Directories are a different beast from Search Engines. They do not spider pages. Instead, a human editor reviews each submitted site and decides whether that site “makes the cut.” Think of directories as gigantic bookmarks of qualified, quality sites, organized into categories and sub-categories.
In the old days, the major directories were able to drive a significant amount of
traffic. Today, however, the human-compiled directory model is simply too slow
and inefficient to keep up with the rapidly growing Net. Very few surfers use
directories to perform their keyword queries because they cannot provide the
breadth of diversity and relevance of search results that the major SEs can.
So forget about a directory listing driving zillions of visitors to your site. A
directory listing’s value is not the traffic it brings, but the quality of in-pointing
links it provides.
The best directories are managed and maintained by human editors. Every site
in a directory has met a certain minimum standard of quality. A Search Engine
that finds your listing in Dmoz or Yahoo! can be pretty confident that your site
belongs in its database. For a new site trying to establish itself and build some
link popularity, securing a directory listing is a “must-do” strategy.
It generally costs cold, hard cash to submit to the major directories. But paying
the fee does not guarantee that your site will be accepted. So use paid
resources wisely, and only when you are sure your site is ready for “prime time.”
While a listing in Yahoo! is quite expensive ($299 annually), the good news is
that you can obtain a decent quality in-pointing link from most second tier
directories for $15-$30.
My top recommendation?
Wait until you’ve built your site up to at least 15-20 pages before you submit to
the directories. If you’d like to err on the side of caution, create 30-40 pages first.
Anything less is likely to be rejected for reasons of insufficient content.
Let’s take a look at the directories…
Zeal.com
http://zeal·com/
Some of you may wish to hold off on the commercialization of your Web site.
This will enable you to submit to the Zeal directory which is free but only open to
non-commercial sites.
Why is Zeal important? It provides a back-door entrance to the LookSmart
directory. It will provide a decent quality in-pointing link, as well as a smattering
of traffic from LookSmart and its directory partners. However, you’ll have to
become an editor yourself before you can submit your own site. This can take an
hour or two, so be prepared.
The Open Directory (OPD)
http://www·dmoz·org/
The Open Directory provides directory listings to many crawler-based Search
Engines which use OPD to supplement their crawler-based results. There’s no
charge for submitting your site, which makes this a “no-brainer.”
However, take your time researching the right category for your site, and do not
resubmit, even if you are not listed after 6-8 weeks. The OPD is often
backlogged, and notoriously slow for adding new sites. Resubmitting may make
your site lose its place in the listing queue.
You can check the status of your listing at the public forums…
http://www·resource-zone·com/
Paid Directories
Yahoo!
http://www·yahoo·com/
Yahoo! is the grand-daddy of all directories. Got a commercial site? Want to list
in the “Shopping and Services” or “Business to Business” areas of Yahoo!? You
must use Yahoo!'s Business Express service.
This service has a $299 annual recurring fee ($600 for adult sites). That’s
enough money to give many budding netrepreneurs pause, and for good reason.
These days, search results default directly to Yahoo!’s own crawler based
listings. Relatively few people perform directory and directory drill-down
searches, so your listing is unlikely to bring much in the way of traffic.
However, the value of a Yahoo! listing isn't the amount of traffic it will drive, but
the quality in-pointing link it provides. New sites looking to establish some critical
link popularity may find real value in a Yahoo! listing. A link from Yahoo! is still
considered to be one of the best you can get. However, an established site
with plenty of in-pointing links may not receive the same value for a listing.
If you do decide to list with Yahoo!, be sure to list your site in the correct
category, with your most important keywords in the Title and Description fields.
These elements factor into how Yahoo! ranks your listing for related keyword
queries.
Should you list in Yahoo!? Ultimately, that’s a question that only you can answer.
Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to measure the ROI of a Yahoo! directory listing.
Your best strategy is to investigate the free options (Zeal and The Open
Directory) and the second tier directories first. They may provide you with all the
link popularity you need.
LookSmart
http://listings·looksmart·com/
LookSmart is looking less and less like a directory, and more like an advertising
medium, a sort of cross between Overture and Google’s AdWords. To make
matters worse, LookSmart has been losing many of major distribution partners of
late. As a result, a LookSmart listing is diminishing in value.
Rather than paying a one-time fee for a static directory link, LookSmart charges a
review fee plus a minimum cost-per-click of $0.15 for every listing it approves.
(They offer two PPC models – a static model and a “bidded” model.)
Like Overture, LookSmart has a minimum monthly spending amount. Listings
that do not reach that benchmark will be charged the difference. Listings that
use up their ad budget before the month end are taken offline unless the account
is topped up.
Best advice?
Investigate LookSmart as an advertising option but keep in mind that it’s
becoming less and less valuable as a source of an in-pointing link. Wait until
you’re “up and running” and have determined your ROI before you seriously
consider LookSmart. Their service pales in comparison to the power and
flexibility offered by Google’s AdWords, a much better alternative.