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Website Directory Submission - A Real How To Guide By A Link Directory Owner
Posted by
Admin
on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 05:16 PM
This guide is for both seasoned Internet veterans and those new to search engine optimization and website directory submissions for the purpose of gaining better search results. The guide will cover directory basics, how to submit to a directory, choosing quality directories, how to increase your chances of being listed, and choosing submission companies.
On the surface submitting your website to a directory seems rather easy, so why the need for a guide? As someone who operates a number of directories, I can tell you that each and every day I see submissions of varying quality and competence. For a directory owner who cares about what they are doing, having a clean, spam-free directory that is well organized, is their top priority. And to achieve this goal, they must check each and every submission to ensure they meet some basic standards. And that's where we will begin.
What is a Directory?
A directory is a website that lists other websites in some form of searchable listings. Website directories cover just about every topic under the sun. Some directories are "general directories" meaning they cover a wide range of topics. Other directories are "niche or topic specific" types. They cover a very narrow range of topics and categories such as travel or focus on a particular country or region.
Some directories are free to submit to, others require payment, and others still may require that you place a link back to them from your own website - this is called a 'reciprocal link'.
Why Submit to Directories?
Submitting your website to a directory does a few things for you. It gains a backlink for your website. A backlink is a link from one web page to another. Search engines count (this is a simple explanation of the process - search Google for more on the finer workings of search algorithms) the number of backlinks and use this to rank your website. The keyword titles you use are also counted in this metric - this is covered in depth later.
For a brand new website, a directory listing can help you get your website indexed by the search engines faster.
But be aware - not all backlinks are created equal. Some websites are seen to have more value and weight on the Internet, and having links from these websites to your own are worth more than links from lesser web pages. You should concentrate on getting backlinks that last from older established websites that have high google pagerank. A directory can help you build these valuable links and increase your rank on the search results.
There are some SEO articles that claim directory submissions lead to website traffic. In a round about way they do, but direct traffic - that is someone clicking your link from a directory page - is almost always very low or non-existent.
There are directories that will give your website direct visitor traffic - seek them out and use them whenever possible.
What Makes a Good Directory?
Not all directories are worth submitting to - far from it in fact. There are quality directories on the Internet, but for every good one, there are ten lousy ones. There are many directories whose only purpose is to gleam email addresses from those submitting their websites. Other directories are just clones of an existing directory - these are not viewed nicely by the search engines so having your link there does little good.
You can spot a quality directory by a number of factors. These factors include pagerank, how many pages from the directory are indexed in the search engines, does the directory use search engine friendly urls and titles (there is much debate about urls that I won't get into here), and most importantly does the directory use rel="nofollow' on links or not? You can check that last one by looking at a results page on the directory and checking the source code. If you see rel="nofollow" used on links listed in the directory you may want to move on. For the purpose of getting better search results, rel="nofollow" on your link does you no good.
Another important factor in finding good directories is their age. You want your link to last; so submitting to older established directories run by caring directory owners should be a priority. This is especially true for pay for inclusion directories - otherwise known as "paid directories". Nothing worse than paying for a lifetime link only to see the directory fold a few weeks later. Archive.org is one place you can check how old a directory is. This of course in no way tells you how long the directory will exist going forward, so always investigate closely before spending on links!
Sometimes the quickest way to spot a bad directory is to check the "latest links", or "recent submissions" type page. Does the directory contain links to low-quality websites, porn, gambling or other topics you don't want to associate with? Do the listings on the page look spammy with no real sentences but just strings of keywords? If so don't submit there. Be sure to check some of the results pages as well while looking for the same things mentioned above.
A quality list of directories can be found at info.vilesilencer.com, but again, always check before submitting!
How Does One Submit to a Directory?
Most directories on the net today utilize the same three or four software packages. So once you learn to submit to them, you will have most directories covered. But there is a difference between submitting your website and REALLY submitting your website.
How To Improve Your Search Rankings And Your Likelihood Of Actually Being Listed In A Quality Directory
Submission Guidelines - Always read the submission guidelines. ALWAYS! It shouldn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyways - also follow the submission guidelines while doing your submission…
Title - Use up to six words or so describe your website. These words or "keywords" you use are a very important step in directory submissions. Do not just list a string of keywords like 'computer parts, computer repairs, computer upgrades, computer software', as your title. It's spam. It also vastly decreases your chance of getting listed. You want to use keywords related to your website, and those that are searched to find your website, but do so in moderation. With our example above, it would be much better to use, "Computer Parts, Repairs and Upgrades".
Vary the title up with each submission as well. Cover various keywords with each submission. This variance is key to ranking in the search engines while making the most of your submission. Dozens of submissions with the exact same title is not good for your website rankings.
As well don't use your URL as the title - mywebsiteurl.ca - it gains you nothing for search performance and will likely result in your submission being denied.
URL - This is the address of your website. Always submit your root URL - i.e. - mywebsiteurl.ca, unless you are sure the submission guidelines say you can submit subdirectories (sub.mywebsiteurl.ca), or "deep links"(mywebsiteurl.ca/somepage.htm).
Submitting inner pages of your website help them get indexed by the search engines, and like the home page, help them rank better in search results. But take notice - one of the fastest ways to get your submission denied is to submit the wrong URL, so double check the submission guidelines before submitting anything other than your website root URL.
Description - This is where you describe the website/page you are submitting. Like the title, do not just list a string of keywords, as this will be seen as a spam to both the search engines and the directory owner. Just write two or three meaningful sentences about your submission avoiding the repeating of keywords throughout. Try not to repeat the same keyword more than twice, and do not include your website URL in the description field. You can repeat the same words used in your title, but again avoid over-repetition wherever possible.
Category - Always select the most appropriate category for your website submission. Getting links from related pages to your own are seen to be of higher quality to the search engines than getting listed on non-related website pages. Backlinks from totally non-related web pages should be avoided whenever possible - having too many of them, especially from low-quality or shady web pages, can have a detrimental effect on your website search results.
Be aware that a directory may require you to submit to categories that are not of the top-level. Example:
Shopping
--Clothes
--Shoes
--Wallets
Shopping would be the top-level category. Some directories require payment to be in this position, so once again, check those submission guidelines so your submission isn't denied for breaking this rule!
Your Name - If you want to build a relationship with a directory owner (this is especially important if you have lots of websites or inner URLs to submit), use your company or real name. If it's a one-time thing you can use a fake name. If paying for a link submission - best to use a reliable contact name.
Email - Similar to 'Your Name' above, in that a directory owner comes to know certain email addresses if they are seen often enough. If the email address always corresponds to quality submissions you will find your submissions are approved much quicker and more often. If paying for a link, a real email address helps make for another contact point should some problems arise.
As noted earlier in the guide, some directories are there not to help you with your search results, but to gather email addresses for whatever means - usually spamming you. I highly recommend using a temporary email address for this purpose. Be sure you can retrieve email from this address because some directories require you to confirm your submission via email.
When I do basic submissions for my own website I always try to use one from the website URL itself - i.e. - submission@mywebsiteurl.ca . After confirming all submissions where required you can close the email address before all the spam starts rolling in.
Using fake email addresses may work on some directories but it's a sure fire submission delete on others. Some directories will delete your submission automatically if your email address bounces back due to it not existing.
Reciprocal Link - Some directories require that you list their website on your own before they will list your submission on theirs. You can create a special page on your website to list these reciprocal links, but be sure to link to it from your index page. Failing to do so, or not giving a reciprocal link will likely result in your website submission being denied.
Meta Keywords - Some directories allow you to submit some meta keywords to go along with your submission. These you can list as straight keywords separated by commas. List five or six keywords/short phrases for your website.
Meta Description - Some directories also allow you to submit a meta description with your website submission. These are great for helping a page on the search engines. If this field is available to be used during your directory submission always try to utilize it. Write two or three sentences about your submission and avoid making a list of just keywords. Some directories allow you to use the same content for both the basic description and the meta description. A search engine only uses about 160 characters for a meta description so keep it short and sweet.
Search engine submission companies and a real example of a poor website submission:
Title - Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing Services
Description - Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing Services from SEO the website promotion agency.Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing Services from SEO the website promotion agency.Search Engine Optimisation and Internet Marketing Services from SEO the website promotion agency.
Category - Health
Yes, this was a submission from a so-called search engine optimization service. I see these nearly every day and it leads me to a point that can save you lots of money and headaches later - many SEO companies are scammers, incompetent, or a combo of both. When they can't even submit their own websites correctly, how can one expect that they will for yours? I used to maintain a list of these submission companies that can't even get their own submissions right, but after the list crossed 200 companies I stopped - what's the point when everyone with a website claims to be an SEO expert?
So before you go and pay to have your website submitted by some SEO company, be sure to really check references on their work. Better still, do it yourself, or by someone you know you can trust. Sure it can be tedious and slow doing website submissions to directories, but the best results come from working hard.
Webmaster and domain name forums usually have plenty of people offering submission services and can be a good place to check references on work conducted. Look for those offering submission services that include multiple titles and descriptions - the more the better. Don't purchase 1000 directory submissions using the same title and description - it will do little for your website. Be sure to space the submissions out over time as well. Too many backlinks generated over a short period of time looks suspicious to a search engine.
So that's the basic guide to directory submissions by a directory owner. If you have any further tips or questions etc please leave a comment in the comment section below.
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