Part IV: Marketing your Website

Submitting Your Web Site to Directories - Overview

by Pauline Sugarman

Created July 2004; Revised February 2006

Directories are search engines powered by human beings. They are edited by humans who compile the listings under the Directory’s categories, like a catalogue of web sites.

Each Directory listing is considered to be a link and highly regarded as such, though some more than others. It is therefore important to submit to the directories (first) so that the search engines can find the Directory links to you, along with your other link campaign efforts, and add your site to their database.

Directories are not just important as links. They are used by many people to find information. They are not used as much as Search Engines, but they are still valuable.

Directories Overview

There are quite a number of Directories to choose from on the web but most web professionals would agree on the ones that rank the highest in importance, both for their ability to help garner link popularity as well as bring additional traffic to our website.  For this overview we will focus on these top regarded Directories.  

Most Directories request you submit your front page URL (your home page) only. Many of the Directories are now charging an Inclusion fee (Pay Per Inclusion – PPI). Quite often you can get forgo the Inclusion fee by becoming an editor.

Directories Guidelines

Check to see if you are already listed in the directory before submitting to it.

Always read the guidelines before submitting. The guidelines for each Directory are simple but very specific. If you fail to follow the guidelines you may not be included in the Directory. You can try again, but many of the Directories are under-staffed and it may take a while for them to get to you a second time.

Choose your category carefully. You will want to do a search through the directory to find what topic similar sites used to get the most appropriate fit as possible. Choose a sub-category over a main category where possible.

If your site is local in nature, be sure to submit it to the appropriate geographical region as well.

When asked for your website’s title, use your company name or the official name of your website. Do not try to place your key word phrases in the title.

For description, start with your description Meta tag and then remove/move words until you have the shortest yet most descriptive sentence possible, while retaining your key word phrase(s). Your description should be just that, and not a sales pitch. Use words that are used on your web page. Review other listing’s descriptions to get a feel for descriptions that have been accepted.

When you are ready to submit, submit by hand - DO NOT use an auto-submit program.

Let’s begin…

Open Directory Project (DMOZ)

The Open Directory, also referred to as DMOZ, is considered one of the most important Directories. It provides directory listing to Google, AOL and MSN and is thus an important link for getting found by Google and the rest.

You are allowed to submit to both a Regional and a Topical section. Remember to follow ALL their submission guidelines and to submit to the most appropriate sub-category you can find.

To submit your website go to: http://dmoz.org/add.html.

There is no guaranteed turnaround time as to whether submission has been accepted but it should take 4 weeks. If you don’t see your website listed, you can write to the editor for your topic and respectfully ask if there is anything else you need to do to get listed. One good place to check on your submissions is at: http://resource-zone.com

If there is not a editor for your sub-category, you submission may get bumped up to the editor in the category above you. This could slow the review process down.

Do not re-submit. DMOZ editors consider this obnoxious and are likely to just push your submission farther down in the pile.

In the next section we’ll continue to learn about submitting to highly regarded Directories on the web including Yahoo Express Directory, and more ...

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