Are Directory Submissions Worth The Effort?

Are directory submissions worth the effort? In a nutshell — Yes …. and No!

The debate that has been argued about the value of directories when it comes to optimising your website is not new. Anybody who has looked at any type of SEO strategy will have no doubt contemplated submitting their website to the various range of directories across the web. Mostly this is an absolute waste of time.

Most directories (even if you pay for the submission) have very little, or more than likely absolutely no value when it comes to increasing your search engine rankings.

However, if you have a new site, or are trying to make your way in any type of competitive niche you are definitely going to want to submit your website to a couple of the major “trusted” directories. The only directories that I recommend as of the time of writing this are (in no particular order):

DMOZ (Open Directory Project)

This directory is FREE to submit to, but nearly impossible to get into.

My advice is to find the most appropriate category for your business that looks like it has been recently updated (look at the date near the bottom of the page) and submit your site. Make sure you follow the guidelines so if an editor does happen to look at your listing you have a good chance of being included.

Once you have submitted you might like to check back in six months to see if it has been included, but to be honest I wouldn’t waste any more time with this one.

Please click here to visit and submit to DMOZ

Best of the Web (BOTW)

Touted as the Web’s oldest directory, these guys have been around for a long time (since 1994). In my opinion this is one directory that you really do want to be in. You will play a fairly small submission fee and I suggest that you opt for the lifetime submission. If your site meets their guidelines it will be included in a few days.

If you are reading this before December 01, 2009 I encourage you to immediately submit your site and lock in your listing before they increase their prices. The current prices are $299 .95 US for a lifetime listing or $99 US per year.

Please click here to visit and submit to BOTW

Business.com

Business.com is another directory that has been around a long time. Once again if you meet their editorial guidelines your site will be included pretty quickly. At the time of writing this article in the submission fee is $299 US.

Please click here to visit and submit to Business.com

Yahoo Directory

Up until recently Google recommended submitting your site to Yahoo directory in their Webmaster guidelines. Regardless of this, you are still going to want to submit your site to Yahoo directory (particularly if your niche is any bit competitive).

Keep in mind that Yahoo charge a yearly  fee per inclusion into their directory ($299 US). Your site must pass their editorial guidelines each year in order to stay in the directory.

Please click here to visit and submit to Yahoo Directory!

So are directory submission is worth it?

While only one of the directories above is free, I am sure that you can see that there is a common theme among them. Each of the directories has been around a very long time and they all have very strict editorial guidelines that you must meet in order to be included. Hint: Google trusts these sites because of this!

Submitting to these directories will be no silver bullet, but they are definitely very good for your overall profile. I have always seen a positive effect from successful submissions and if you are serious about your website you shouldn’t be thinking twice about getting this task ticked off your list.

The other directories that you will want to consider will be high quality and targeted towards your niche. Generally these type of directories are few and far between and if there is one in your niche you will no doubt already know about it.

A quote that you should remember when doing any type of link building is (I can’t remember where I read this originally, but it’s definitely not mine):

“The most valuable links that you can get are those that your competitors will never be able to have”

If you have had any success submitting to the directories above please let us know in the comments below.

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