Directories Versus Search Engines

When you add or submit your website to a search engine you usually only submit the home page . The search engine then actively spiders your entire website by following the links on the home pages and on other pages within the site. The pages are then added to the search engine index.

 By contrast directories are lists of websites organised into categories containing just a basic site description (max usually 250 characters), which you normally supply. In some cases someone will visit your site to check its content  and then either allow or disallow your site for inclusion in the directory.

Because directories usually require some form of human editing to be useful they are very manual intensive and often require a fee for inclusion.

Directories are still Important

 The most popular directory until 2004 was Yahoo until Yahoo moved from directory driven engine to a spider driven search engine model. The yahoo directory still exists and is still regarded as important, but whether it is worth paying for inclusion depends on your circumstances.

Because the popular directories like Yahoo and DMOZ are hand edited they tend to be of high quality. Most search engines will give more weight to a website if it is listed in a quality directory.

 So if a search engine thinks two sites are equally valid bit one is in a major directory and the other isn't the directory site would normally be listed first. So in highly competitive fields a directory listing can be crucial.

It also appears to be the best way to jump out of Google's dreaded sandbox.

Besides their use as a quality control, they are are incredibly important as a non-reciprocal link source.

Many search engines use links to your website/ web page as a vote for that site/page. The more links pointing to the page (incoming links) the more important the search engines think it is.

 A linking strategy is an important part of website promotion and is discussed in more detail in website links.

Free and Paid Inclusion Directories and Reciprocal Links

There are currently three directory models being operated.

• Free Inclusion- Here you submit your site and it is added to the directory, either automatically or manually.
• Paid Inclusion-Here you need to pay and then submit your site and it is added to the directory, either automatically or manually. Some directories (Yahoo in particular) don't guarantee inclusion even though you have paid. Therefore always check the terms and conditions.
• Reciprocal Links- These directories will let you have a free listing but you must also link back to them.

Local Directories

These will eventually replace the yellow pages that ruled the telephone world. There will however be many more of them, some stand alone and others provided as part of local Portal sites.

These will become very important for local businesses as more and more people use the Internet for locating local businesses and services.

Niche Directories

These don't exist in the offline world (at least not for the general public). They are organised around a theme (e.g. Windsurfing) rather than a place. They are particularly important for websites/businesses that have a wide geographical appeal.

Related resources and articles:

• Web Page Optimization
• Website Links

• Website Traffic Rankings

• Managing Directory Submissions