Submitting your web site to web directories is a great wayto build high-quality inbound links, increase your PageRank, andimprove your SERPS.The Internet now features a large number of both generalpurpose and specialized directories. The specialized directories focuson a specific topic or region.
Unfortunately, submitting your web site to the plethora ofavailable directories requires a significant investment of time andeffort. The key to achieving a positive ROI (Return On Investment) fromdirectory submissions is to focus on those directories which willprovide you with high-quality inbound links.
It is important to note that many web directories have issueswhich prevent them from providing useful links. Taking the timeunderstand these issues and submit only to the directories which willprovide value will provide significant time savings in promoting yoursite.
A Taxonomy of Web Directory Issues
Web Directories Which Are No Longer Managed
A survey of 79 general-purpose web directories revealed that62% of those web directories do not appear to be processingsubmissions.
In many cases, this is because the operators of the webdirectory launched their site with great enthusiasm, became overwhelmedby the amount of effort required to maintain a web directory, andstopped maintaining their directory. These operators leave theirdirectories online to take advantage of the residual advertisingrevenue, but no longer invest the time required to process directorysubmissions.
Web Directories which Block Search Engine Robots
Some SEO's believe that they can preserve Google PageRank by not giving outbound links from their web sites.
Web directories which operate in this manner will sometimesblock Googlebot and other search engine robots from their directorypages using robots.txt or meta tags.
Before submitting to a web directory, check the PageRank ofthe directory page upon which you expect your listing to appear. Ifthat page has a PageRank of zero, it could mean that the site operatoris blocking Googlebot.
However, this same symptom can also mean that the site or thepage is new, and has not been assigned Google PageRank yet. To researchthis further, examine the sites robots.txt file and the source code tothe directory page upon which you expect your listing to appear.
Web Directories which use Scripted Links
Many web directories use scripted links to avoid leakingPageRank. Scripted links use PHP or JavaScript links to redirect theuser to the target page. Although these links work correctly for mostsite visitors, they do not work for most search engine robots.
To determine if scripted links are in use, place your mousecursor over an outbound link on the directory page upon which youexpect to appear. Examine the link text which appears in the lower leftcorner of your browser.
A JavaScript link will look something like this:
javascript:var handle=window.open('http://www.internet-search-engines-faq.com') A proper HTML link will look something like this:
http://www.internet-search-engines-faq.com Free Directory Scammers
Several web directories pretend to accept free submissions, but in reality these free submissions are never processed.
These directories claim to accept free submissions as part of abait-and-switch tactic to upsell webmasters into paid submissions.
Often these web directories will claim to provide freeservice for web sites which meet certain defined criteria. It justhappens that no web site ever manages to meet those criteria!
Web Directories which Require Reciprocal Links
Some web directories require you to link back to them in orderto be listed. This helps build the PageRank of the directory, whichbenefits all web sites in the directory.
Some people view these sites as link-farms.
If your web site is unable to provide a link back to thesedirectories, do not invest your time submitting your web site to thesedirectories.
Reciprocal linking is not an appropriate strategy for all web sites.
Paid Directories
Some web directories charge for submissions. These webdirectories charge either a subscription fee, a one-time fee, or aCost-Per-Click (CPC) fee.
Some of these web directories charge exorbitant fees -- and afew of these web directories charge this fee whether your site isaccepted or not!
Although there are exceptions, the general rule is that paid directories do not provide a positive ROI.
Better Directories
A few web directories stand out by offering good user interfaces, speedy inclusion, and plain HTML links which pass PageRank:
Ezilon 
The Super Ultra Mega Web DirectorySummary
Submitting your web sites to web directories is an excellent method of building quality inbound links.
Submitting your web site to only the best web directories can net you 90% of the results with 20% of the effort.
 |  | |
Related Articles
- Rock Your Rank With A Dynamite Text Link At Yahoo DirectoryLast week a client called me excitedly exclaiming that their Google PageRank had jumped a notch and their targeted keyword term now ranked #23 (up from #45) for their competitive search phrase.
- Read This Before you Submit to Web DirectoriesThis excellent article raises all the necessary questions that you should know about before submitting your website to web directories.
- The Reality Of Search Engine SubmissionsOver the last few months, search engine submissions have changed dramatically. Now is the time to analyze the way were submitting our Web pages and to rethink our submission strategies. Regretfully, I still see people paying big bucks to search engine submission services who will submit their p....
- A Business Search Engine Improving the Connections of an EnterpriseFirst, in building a successful company, one must have a good reputation in the corresponding area of activity. The easiest and most popular manner of achieving this goal in these modern times is by means of the Internet.
- How To Select The Best Category When Submitting To Web DirectoriesIn this article I show you how to select the best category when submitting to a web directory, to give your site every chance of achieving top rankings for th...
- Is Dmoz Listing A Test Of Patience?Dmoz is always viewed as the key to get higher traffic and increased PageRank for your website. Webmasters and online business owners aim for a Dmoz listing with the faith that it can help their sites rank well on the search engines especially in Google - since Google uses the information contained ...
- Hunting For Online Directories - The In depth Strategy9/10 times your web site visitors wont stay for more than 15 seconds. This is how you get them to stay, or should I say, get them to come back! For most of you, your web site is a great brochure. It probably outlines your services very well. Theres nothing wrong with that what-so-ever!..
- A Business Directory Just Isn't Enough Anymore!Do you own a business directory? Are you having a tough time beating your competition? This article will help you towards leaving your competition far behind. The idea here isnt about getting as many business directory listings as possible. The idea we need to create is about more community wi....
- New SEO Term SpibalanceI been doing SEO for a very long time now so I thought of helping webmasters with a very common issue. The problem is that most webmasters see their site jumping in and out of the indexed. Today you check and your website is in the index.
- Link Building, One Of The Best Ways To Achieve Top 10 PlacementIn any website promotion campaign, link building is an essential part, not just for attracting visitors, but for increasing your search engine rankings. However, you dont just want any links.