Directory Marketing is means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Marketers, in this context, would call Directory Marketing the most effective pathway to making money by building many different types of niche directories and showering them with Google Adsense Ads and making money from it. While this is an great way to do buisness, there is another way to look at Directory Marketing. You can make and create more backlinks with web directories and they will help to enhance the traffic and link popularity of your website by enabling your search engine rank and position.
Directories might look like nothing but another index to quite a few, but in reality, a well put together SEO Friendly directory can be a great weapon in your SEO toolbox. Why? The reason why is a directory which manually handles listings can create a quality website for internet visitors; and Google and other search engines understand this. That is why, when you list your website with a directory, it is instantly percieved as a quality backlink to your website.
What is a value added or quality backlink? By looking up the Pagerank (PR) of the sites you submit your site to, you can check the value of your backlink. The essential part is submitting to a decent range of sites which vary in Pagerank to give your backlinks a even flow and not a rigid or pre-planned appearance. You definitely want more PR5's than PR0's, but there is a method to our madness here.
Variety in your linking plan will help in the long run. Most directory owners are very aggressive about building their own Pagerank and will stop at nothing to reach a higher rank. This is great when you get in on the ground floor of a directory which goes from a PR0 listing to a PR5 in a year. Instant credibility for your listing and a natural enhancement of your site's status. Plus, you might get in on a site, like the Aviva Directory which only accepts paid listings and has a 14,000 rank in Alexa and a PR6 rating.
List your site in as many directories as you can. The key here is not to do it too fast. Meaning, do not hire a freelancer or submission service and have them submit your site to 1000 directories in 4 days. Google looks at this like SPAM. Search engines will think you are manipulating the system to get a higher rank and then downgrade your site, effectively rendering your hard earned backlinks to mean nothing.
Submit your site mainly to Free Directories, but also use Paid Directories, especially Bid for Position Directories as the value in these types of directories is only starting to be seen. When submitting your site, remember the importance of using anchor text. Identify your site's specific string of keywords and start with about 5 solid word combinations which fit. Do not just use one word listings. ALway use 3-7 words as this creates keyword doorways to your site via the search engines.
Remember, building backlinks is simple. Just ensure you have a plan and understand it takes time. Backlinks cannot be built overnight, but building them through Directory Marketing will help you build better ones.