A directory, also known as a web directory or online directory, is a website providing aggregated links to other websites. Many directories offer free listings to advertisers. Some larger directories charge a yearly fee for inclusion and added listing features. All directories are free to end-users.
For the advertiser, the difference between a free listing and a paid listing is sometimes quality and sometimes features. Many high quality directories, like the Yahoo directory, are worth the price of paid inclusion because of the boost they typically offer your search engine optimization campaign.
Inbound links (links that point back to your website, also called backlinks) that originate from a reputable directory site with a high Google PageRank (big popularity score for relevant content), also receive a higher score for relevancy and value (popularity), an important aspect of Google’s ranking algorithm.
Listing in directories is generally a good idea to help increase quality backlinking to your website, which is an important ingredient in a comprehensive search engine optimization campaign. However, a word of caution: there are websites that pose as directories but are really ‘link farms’ that offer no value to the end-user and are established solely to trick the search engines by aggregating large quantities of website links with no associated relevance. This is a ‘black hat’ seo tactic which can result in your website being banned from inclusion in the Google search engine.
Whether paid inclusion or free, understanding precisely what you are associating your website with is of critical importance to ensure you do not in any way harm its reputation or its opportunities within the major search engines, particularly the globally dominant Google.
To help improve your ranking and ensure your listing is both seen by and clicked on by those you feel offer you business opportunities, select directories that you understand to be used by your target audience groups and ones that you typically see in the top ranking positions in Google. The only real drawback of a directory is that it is based on categories and sometimes you may find your category isn’t exactly represented or that you fit into more than one category. With paid inclusion options sometimes you are able to pay full fare for each category you want to appear in. As always, see how the costs and projected return on investment fit in with your strategy and goals.
