A great way to build inbound links to your website and in turn increase your search engine rankings is to submit your site to a variety of directories. Depending on your site's market the results achieved from submission to search engines alone will vary greatly, in some lightly competitive or mildly competitive markets this tactic alone can provide a substantial boost. In highly competitive markets however, while still the best place to start you will need to combine this with other tatics for optimal results.
What type of directories should I submit to?
In general submiting your website to a combination of both general directories and specialized niche directory is likely the best solution.
With literally thousands of web directories on the internet today, chances are good that there are at least a few targeted at every niche you can think of (and probably some you can't). Unlike general directories, in some niches finding a directory targeted for that niche may take some work, but using a well formed search engine query will usually do the trick. Remember to search Google, MSN and Yahoo for those niche directories, start with the listings that appear in the first 2 or 3 pages (20 or 30 results) as they will likely be the best choices.
With general directories it's usually better to go for those that are more established. In most cases the older a directory is, the better it will be for your site. Just remember to read the submission rules or guidelines to ensure your site meets the directory's requirements.
How many directories should I submit to?
Unfortunately like most things related to improving your site's search engine rankings, there's no "magic" number of directories that you should list your site in. Think of directories like phone books, if your city has multiple phone books it's probably wise to have your business listed in all or as many of them as you can, or at least as many as you can afford. With the ever increasing number of web directories on the internet today, it's possible to list your website in hundreds if not thousands of directories for little or no cost depending on the types of links you choose to get.
Unlike the phonebook, submitting your site to every directory at the same time is not the best solution, you should spread your directory submissions out, submitting to 5 or 10 directories each month.
What type of submission should I do?
Many directories today offer different types of listings, and the type of submission you choose will depend on your budget and the directory itself.
Regular / Free Listings - Most directories offer a free regular listing which is a good start if you budget is limited or the directory is not extremely popular.
Featured Listings - Many directories offer the option of purchasing what is known as a featured listing. Featured listings generally appear at the top of the category and provide higher visibility to visitors. Choosing to purchase a featured listing will depend on your budget, and the directory. Before you choose to purchase a featured link do your homework and see how many regular listings are in the category you are submitting to, if there are only a few listings a featured listing may not be worthwhile, however if there are a lot of listings a featured listing could be the best option. You should also take note of how many featured listing are allowed in each category, most directories will place a limit on the number of featured listings they accept per category. Price of course is the most common factor in deciding whether or not to purchase a link, budget carefully to ensure you get the maximum exposure for your money.
Reciprocal Link Listings - While reciprocal links have become less common then they have been in the past there are still directories that request or even require that you place a link on your site pointing to their directory, this is a reciprocal link. Some directories will offer free or discounted featured listings if you provide a reciprocal link to their site. Due to the decreasing effectiveness of direct reciprocal links, most directories that use this type of system now request a three-way reciprocal link, that is where the directory links to you, and you link to another site they provide. It is usually best to avoid reciprocal links whenever possible unless you feel that linking to the site offers something of value to your own visitors.
What should I use as a title for my link?
Your control over the title for your link will vary depending on the directory you are submitting to, some directories will allow you to write your own title, while others will either write the title for you or insist that your title be your site's title or domain name. Whenever possible you should include a least one of your prominent keywords in the title your submit with your listing, and the title should vary on each directory you submit to.
Should I use the same description all the time?
Definitely not! Search engines today are not interested in the same content on lots of sites, they want to index unique content, so you must provide them with what they want. Each directory listing you submit should have a well written, unique description of your site and each should contain different keywords pertaining to your site. You should write a variety of descriptions for your site, each containing at least 200 characters for optimal performance. Try to use as much of the allowed space as you can for your site description, without blabbling of course.
A final thought.....
Remember, while search engine placement is one of the primary goals for submitting your site to a web directory, real live people actually do visit the directories as well. Make sure that the listings you submit will not only attract the search engines but real people too, that is of course the ultimate goal of any web site. |
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