Directory submission has been around for years. Many expert internet marketers use this highly efficient method to build links. The more links you have pointing to your website, the higher you will rank in the search engines. But first, you need to learn the basics so that you can do it right. Otherwise, you could be wasting your precious time.

The very first thing you should do, is to be clear about your target keyword phrase. You can target any keywords like. Go to a keyword tool and do some research. The goal is to find out if anyone is searching for that particular keyword. Choose a keyword with enough search volume, and try to keep the keyword phrase to just 2 to 4 keywords.

Next, prepare a short description for each URL that you are going to promote. You will need to submit this information to the web directories, or to the service provider that you are hiring. Be sure to sign up for a free email account at Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail and use that email specifically for web directory submissions.

You will then need a list of web directories. Well established web directories usually have a high page rank. Page rank is Google's way to letting everyone know the quality of a website. Create a list of web directories. If possible, try to include directories with high page rank and rank them first. These are the ones that you would want to submit to.

If you find the process to be too time consuming, you can always hire someone else to do the work for you. Ask for a list of web directories, and run through to the list to see if these are quality directories. If you are satisfied, you will have to proceed with payment. Once you have done that, remember to provide the necessary information to the service provider so that submission can commence.

After submission is done, there is still one final step to take. You will need to login to your email account and click on the confirmation links. Not all web directories will send you confirmation emails. So don't be surprised if you receive less emails than the total number of directories that your links are submitted to.

Over the next few weeks, check your emails every now and then to see if there are any approval emails. Your back link count will increase steadily over the course of several weeks. Some web directories may even take months to approve your links. Don't worry about that. Your part is done.

The search engines will then find these links, and visit your website. Each link counts as a "vote". Soon, your website will be established as an authority site and your search ranking will improve dramatically.