Web site owners worldwide continue to search for the best online marketing strategies they can find. Even though search engine optimization is very useful in gaining web site traffic there are other ways to search for content and draw in traffic. Online directories can also be searched for information and can promote website optimization.
Online directories are similar to search engines in that they maintain a database of web content. When a key word or phrase is typed into the search the content related to that word will appear. The major difference is that the web site owner must submit their web site into the online directory. The directory is filled with categories and subcategories. When adding a web site to the directory, the user must choose the category and/or subcategories to list their web site. If the owner does not manually submit their site, the site will not appear on the directory.
There are many online directories that allow you to submit your website for free and some, like Yahoo, charge a fee for submissions. Typically, the free directories take longer to list your website and are not always guaranteed to list your site. The paid submission sites are faster and offer guarantees that your site will be listed. Rule of thumb to get the most out of online submissions is to utilize both, the free and paid online directories.
Since each directory has its own set of submission guidelines, and human editors ensure these guidelines are meticulously followed, directory submissions can be time consuming and tedious, but the rewards can be tremendous.
Some reasons for investing the time to submit to online directories are: - To increase traffic on your site - To increase the number of backlinks to your site - To market your website inexpensively - To get quality traffic to your site since directory users find your site by searching within specific categories of interest to them.
Some online directories are limitless and contain millions of web sites broken down into categories. Other directories are specifically designed for a particular topic, such as the directory of health organizations or the directory of library science. This can be constructive with web site optimization in that a user can submit their sites to specific directories tailored to fit their own web content. Submitting to an online directory could be a very significant part of your online marketing plan depending on your target market, and is therefore a worthwhile research and development project.
A specialized directory, or a general directory with a specialized category is one of the fastest, most effective ways to get a back link to your site. While today's Page Rank 0 site may be tomorrows Page Rank 7, there are just a few things to look for before you submit your site to a directory.
First and foremost, does this directory look like a site that you yourself would browse or search? One of the things that Google proved was that a clean, uncluttered interface is far and away more popular than an ad-laden site that is hard to navigate. If you would not spend any time on a site, chances are good that others would not. And without traffic, that directory site will not be able to do your site any good.
Second, is this directory edited by a human, or is it completely automated? A site that is human edited is usually preferable, because it will serve to keep spam submissions from appearing in the index. Any directory that is completely automated will eventually become clogged up with spam and junk sites. As long as people are smarter than machines, purveyors of garbage will get around the automated screening process put in place by software-managed directories.
Third, make sure you choose a directory that will let you use your own title, keywords and description. Because the anchor text in links to your site is important to your search engine rankings.
How does this affect you? Over the long term, any directory that becomes filled up with junk sites will lose any Page Rank that it may have had. This will negate any positive impact of a direct link to your site.
Search engines do not penalize your site because an undesirable site links to you. However, it makes sense not to waste your time cultivating links from a site that you would not link to yourself.
Now that you have a solid set of criteria by which to judge a potential directory site, you should prepare your site's bio for submission. Create a description that sells the most desirable features of your site. Try to sum up in a sentence or two what your site is all about, what I should expect to find there, and how it will benefit me.
Essentially, you are developing a Unique Selling Proposition. Even if your site is a zero cost resource, you still need to sell your visitor on the value of giving you their time. In his book "The Irresistible Offer" Mark Joyner refers to a touchstone. That is a phrase which packages up your offer, your Unique Selling Proposition, and it's value to the potential customer all in one. The most often used example of this is from FedEx, remember "When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight."
In one single sentence they communicated their offer, their promise, and their value statement. So too with your site. Take the time to provide your reason for existence, your offer, and your value to the customer all in one. Use this phrase exclusively to brand your site whenever you can.
Now that you have your touchstone, submit your site to every directory that meets your quality criteria using your touchstone as the description. For the rest of your submission, the only thing that should vary is the anchor text you use to link back to your site. Vary it slightly from one directory to another so that it will appear more natural.
Submit your sites to 10-20 directories per day and you'll see your traffic stats begin to climb faster and faster.
Both Samuel Blankson & Ron Jones are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Samuel Blankson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Your Online Business, Internet Marketing. Samuel Blankson is the author of Search Engine Optimization - How to Optimize Your Web Site for Internet Search Engines, your singular source for all your Web site marketing and. Samuel Blankson's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.
Ron Jones has sinced written about articles on various topics from Broadband, Email Advertising and Adwords. with this amazing tool.Ron Jones is the owner of. Ron Jones's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.