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.