6 replies to this topic

[glyn]

I thought I'd share some love with the rest of the community and write a short thread on Directory Submissions. Perhaps with other peoples contributions we can build the best directory submission thread ever.

Let's assume that you want to actually go ahead and do Directory Submissions across the board, and let's leave aside any theoretical discussions of validity and efficacy for another thread.

1. Plugins for your Browser
You will need this plugin for Mozilla which will allow you to create a master profile which you can use to expedite your directory submission process. This plugin will allow you, in one click will fill the relevant data into a directory submission. Put 3 of 4 different descriptions and titles in the plugin and you'll be better set not to set off the warning bells. With this plugin alone I can rip through 50 manual submissions in an hour.

2. Identify Directories.
This is the key here's resource I use and here's a little bit of a Google hack for pulling back some others

3. Refine Directories - Find out the reciprocal data required.
After you've got the directories, and if you're going down the reciprical route, you need to pull all the relevant data from the directories link requirement field, and create a list of these URLs. Before you go ahead and do the submissions you will need to create a page of links, otherwise some directories will not accept your submission. Although it is not according to W3 standards, you can put <base target="_blank" /> before the list of URLs and this will force the URLS to open in a new window (if you attempt to insert a target="blank" in the link data, some sites will reject it because they are parsing for exact matches on the recip. link data)

I tend to do the following in a text file for each directory I am submitting to....

1. Directory Submit Link
Reciprocal Link Data.

Once I've created a master link, I open the text file in Word, add a space after the Directory submit link to covert it to a hyperlink and then save it as an HTML page. I've then got my contents page from which I will do all my submissions.

4. Review and Delete.
Whenever I find a site is no longer accepting submissions for any reason, I take them out of the text file and regenerate the links.

5. A word on writing titles and descriptions
Be clear and try and aim for just one decent keyword in your description. Don't make your title anything other than your business name.

6. Expert tip:
check that the category you are submitting to is listed in the Search Engine for which you wish the directory submission to have effect. While Yahoo will index everything - it's even indexed my coat - Google might index a directory home page and a few categories, but not a category with 70 follow on pages.

7. Expert tip 2:
Submit the page where your links appears on to Google via their addurl.

7. Expert tip 3:
For your directory submissions register a new email address on your own domain for the submissions, something like inquiries@domain.com and then put email forwarding on the account so you can ignore the spam you'll get but periodically review to check for valid requests.

Lots of love in this thread, I'm hoping we'll see some others throw some good advice, links and resources to make this the best Directory thread ever.

Glyn

Edited by glyn, 28 May 2009 - 10:59 AM.

[iamlost]

While I am not a fan of en masse directory submissions I am a believer that being listed in perhaps the top half dozen general and as many niche directories as meet my quality (your standards may vary) requirements.

I always consider submission to:
* botw.org
* business.com
* chiff.com
* dir.yahoo.com
* dmoz.org
* ezilon.com
* joeant.com
Yes, there are seven and I did say a half dozen. While I always submit to dmoz, it is pretty much a submit and believe in the Easter Bunny situation. Yes, those are pretty much paid submission directories. They are also big guns worth their hire, imo. If on a tight budget hold in reserve for later consideration.

Finding niche directories is a real pita. I still have not found a better starting place than Nadir's advice, Find Niche Directories with DMOZ, from 2005.

To give you an idea of one method of weighting directories - and a large list of same (caveat emptor) - see seocompany.ca's Free & Paid Directory List.

Before you go looking for IBLs you need to create a clear set of requirements:
* why are directory links valuable to you?
* what must they have?
* what would be nice?
* what signals trigger flight?

Most directories on the web were built in the last half dozen years for SE gaming purposes and it is likely that regardless of TBPR, etc. they pass little SE 'juice' - finding those that still have SEO as well traffic value is a joy to be kept deathly silent.

I choose on quality (your standards may vary) of each directory and it's likely traffic value. If any other link value accrues that is a nice bonus.

[glyn]

Some good nuggets in their, and some good reflections for newcomers.

Who else is going to throw some of that Directory loving in....

Glyn.

[iamlost]

For a good basic overview of 'things to consider' when looking at directories, Aaron Wall's Web Directories...are They Relevant to SEO? from 2006.

One point often missed regarding (especially smaller) directories is that good directories can go bad. It can be worthwhile to return on a regular basis (semi-annually at least - just like visiting your dentist - I schedule by lunar phase ) to check both the directory and a statistically significant proportion of it's listings both generally and in your categories specifically.

To do a thorough check will require a custom link checker or a manual time investment. Some 'bad' signs are increases (set your own thresholds) in listings returning hard/soft 404s, 301/302 redirects (destination concerns), domain parking, hosting/CP default pages, content change (i.e. to porn), cracked sites (i.e. spam links, virus/trojan injectors), etc.

You do not want your site(s) to become associated with a 'bad neighbourhood' directory.

[earlpearl]

I'm going to comment on this with regard to local seo only. This can apply to websites for smb's (small/medium businesses) and b&m's (brick and mortar businesses) that compete for generally long tail, pretty much non competitive phrases...but ones that compete for phrases that combine a business phrase and a geographical phrase (often called geo modifier)

I've used the cr@ppy spammy directories in the past. They are and were generally free or extremely low cost. For the above type of websites/businesses they are often a great place to start. I'd look to spend either nothing, very very little, and/or even consider using an outsource service for about 100-3-400 of these.

They work. They always have. I saw that they lost strength somewhere around 2005/2006...but became reacquainted with them last year....and they still work for those generally not very competitive phrases.

Now, with regard to spending money for these types of sites....one generally wants to have them show up well both with regard to organic searches...and with regard to versions of Google Maps/ google maps inserts into an organic search, Yahoo local, etc.

In that regard, and in that both maps and Yahoo local put big value on data sources such as IYP's and similar services....I'd spend the money there. So instead of getting the power in organic search...you get the power in a search version of maps. So in that regard in lieu of spending money on more powerful directories...I'd spend it for "data sources" that feed Google Maps or Yahoo Local.

As mentioned, generally the search phrases for these combinations of a business term and a geographical term aren't that competitive. With regard to this thread, I did a search in google, yahoo and live/msn for a phrase that combines one of our businesses and a pretty locally popular regional phrase. (a description of a part of a state)

I just looked at Yahoo, Google, msn/live, and Ask. The weak, manipulative directory shows up behind our business for that phrase in G, Y, and Ask. The directory shows up 11th for the phrase in Yahoo. (we are first there also).

How great is that? That non-important manipulative directory is a vehicle to help us with that particular anchor text and that helpful long tail phrase that combines both a geo term and a business term.

Then I looked at search phrases over the last year. There are a variety of ways that people can search on that combination of business term and geo term...but the most frequent one turned out to be the 25th most popular version of a combination of geo term and business term. Not bad. It generated about 1/6 of the traffic of the most active combination of business term and a geo term. And that top one was about 1/11 of the most popular phrase.

Still that is a lot of bang for the buck. (Maybe it was $1, maybe free, maybe $3. I forget.). That one piece of work combining small but helpful anchor text and quite a few like that have assisted in delivering nice additional traffic for years. In the aggregate it adds up to a considerable and very effective total.

Over the years, I found that once a local business web site outranks directories (even the stronger more important and costly ones) the directories no longer drive any level of traffic. So the cost for traffic is negligible....and the real question is...did that directory help with "link juice".

For the local businesses...directories that tend to drive traffic include both topical or "verticals" and directories that are local. They work. Again they typically don't cost anything near the range of the more well known directories as referenced above.

I have checked IBL's for bad neighborhoods, especially for those in which I had a mutual link. Absolutely some of those inconsequential directories from the past turned into bad neighborhoods. If you are linking to them....drop them. Pronto.

I have quite a few of those examples. The one I cited above is the best. None of them are powerful in their own right, but in the aggregate they add up. I'd doubt they cost more than $100 one time. It might be $50. I forget.

None of the long tail search phrases in the aggregate drive lots of traffic. Again the one I cited is the best. But I have quite a few of them for a very very wide variety of long tail combinations of geo term and business phrase.

In the aggregate they help a lot.

Again....this experience only relates to local businesses/local seo etc.

[mrgoodfox]

i have always found directory submission to be very useful. At least for getting my sites to first page of search results.

Getting from position 5 or 6 to position 1 (which makes a world of difference though) is quite hard (if not impossible) with just directory submission....

Great content produce the best link IMO.

[glyn]

Thanks Early And MrGoodFox for your thoughts on this. Personally I think bad-neighbourhoods are much less a reality than there were back in 2004/5 when G was pretty much dropping everything. But you're it's right to draw up some basic standards about what kind of sites link to you if your going down the reciprocal route. Of course one way to limit this would be to drop your reciprocal links page in its own folder and exclude this via robots.txt (but it's not very ethical, and there are no guarantees that search engines will respect your ruleset).

Some more additions from others? This is getting to be a really solid thread.

Glyn

ps. Just saw this "All listings will be reviewed by human editors". Phew... I thought it might be a Robotic Editor. Or a Text editor.

Edited by glyn, 29 May 2009 - 03:09 AM.