Directories are a different beast from Search Engines. They do not spider pages. Instead, a human editor reviews each submitted site and decides whether that site “makes the cut.” Think of directories as gigantic bookmarks of qualified, quality sites, organized into categories and sub-categories.
In the old days, the major directories were able to drive a significant amount of traffic. Today, however, the human-compiled directory model is simply too slow and inefficient to keep up with the rapidly growing Net. Very few surfers use directories to perform their keyword queries because they cannot provide the breadth of diversity and relevance of search results that the major SEs can.
So forget about a directory listing driving zillions of visitors to your site. A directory listing’s value is not the traffic it brings, but the quality of in-pointing links it provides.
The best directories are managed and maintained by human editors. Every site in a directory has met a certain minimum standard of quality. A Search Engine that finds your listing in Dmoz or Yahoo! can be pretty confident that your site belongs in its database. For a new site trying to establish itself and build some link popularity, securing a directory listing is a “must-do” strategy.
It generally costs cold, hard cash to submit to the major directories. But paying the fee does not guarantee that your site will be accepted. So use paid resources wisely, and only when you are sure your site is ready for “prime time.” While a listing in Yahoo! is quite expensive ($299 annually), the good news is that you can obtain a decent quality in-pointing link from most second tier directories for $15-$30.
Wait until you’ve built your site up to at least 15-20 pages before you submit to the directories. If you’d like to err on the side of caution, create 30-40 pages first. Anything less is likely to be rejected for reasons of insufficient content.
Let’s take a look at the directories…Zeal.com
Some of you may wish to hold off on the commercialization of your Web site. This will enable you to submit to the Zeal directory which is free but only open to non-commercial sites.
Why is Zeal important? It provides a back-door entrance to the LookSmart directory. It will provide a decent quality in-pointing link, as well as a smattering of traffic from LookSmart and its directory partners. However, you’ll have to become an editor yourself before you can submit your own site. This can take an hour or two, so be prepared.
The Open Directory (OPD) http://www.dmoz.org/The Open Directory provides directory listings to many crawler-based Search Engines which use OPD to supplement their crawler-based results. There’s no charge for submitting your site, which makes this a “no-brainer.”
However, take your time researching the right category for your site, and do not resubmit, even if you are not listed after 6-8 weeks. The OPD is often backlogged, and notoriously slow for adding new sites. Resubmitting may make your site lose its place in the listing queue.
You can check the status of your listing at the public forums…http://www.resource-zone.com/
Yahoo! is the grand-daddy of all directories. Got a commercial site? Want to list in the “Shopping and Services” or “Business to Business” areas of Yahoo!? You must use Yahoo!'s Business Express service.
This service has a $299 annual recurring fee ($600 for adult sites). That’s enough money to give many budding netrepreneurs pause, and for good reason. These days, search results default directly to Yahoo!’s own crawler based listings. Relatively few people perform directory and directory drill-down searches, so your listing is unlikely to bring much in the way of traffic.
However, the value of a Yahoo! listing isn't the amount of traffic it will drive, but the quality in-pointing link it provides. New sites looking to establish some critical link popularity may find real value in a Yahoo! listing. A link from Yahoo! is still considered to be one of the best you can get. However, an established site with plenty of in-pointing links may not receive the same value for a listing.
If you do decide to list with Yahoo!, be sure to list your site in the correct category, with your most important keywords in the Title and Description fields. These elements factor into how Yahoo! ranks your listing for related keyword queries.
Should you list in Yahoo!? Ultimately, that’s a question that only you can answer. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to measure the ROI of a Yahoo! directory listing. Your best strategy is to investigate the free options (Zeal and The Open Directory) and the second tier directories first. They may provide you with all the link popularity you need.
LookSmartLookSmart is looking less and less like a directory, and more like an advertising medium, a sort of cross between Overture and Google’s AdWords. To make matters worse, LookSmart has been losing many of major distribution partners of late. As a result, a LookSmart listing is diminishing in value.
Rather than paying a one-time fee for a static directory link, LookSmart charges a review fee plus a minimum cost-per-click of $0.15 for every listing it approves. (They offer two PPC models – a static model and a “bidded” model.) Like Overture, LookSmart has a minimum monthly spending amount. Listings that do not reach that benchmark will be charged the difference. Listings that use up their ad budget before the month end are taken offline unless the account is topped up.
Best advice?Investigate LookSmart as an advertising option but keep in mind that it’s becoming less and less valuable as a source of an in-pointing link. Wait until you’re “up and running” and have determined your ROI before you seriously consider LookSmart. Their service pales in comparison to the power and flexibility offered by Google’s AdWords, a much better alternative.
Second Tier Directories.
Second tier directories are not quite on par with the majors. That shouldn’t deter you, though. Remember you’re not after traffic from these directories. You want the in-pointing link.
In some ways, second tier directories offer greater value than the majors. Submission costs, for example, are quite reasonable -- between $15 and $30 will get you in, usually within a couple of days. Because they are not as congested, it’s easier to obtain the listing you want, higher up in the directory hierarchy (i.e., a listing in Health > Weight Loss is more desirable than a listing in Health > Weight Loss > Supplements). Even though these directories are not as highly trafficked, it will be easier for your visitors to find your site.
Bottom line recommendation?Second tier directories offer Webmasters a cost-effective means to build their link popularity quickly. Well worthwhile, and highly recommended!
Here are some smaller directories that are worth considering...
JoeAnt
Automatic DirectoriesYou are automatically listed in the following directories when you submit to another one, as shown here...
• AOL Search -- you are listed automatically in AOL’s directory when you submit to Open Directory.
• MSN Search -- you are listed automatically in MSN’s directory when you submit to LookSmart.
• Netscape Search -- you are listed automatically in Netscape’s directory when you submit to Open Directory.
• Ask Jeeves -- you are automatically submitted to Ask Jeeves' directory when you submit to Open Directory. It also lists its own (Teoma-generated) results prominently.
