Make Directory Submission Work For You

One thing that every single webmaster has in common is that they all want more quality traffic to their website. The day to day routine of most website owners is looking for ways that they can attract links to their website as naturally as possible, but this effort is often supplemented by adding your site or business to relevant directories.

There is an art to this method, however, and one should not spend hours and hours submitting their websites to any and all directories available to them. The clever webmasters seek out the strong directories that really offer something in return...

There are a few good directories on the web; this is compared to the many terrible and useless directories also. When seeking out directories to submit your business to, here are a few key things to look out for:

• PageRank - I know this is often said but ideally the directory will have PageRank, even if it is only 1. This proves the site is not a fly-by-night and may be worth adding your site to.
• Check for spammy outgoing links - you do not want to have your website associated with directories that link out to all kinds of suspicious websites, so check it's outgoing links before you submit.
• Check that the inner pages are indexed! If I had a dollar for every time I submitted my site to a directory, only to find that the page the link appears on is not even getting indexed by Google, I'd be rather rich by now! To do this, search the quoted URL in Google. If nothing appears, avoid the directory.
• Use other tools such as Linkscape and Majestic SEO to figure out if the directory is worth submitting to. If it gets a low score, don't bother.
• Check domain age - whilst not being a deciding factor in itself, a new domain can signal low link value. If the site shows promise then it might be worth adding your link to as when the directory grows stronger, so will the value of your link.
• Use paid directories - sometimes these are the best and strongest directories available, with leading ones being Joeant and Linkopedia. Beware of unscrupulous webmasters charging low-cost featured links to make a quick buck, however, as these are very common. Deploy the mentioned techniques to check that the site is worth paying for.
• Use common sense - if a directory looks like it has not been developed or is not well-maintained, do not bother submitting to it. Tell-tale signs are hundreds of pending links or an out of the box "Your Directory" logo!

Contrary to what many people thing, directory submission is not dead. I can admit that it is unlikely you will be able to promote a website using directory submission alone, but using it as a supplementary effort along with other methods is a brilliant way to build a strong link profile and bring in targeted traffic. As many directories offer lifetime listings, this creates a sustainable and steady flow of traffic.