| |
| |
|
SEO Information |
|
Directories and Their Importance for Search Engine Rankings
About directories: A directory is simply a web site that contains a categorized listing of links from around the web. They aid surfers to locate the 'best' and most informative links for a particular category. For example a category may be called 'Home and Garden' and in this category there is list of links about home improvement and gardening. Directories consist of a collection of categories into which links are seperated. Categories can have sub-categories to make the division of links more specific. Directories are important tools in building link popularity and as a result help improve search engine ranking. They are an excellent source of inbound, one-way links, which are the most powerful types of links to help build link popularity. There are a multitude of varied directories on the web at present. They range from general directories that include categories for almost everything, to specific directories that contain categories to match specific area/s of interest e.g. web sites about fishing. It is helpful to get your web site listed in as many directories as possible as this will help you beat the competition in rankings. Getting your link listed varies between directories as each has their own different process. Some directories require a fee but most do not. A lot of directories offer a mixture between free and paid listing. When you pay to get your link listed in a directory it is normally added within a week and it is guaranteed to be added. On the flipside a directory offer a free listing can take anywhere from a week to several months to add your link, and also there is no guarantee that the link will be added. Some directories use other approaches to get your link listed. For example the Joeant directory http://www.joeant.com requires you to register as an editor in order to submit a link. The Zeal directory http://www.zeal.com also requires you to register as a member but first you must complete and pass a 20 question quiz to prove your worthiness. Directories to submit to: Getting listed in quality directories such as DMOZ or Yahoo can be more beneficial for your link popularity than a lot of links from smaller, newer directories. It is therefore useful to know which to submit to. The following is a listing of some of the higher quality directories: DMOZ * Listing - Free Yahoo Directory * Listing - Free or paid Zeal & Looksmart * Time to get listed - Zeal: Free inclusion can take 1-2 months, paid inclusion a few days JoeAnt Gimpsy Information needed to submit to directories: When submitting a link to a directory you will more than likely be asked to provide the following information about your web site: * URL One thing I recommend that you do before submitting is to prepare this information in advance and to use the same information when submitting to all directories. As much as possible place keyphrases that describe your web site into the Title text and Description text you submit, especially into the Title text (this is known as anchor text optimization). When a directory asks you to provide keywords that describe your web site it uses these keywords to locate your site when someone performs a search within the directory. So for example if I submit the keyword 'lawn' I have a better of chance of being listed in the directory's search results when someone searches within it using the keyword 'lawn'. However focus more on writing keyphrase-rich Title and Description entries than Keywords when submitting. Tips when submitting to directories: * Submit your link to the most appropriate categoryEvery directory will tell you this as it makes their job easier when it comes around to listing your link. This point should be stressed though as it not only makes the directory editor's job a little easier therefore speeding up your listing, but also the search engines will look at the other links that surround you on the page you are listed on and if they are of a similar theme to your own this can boost your rankings. * Be patientOne point to remember about directories that provide a free listing, be patient. If you are not paying to be in the directory then your link listing has a lower priority than paid listings. It can take several months to get into some directories so it can be frustrating. The best thing to do when you submit is to put it out of your mind. * Keep a logOne of the most useful things to do upon submitting to a directory is to write the name of the directory and the date of submission into a log of some sort (try an Excel sheet). This prevents you from submitting to a directory more than once (keeping the editors happy) and gives you the satisfaction that you are getting something done. When your link gets listed in the directory mark it off in your log. Job well done! Summary: Submitting your link to directories is an excellent way to build your web site's link popularity and improve search engine rankings. There are many directories out there, ranging from the general to the specific, each with their own link submission processes. Prepare keyphrase-rich text that accurately describes your web site to submit to the directories. Choose the most appropriate category for your web site before submitting. Submitting to directories requires a little effort and a lot of patience. Your search engine rankings will thank you for the extra effort. Frank Kilkelly is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Expert and Webmaster at http://www.seo-ireland.com/, a complete search engine optimization resource. The highlight of the site is an SEO forum http://www.seo-ireland.com/forum/ for discussion of the latest techniques and tips to improve the ranking of your web site.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Real SEO Analysis Works If you're serious about SEO, you need to know how to analyze the information you uncover.A decade ago, businesses were wondering whether they need to be part of the Internet. Keywords - Key For All Doors Keyword research is certainly the most important phase in Search Engine Optimization process. Whether you hire a SEO company to do the job or you are doing the SEO process in-house, take your time during this process. Valid HTML code is crucial to Search Engine Optimization Why valid HTML code is crucial to your web site's search engine optimization efforts and subsequent high rankings:Many webmasters and newcomers to web page design overlook a crucial aspect of web site promotion: the validity of the HTML code.What is valid HTML code?Most web pages are written in HTML, and as for every language, HTML has its own grammar, vocabulary and syntax, and each document written in HTML is supposed to follow these rules. When SEO Takes the Value out of a Website Every webmaster would like to see his/her website to be the number 1 search result returned in search engines. A number 1 spot in Google pretty much guarantees loads of traffic to a website which can then materialize in high revenue for the website owner. Keyword Ownership: What It Is And Where Its Headed Have you ever got one of those silly emails that offers to let you own a keyword? Silly question. How many such emails do you get every day?A number of such services regularly email me offering keyword ownership of premium keywords for $300/year. Choosing a good domain name isnt always so simple. So you need a domain name for your brand new internet business. You may even have some cool ideas for a new domain name combination that will really impress your friends. Search Engine Optimization - Enhancing Web Site Visibility I've had several prospects and clients say to me "I want my web site to come up on top in search engines." And some have been contacted by an SEO company asking for lots of money and claiming that they can guarantee top search engine results, which in many cases is just false promises. Submitting Your Site to Search Engines and Directories Regardless of which type of business you currently have, you will definately want to have a website and begin marketing it on the world wide web. After you have designed your website, the next step is to ensure it is properly "optimized", meaning that it's body text(the text you see), title and meta tags(the text that you don't) all have the words you are trying to be found for on the search engine results. A Link From An Ugly Duckling Website With A PR=1 Could Give You 10 to 80 Times More PageRank Whether you want to start a business and sell on the Internet or you're an old pro and want more Internet sales, here's the easy way to do it.To get the most sales on the Internet you need to have a high PageRank on Google. Seek Engines: What If Seek Had Bumped Out Search? In the early days of the World Wide Web, when things were just getting started many geek speak terms were jockeying for position to be the standards for years to come. I used to drive by a California-based company every day that had named itself YKK and think, "What a pity. Search Engine Optimization SEO Made Easy SEO is a never ending battle!So is SEO over-rated? I don't think it is. Some say that Google's automated PageRank? system and Alexa's Traffic Rank system are losing ground. How To Measure Search Engine Marketing ROI According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), advertisers spent $4 billion in 2004 on search marketing programs and are expected to spend 39% more than that this year.Search engine marketing appears to be a great way to advertise but is it right for you and your business? If you are not already employing search engine marketing(SEM) for you business is there a way to forecast the return should you decide to invest in it? Is there a way to measure the results you are getting if you have already invested in SEM?The answer is mostly yes. Buying Textlinks: The Latest SEO Craze With search engine algorithms changing seemingly daily, the quest to rank high in the search engines and stay there is proving to be quite the challenge for most webmasters. One of the more recent popular ways of achieving this is through buying text links on websites that have high PR's (page ranks) on Google and that also rank well in the other major search engines. Google Is Not Only A Search Engine! When you now organize a street interview and ask people "What is Google", I assume more than 90 percent of the people answer that Google is a search engine. Indeed, Google is a search engine and it is probably its core business, but Google is much more!A short overview of the main services of Google:++ Category One : Google Web Search Features ++- Besides the traditional Google search engines in different languages, there is also a local search engine available: Google Local. Link Horse Trading For The PR Challenged After 105 days Google finally updated PR. And it's about time. Google Traffic Report Card-Does Your Website Pass? Part 1 This is part 1 of a 7 part series that examines the 7 factors of incoming links that Google considers when choosing a spot for your website in it's SERP's.Why incoming links? First because these are what Google places the highest value on. Search Engine Strategies for Affiliate Websites The major search engines are always on the lookout to improve their search results and to weed out websites with duplicate content. They are also weeding out websites that mainly contain affiliate links. eMarketing Sabotage - Top 10 Steps To Kill Your Search Engine Marketing Practices We at America Web Works find ourselves amazed at the amountof effort people spend trying to fool or manipulate theirpositioning in search engines. People seem to focus on theshortcuts to success and NOT on their Web site or the truevalue their content provides to their prospects. A Three Day Marketing Plan for Better Google Rankings If you're reading this article, you've probably discovered that simply building a website is not enough to ensure success with your small business. Competition on the web is fierce. Whats All This Hype About Links? What's all the talk about links we hear about? Reciprocal links? Non-reciprocal links? Targeted links? Link Popularity? I need links. You should have links.
|
| home | site map | contact us |