Submitting Your Web Site in Directories

Once you have optimized your site for search engines, your next step would be to submit it to the search engines and web directories, so that your site is indexed by search engines and visited by many. Are you confused with search engines and directories?, you are not alone; most people do!. Lets see what we can do to clear your confusion ...

Search Engines and Directories - How they differ?

A search engine is a system that enables users to search and retrieve information from the web. Usually, search engines use a software program, generally referred to as crawlers, to index web pages. Various search engines use complex algorithms to index and categorize the web pages. On the other hand, web directories contain a collection of web pages organized into categories and sub-categories. The main difference between directories and search engine is that search engines use software to automatically index the web pages; whereas in a directory, web sites are organized into categories by people.

Why submit in directories?

If you have submitted to at least one directory and have ever checked the traffic to your site from web directories, you would have noticed that it is negligible comparing to the traffic coming through search engines. This fact prompts you to ask, "Is it worth submitting my site in directories?". Before answering that, lets analyze the benefits of listing in directories...

First, directories bring targeted traffic. Though the traffic generated through directories is very limited, this traffic is from people who, by their own choice, come to our site by browsing through categories in the directories. These people are more likely to remain in our site for long and more likely to be our prospects. Another important benefit is that these directories are considered "expert" sites by search engines. So, submitting a site in directories increases its chance of getting good rank in search results. Isn't it worth submitting your site in directories?

Why submit in directories?

Directories can broadly be classified into "Free Directories" and "Paid Directories". There are many free directories available on the web, such as DMOZ, Yahoo!, World Wide Index, AbiLogic, Gimpsy, JoeAnt, etc. Usually the free directories take a long time to list a submitted web site. So be patient and constantly check these directories for your site. The paid directories list a submitted site usually within a day! If you go for the paid option, you can consider the following directories: Arielis, BOTW, BlueFind, Microsoft bCentral, and GoGuides.

• Make sure your site has no broken links, no broken images, no missing pages, no typos. Have a thorough review of your site.
• In the description field of the submission form, provide a readable sentence. That is, do not stuff this field with keywords, because the editor will find it and reject your site. Similarly, avoid marketing language such as "the best", "Most powerful", etc. because the editor will edit the sentence which may result in removal of your genuine keywords.
• Be careful in selecting a suitable category in the directory. If you do not find a fitting category for your site, check the category where your competitor sites are listed and submit your site there.
• Constantly check whether your site is listed in the directory. Free directories take a bit long to list a site

Conclusion

There is no doubt that search engines consider directories as reliable sources of reference. So, link popularity of the sites listed in directories increases manifold, making them to appear on top results. After all, our main objective in web site optimization is increasing our rank in search engines, and submitting in directories is one of those good practices that would ensure a better position in search engines.

Call Gatesix today and find out how our search engine submission services can help your site remain highly visible.