Some SEO services include directory submission in their list of website promotion services an an off-page SEO strategy. Such services could be quite useful if they’re done at the right web directories. They could submit your website to proper web directories and gain lots of benefits for your website. Also, you may just waste money by submitting to 100s or even 1000s of them.

There are a large number of web directories on the Internet, some are free and some are paid. What makes a web directory different isn’t if it’s a free one or paid one. The importance is within the authority of that web directory.

What Are Top Web Directories?

SEO services try to do all they can to save their reputation and stand from the crowd. So, if they are result oriented, they’ll follow the best practices announced by well-known and top SEO experts. If not, there could be lots of other ways to pretend there’s a point of distinction in their list of SEO services.

In deciding which web directories to submit to, search engines’ preferences shouldn’t be ignored. In a sense, when you follow their rules, you please them to obtain higher search engine ranking. At the end of the day, it’s the giant search engines that will score your website that leads to better organic SEO ranking.

Yet, we have the question in front of us: Which web directories to submit to?

1) Yahoo Directory

Yahoo is both a search engine and a web directory. As a matter of fact, it used to start as a web directory. Now, it’s using its own search engine as the world’s second most popular search engine. Anyway, Yahoo has got a very rich directory of websites that are well categorized by its powerful team of human editors. The submission doesn’t guarantee the inclusion.

You pay an amount of US$299 (nonrefundable) for each Directory listing that is submitted. This, of course, doesn’t mean that they accept it. Once accepted, your listing will appear for one year. For the next year, a recurring fee of US$299 should also be paid. If not accepted, you can’t refund your money. So, take ultimate care before you submit to them to make sure you’ve followed their guidelines before submission.

It’s worth it, because other web directories get their listings form Yahoo too. This will add to your visibility on the web. Then, Google will consider Yahoo’s listings important when your website is listed in Yahoo! Important point, isn’t it? Even if you don’t continue with them the next year, you’ve already helped your search engine ranking and won’t lose it.

2) Open Directory Project (ODP)

DMOZ, ODP or Open Directory is a source that many search engines will consider including Google. The submission is free and you should only submit once and wait for the result. Due to the large demand on the web and its nature of listing, which is by community editors (volunteers), you’ll have to give it quite some time before their editors visit your site. Remember that you’d better not submit again to accelerate your inclusion. It could end up in your exclusion! I’m serious and this is exactly what they’ve mentioned at their policies.

The period that you should expect their approval will be between 2 weeks to several months. It’s worth submitting to them, because Google and Yahoo Search will use their listing among 100s of other websites. Also other web directories use the listings of DMOZ.

What about Submission to Other Web Directories?

There are many other web directories on the web. Search engines crawl the entire web. So, they see those directories and see website’s listings, but the standards of inclusion in directories like Yahoo Directory and DMOZ are so high that you couldn’t blame search engines for not considering the same importance for those web directories. In addition, as I’ve mentioned, many of them get their listings from the top two directories introduced at this post. So, submitting to them could be useless.
There are another group of web directories that are specialized for certain industries. They could be help you reach out for the target audience you’re looking for, but not necessarily helping you with your search engine ranking and visibility in them. The choice is yours. As a whole, Directory submission, if done properly, could be an effective website promotion tactic.