Throwing a few links on a website can technically be called a directory, but it’s not going to get big results. Certain things are crucial to a quality directory, and nobody will respond positively to a poor quality web directory. Why would they when there are so many better ones out there?

Design

The most basic concept in a good directory is starting with a high quality design. The design should scream competent professional, and all elements of the website should echo the same sentiment. Paid directories especially should make a potential patron feel comfortable and confident about doing business and paying you some of their hard-earned money.

To this end, consider the color scheme, layout, and content of a website. Directories should have adequate descriptions and all content including instructions, frequently asked questions and more should be completely free of errors and be consistent with other directories of the same quality standards.

Categories

Categories are what make a directory more than a list. By categorizing links to other sites or directories, you are making order from what could be chaos. Most individuals looking to list with directories want to feel important. If there are already fifty or sixty links in a category, they won’t feel very special in that niche. It is perhaps better to have too many categories than too few.

When your directory’s top categories begin to fill up, subdivide links into smaller categories within each parent. This not only makes your directory larger and more impressive, it also simplifies navigation and helps with niche marketing tremendously. After all, there are tons of niches within each niche on the internet. Why shouldn’t they be reflected in your directory as well?

Human-Edited

The final, and to some, most important aspect of building a better directory is to screen websites. If you place criteria on submitting a website to your directory, but fail to follow through on those criteria, what is the point of having them? Dead links, redirects, and inappropriate content will try to sneak into the site, and it is your responsibility to keep it all away to protect the integrity of your directory and maintain the quality that others have paid you to have.

Most paying customers won’t be happy if they had to follow guidelines to become listed only to suddenly find themselves in competition with websites that should not have slipped through. Try not to become blinded by potential income or set low standards so that categories fill. There is no point in filling your wallet or categories with junk; it will just hurt you in the long run.

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Most webmasters know submitting a website to the proper directories can be a huge asset to optimizing and developing a website. If you are one of the few who didn’t know, you certainly do know now. Many webmasters are busy developing websites and working hard on other aspects of search engine optimization. They simply don’t have the time or energy it takes to properly submit a website to the relevant directories, and even if they did have a bit of time and inclination, they can never hit as many directories as a professional. There are just too many out there.

Directory Submission Services

Many individuals and companies offer submission services to directories. They take your URL and description and manually submit it to countless directories and search engines. Many of these same companies and individuals offer reciprocal link finding services and other helpful SEO practices. The trick is finding the right company for your needs.

Anyone can claim to offer directory submission services, but many are amateurs and less professional than existing companies with years of experience. An individual who has worked at submissions for years has established relationships and tricks of the trade to make sure his or her service is well worth the price.

Sure, you can pay someone a few bucks to list your website a few places, but for high quality service, you may want to consider paying a little bit more. Individuals who specialize in directory submissions aren’t willing to share their knowledge and specialty with just anyone for some spare change. These individuals have usually been in business for a long while and know the ropes.

First Step in SEO

Submissions are often the first step in search engine optimization once a website is complete. Of course a webmaster has already worked in highly relevant keywords and content, but when it’s time to get the ball rolling on gaining PR and traffic, directory submissions are often the very first step.

As it is an area that requires some time, research and knowledge, many webmasters feel more comfortable asking a service to handle this aspect while they focus on other aspects of link building and page rank. Webmasters are busy, and they need all the professional help they can afford to make a website profitable and highly developed. Directory submission services are one of the easiest ways to do exactly that.

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A web directory or an internet directory is like a powerhouse packed with sites that are organised according to user-specific needs that save time, energy and cost. They are an immensely useful tool for webmasters who are looking for a way to promote their sites, increase inbound traffic with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and gain a higher Page Rank on Google. If you are a webmaster imagine having to surf and go through innumerable link exchanges and instead just adding your link to a popular web directory and getting more traffic on your site by targeting people looking for a specific service.

Though not all directories are significant, the most popular directories include The Open Directory Project (ODP or DMOZ), Yahoo, Zeal and Buzzle. Google, along with many other popular search engines tend to generate their search results by dipping into these directories for reference. If you were to run a Google search, you’d notice the number of results that directly use the ODP links and categories. A plus point is that the information stored in ODP is literally borrowed by thousands of other websites and search engines so that just sets up a chain reaction for obtaining more free links! The same goes for the Yahoo directory.

Directories fall into two main categories, namely: general and niche. A general web directory is a directory that contains a listing of many sites of different categories and then sub-categories. A niche directory would be a directory that aims towards a specific grouping like a shopping directory is a directory for all listings for Primitive Arts and Crafts, Consumer Products. This helps in searching harder-to-find content that generally doesn’t show in a prominent position on a major search engine. Then there are free directories that do not charge any fees for inclusion, paid directories that charge a fee for site submission and reciprocal link directories that have a link back to the directory as a prerequisite. Sometimes free directories may offer a prominent link or a higher listing for a nominal fee. The ODP is an example of a human-edited directory which is created and maintained by human editors who are volunteers and may have excellent command over a certain subject. Human edited web directories are known for more relevant links as they are edited and maintained manually and the sites scanned and approved for content.

There are also directories like Yahoo that archive lists of certain sites they choose as a “cool site”. This cool site directory could be in the form of an archived list, a random site generator that generates a site-per-click irrespective of category or the current cool pick. Some of these sites maintain an archive of their older cool picks for visitors to browse through the formerly chosen sites, others have themed sections and still others could probably generate a list of the Top Ten cool sites classifying them on good site principles. The knowledgeable networking system and general-to-sub hierarchy also cross-references links across categories with similar content to make searching with generic keywords more efficient.

Directories are an easy way to find something for everyone. As a surfer with a specific necessity or a webmaster wanting to promote their site, a directory could serve as a handy contrivance to obtain optimum results.

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