Moe Tamani's Internet Marketing and SEO Blog, Articles and Search Engine Optimization Tips » Directory Submissions

3 Tips to Ensure that Your Directory Submission is Accepted

MoeTamani — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:19:54 +0000

3 Tips to Ensure that Your Directory Submission is Accepted

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

SEO experts and internet marketing professionals understand the impact of inbound links on search engine ranking. The more one-way links you have from relevant, authoritative websites, the higher your search engine ranking will be. Search engines essentially regard every link pointing to your website as a “vote” for your site, and gives greater weight to those websites with greater longevity, more relevance, and greater authority within your market niche. Your search engine ranking will also benefit from inbound links from sites that have a higher search engine ranking than yours.

The next question is how to get high-ranking, relevant, and highly-respected website to link to you. Internet marketing professionals believe that one great way to get inbound links is to submit your site to web directories.

Directories are listings of websites organized by category and subcategory. Internet users looking for information about a certain subject often use directories to access lists of websites that can give them the information that they’re looking for. Likewise, website owners who want to get noticed often submit their sites to directories. Sounds like a breeze, right? But before you start submitting to every directory you can find, make sure that those directories are relevant to your market niche and that you submit your site to the appropriate categories and subcategories. Finding the appropriate directories and the right categories can be a time-consuming process, but you can be assured that your time and effort will pay off in the end. Once your website shows up in the directory, you will notice increased traffic. Relevant sites will begin linking to you and, in the end, you will find that your search engine ranking has increased.

One of the most important things to remember is that, unlike search engines, directories are managed by humans. They check every submission to make sure that it is appropriate for their directory and that the categories you have chosen are relevant. This means that you need to be painstaking in your choice of directories and in filling out the information required by each directory. Here are 3 ways to make sure that your directory submission is accepted.

1. Relevance. The most important thing to consider when you submit your site to a directory is relevance. Directory owners will discount random submissions immediately. Also, be thoughtful when choosing the categories to which you want to submit. Manual editors see thousands of submissions per day, and it’s much easier to reject a submission than to accept it.

2. Organize Your Information. Each directory has its own expectations for submissions, so make sure you are aware of them before you actually add your URL. Most directories want descriptions ranging from 100-250 characters, so be sure you can make your point in a clear, concise manner. Make sure your keywords are focused and organized. Wordiness is not rewarded by directory editors, and may cause them to reject your submission outright. To help you get your keywords together, start by making a short list of keywords that you think are appropriate. Then shorten your list even more to include only the most relevant keywords.

3. Never Spam. Remember that your submission is being reviewed by a human editor and that human editors can recognize spam right away. Use every word carefully and thoughtfully. Not only can spamming get your submission rejected, it can also ensure that directory editors won’t even give you a second chance.

Directory submission is a great way to build one-way links, but it is also very tedious and time-consuming. One possibility is to consider to hiring an SEO expert to both complete the submission task on your behalf and to help you determine how to integrate directory submission into your overall internet marketing strategy. Either way, make directory submission work for you!

6 Easy Steps to Directory Submissions

Seomul Evans — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:03:11 +0000

6 Easy Steps to Directory Submissions

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

SEO professionals know that building links is one of the most important factors in driving traffic to your website and increasing your search engine ranking. The question is how you, as a business owner, can go about building links efficiently. Unfortunately, link-building is a tedious job. It takes a lot of time and effort and, frankly, it isn’t all that exciting. One of the best ways you can build links is to submit your site to web directories.

Web directories are listings of websites divided into categories and subcategories. If an internet user wants information on a particular subject, he or she has only to search in a directory to find multiple listings that will provide the information that he or she is looking for. Imagine how great it would be if your site was included! One of the best things about having your site listed in a web directory is that your listing counts as a one-way link to search engines. As you probably already understand, search engines give greater value to one-way links than to reciprocal links, so this is a great way to increase your search engine ranking.

As you begin to research web directories, you may be tempted to utilize the mass submission software that’s available. After all, such software gets the job done easily for you without all of the tedium. The problem with submission software is that each directory has its own submission requirements. Furthermore, each directory has its own human editor who will be all too happy to reject your submission if it doesn’t meet the guidelines.

Your best bet is obviously to submit your site yourself. But is there anything you can do to speed up the process? Have the following information at the ready:

1. Your website’s full URL, including the http://

2. Your site’s full title. Some directories will allow you to include keywords with your title, so be sure to have two alternate entries. One entry is just the title. The other is your title with keywords.

3. Your site description. Write several versions of your description to align with the requirements of different directories. Make one as short as 100 characters and another as long as 300 characters. Additionally, write in regular, complete sentences. Make your description compelling, but don’t make it sound like a sales piece. Don’t overdo your keywords. Remember that your submission will be reviewed by a human editor who will notice right away if you’re trying to stuff your submission with keywords

4. Your name, address, and email address.

5. The categories in which you think your site will be most appropriate.

6. Two lists of your keywords. In one list, separate your keywords with commas. In the other list, separate your keywords with spaces. That way you’ll be prepared for whatever format the directory requires.

While mass submission is definitely to be avoided, you may find that, sometime soon, someone may produce a really great submission program. The perfect submission software would look something like this: Fields that are identical to the forms that directories provide and that allow you to enter alternative titles and descriptions to meet the requirements of the various directories; details about each directory’ PageRank and traffic; a preview page where you could see the directory submission form already filled out before you actually submitted your site; and the ability to choose your own categories rather than having the software do it for you. It wouldn’t be as fast as mass submission software, but it would give back some of the control to you while shaving precious time off of the directory submission process.
If you’re new to the directory submission process, consider consulting with an internet marketing professional who can help you determine how to best use directories efficiently and effectively for your business.

Free Directories or Paid Directories: The Pros and Cons

MoeTamani — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:59:00 +0000

Free Directories or Paid Directories: The Pros and Cons

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

A web directory is nothing more than a list of websites categorized by subject. If an internet user wants information about a particular subject, she simply goes to a directory, searches for the information she needs, and she’s given a list of relevant websites. Web directories are managed by humans, so each directory submission is reviewed before the website is added to the directory. This means that website owners need to be very meticulous when submitting a site. Submission guidelines must be followed to a T.

Despite the potential tediousness of directory submissions, they are very valuable for driving traffic to your site and increasing your search engine ranking. Each link from a directory is viewed as a one-way link by the search engines, and search engines place much higher value on one-way links than on reciprocal links. The older the directory is, the more value it is assigned by search engines, too, so submitting to well-established directories can also increase traffic and search engine ranking.

There are two ways to go about submitting your site to web directories. The first is to use free directories, and the second is to use paid directories. Here are the differences:

Free Directories

The primary advantage to free directories is that they are just that—free. Beyond that, there isn’t much redeeming about them, particularly if you’re serious about using directory listings to build your business. The major drawbacks are that you’ll have to wait awhile between the time you submit your site and the time that it’s listed, your link will be lost in a sea of other links because free directories are often so crowded, and a general devaluing of your link since it will be listed with many lower-quality sites.

Owners of free directories have to make their money somehow, though, and that’s usually by using Adsense or selling advertising space. Both Adsense and paid advertising space distract a visitor from the actual free listings, which can cost you traffic and business.

Paid Directories

If you’ve decided that you want to use a paid directory, you need to make sure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Make sure that any directories you pay for are maintained by professionals and have a professional-quality layout. They should include a lot of content, including articles and high-quality resources. A paid directory should be able to guarantee you a turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours between the time you submit your site and the time your site is listed in the directory. It should offer the opportunity for deep linking as well.

Make sure that Adsense is not included in a paid directory, and a paid directory should have more features than just a sea of links. Look for a blog, articles, or other things that are there simply to enhance a visitor’s experience.

The next step is up to you. As a business owner, you have to decide whether paid directories are the right investment for you. After all, they are more well-respected by directory users, and links from paid directories are given more value by search engines than links from free directories.

If you’re not sure exactly how to proceed, consider consulting with an internet marketing professional or SEO expert. An internet marketing professional can sit down with you and help you decide how to make directory listings part of your overall internet marketing strategy. She can help you weigh the benefits of free directories and paid directories, and can ultimately help you pick out which directories will be most beneficial for your business. Don’t hesitate to get expert help from an experienced professional. When you see the increased traffic to your site and see all those sales, you’ll be glad you did!