Activity Adding Websites
Having free submissions or editors that add up Websites will increase the quality of the directory. Many times Websites that are added via paid subscriptions are not the highest quality. Having a free subscription will give you the opportunity to review many more sites and pick the cream of the crop. Likewise when a directory has editors that search for and add up quality sites the directory will be of higher quality.
5b. Large Number of Websites in each Category
While new Web directories will not have a high Website to category ratio, established quality directories will. Having categories with one or two Websites in them is not conducive to attracting searchers. The Website to category ratio is an important matrix to look at in determining the value of a directory.
5c. Large Number of Pages in Google, Yahoo, & MSN
The more quality pages a directory has in the search engine indexes the better the ranking and the more traffic that directory will receive. A directory with no pages in one or more search engines may be under a ban or a penalty. A directory with just a few pages could also mean a penalty or could just be a sign of a new directory.
5d. Large Number of Backlinks in Google, Yahoo & MSN
In most cases the more quality inbound links a directory has the more click through traffic it will get. Also more inbound links gives better search engine rankings for the keywords in the anchor texts of the inbound links. A directory with just a few inbound links is either a new directory or one that has not been promoted well.
5e. Low Alexa Ranking
The Alexa ranking is calculated by the number of people that visit a Website with the Alexa toolbar installed and turned on. You can get the Alexa toolbar from www.alexa.com. Alexa's toolbar is not the best indicator of traffic as there are programs that will lower your Alexa ranking. Users going to Websites that are more technical are more apt to have the Alexa toolbar on than non-technical sites. Therefore those Websites are more apt to have a lower Aexa ranking even though they have less traffic. Yahoo has an Alexa ranking of 1.
6f. Pagerank on Pages
Pagerank is Google's one to ten ranking system for Web pages. Pagerank is given to your site based upon the number of inbound links you have. The greater the number of inbound links the higher the Pagerank your Web pages will get.
Pagerank can be viewed by installing the Google toolbar and turning on the Pagerank feature in the options. Some people determine the value of directory submissions by the PR the directory page had that your link was put on. It also can let you know when a site has a penalty or a ban. If a directory all of a sudden goes from a PR6 to a PR0 on the home page there is a good chance the site is under a ban or penalty.
6g. In DMOZ and Yahoo Directories
If a directory is in the DMOZ and Yahoo directories this is a good sign. Yahoo cost $299 and both a free Yahoo free inclusion and a DMOZ inclusion are hard to get. Having a directory in both Yahoo and DMOZ directories is an indication of quality.
7. Should I be concerned about directories that advertise link popularity or PR transfer?
Beware of any directory that is advertising their directory based on the Pagerank of their home page or category pages. They should be telling you more important things that matter like where they are in DMOZ and Yahoo directories, the number of pages and backlinks in the top search engines, the keywords that they rank for in the search engines. Advertising the value of a directory based on the PR of the home page and category pages is not only old school and way behind the times but it is dangerous as Google has in the past banned Web sites that sell links based on the Pagerank vote they will give.
Advertising a directory solely for getting higher ranking in the search engines for the banklinks they will give your Web site is also highly frowned on by the search engines and the directory could receive a penalty or ban for doing that.
As there is little or no value of having your Web site in a banned directory it is best to say away from directories that are advertising the value of submitting to there site solely on Pagerank vote or high rankings in the search engines results. While submitting your site to a directory will give you both of these, emphasize should not be put solely on these two items. |