Directories help you rank by linking to your site. This works because most modern search engines calculate your page's worth and ranking within their index based on links. Though links generally aren't the only factor when trying to rank a site, they are a significant one. When submitting to directories its important to remember that search engines will analyze the anchor text, description, importance of the directory page, and age of the link.
Before you begin any campaign to rank within search engines you should do plenty of research on your keywords. Using various keyword suggestion tools will give you a good idea of the phrases that are commonly searched. Sometimes you'll be quite surprised what comes up! Keep the top 5 or so keyword phrases in mind as you go read the rest of this article.
Search engines will be analyzing the anchor text, which is one of the reasons you'll need a good knowledge of your best keyword phrases. When you submit to a search engine it's important to rotate the anchor text so that you don't have some hundreds of links with identical structures. That many links all pointing to one site is obvious spam to any search engine. Rotate between the top 3 search phrases for your specific domain. Every once and a while use the 4th or 5th place search phrases. This will make your gain in directory presence look to be more natural and therefore worth more to the search engines.
The description of your directory listing is also important. Google and Yahoo can detect surrounding text, and will associate that descriptive text with your link which is what you want. However just like above when we noted that having hundreds of links with the same 3 words is spam, having hundreds of identical 30 word descriptions just can't be natural. Try to use 5 different descriptions and rotate them. Make sure to use keyword phrases from your research above (try not to use the same keywords as you do in your anchor text). This gives your directory link and description a good level of keyword density.
Deep linking is an important part of any link building campaign and is not to be overlooked. It would be incredibly unusual for a site with very good content to never get any links to it. So while submitting to directories link to a few of your main sub-sections, this increases the natural look of your link profile. The same rules to creating anchor text and descriptions apply here.
All directories are not created equal and that's a fact many don't remember in their pursuit of rank. Look where your link will be placed within a directory before you put it there. Recently in a link building campaign I purchased an expensive (100$ or so) submission at a directory. After a few weeks I happened to go back to this directory to submit another website. I browsed to the section where I had submitted my last link and realized that link was barely worth anything. The page had about 80 outgoing links, and a PR of 1. While PR is generally not a good way to check whether a site is worth a directory submission or not, you still want to see at least a 3 when you're paying that much money. So as a good rule of thumb check where your link is will be placed go before you submit.
Google likes old sites and it like old links too. Quite often you won't see your links giving anything back till around 6 months down the line when they've escaped from the infamous sandbox. Link age should also vary or it won't look natural, this is one way in which directories work quite well. The standard directory process of reviewing sites before inclusion takes between a day and a few months to fully process. This allows your links to have a varied appearance age wise.
Directory submissions are a great way to create good quality links at cost. These links can generally be formatted to fit our needs as webmasters; after all we are the main client base of nearly every directory. Follow the basic anchor, and descriptive text rotation techniques and you'll assuredly see the results.
Related Articles
How To Decide Any Directory As A Quality Directory.
By: Manish Mathukiya | 14/11/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Directories are best way to get one way links. Especially for new sites.
There are hundreds of directories but there are also a lot of directories out there where submission is worthless.
Benefits Of Directory Submissions
By: Manish Mathukiya | 14/11/2006 | Affiliate Programs
Achieving good search engine visibility has become a necessity for every website today. Hundreds and thousands of businesses compete with one another in order to generate more and more business through their websites.
Directory Submission Guide And Link Building With Directory Submissions
By: Manish Mathukiya | 15/11/2006 | Communication
Link Building with Directory Submission
Link Building is very crucial in search engine optimization.
How to Get Better Acceptance in Article Submission
By: Manish Mathukiya | 14/02/2007 | Online Promotion
Article submission has become an important question in the present circumstances. Most of the web developers have joined the race to submit maximum number of articles in the article directories. But the fact is that hardly a few of them are only successful in the race with the effective article submission. Hence, one of the most discussing topics among the web marketing people is how to increase better acceptance in article submission. Unfortunately no simple short cuts can be pinpointed for the
SEO Firm
By: Manish Mathukiya | 05/05/2007 | SEO
While Search Engine optimization (SEO) is very important to your web site, especially if you want to expand your web site's exposure, you need to make sure that it is done properly. Your web site cannot afford to fall victim to the bad practices of SEO.
Search Engines or Web Directories
By: Prashant Shukla | 07/05/2008 | SEO
Submitting your site to major search engines and good rank directories help increasing the traffic and good placement in SERP (Search Engine Result Pages).
Link Building Services
By: Manish Mathukiya | 05/05/2007 | SEO
Ever since 2003, the discussion of link building has been a never ending topic. While this discussion began because of how link building could potentially affect your Google Page Rank and how it will list you within those web sites who are fighting for positioning with specific keywords. The way in which this is decided is upon the basiss of incoming links. Search Engines truly believe that these are very important for web sites to have. This is why it has
Several Ways To Build Backlinks and Improve SEO
By: Daniel Millions | 04/09/2008 | SEO
In order to rank higher in the search engines you will need to build quality backlinks.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
NPI
By: Satheeshrv | 31-10-2008
I am a doctor, I have my own NPI#.I am planning to add one more doctor with me in my practice. That Doctor has his own individual NPI#. My question is how can I get new NPI# for my group. After getting the Group NPI#, how can I add the new doctor's individual NPI# under the Group NPI#.
Website promotion, promote you website, search ...
By: Emmanuel | 27-09-2008
website promotion, promote you website, search, site, ranking, search engine optimization, search engines, search engine,
So many directories appear to have been penalised ...
By: ArticleAlley | 24-09-2008
So many directories appear to have been penalised by Google is it still worthwhile submitting to directories?
Windows Certificate Services and ADAM
By: Jenny | 18-09-2008
Can Window Certificate Services support to use ADAM as directory instead of Active Directory? Thanks
Help from a former pc user
By: sarge2236 | 17-09-2008
my g-4 has 9.2 os on it ,i got this computer used and went to the hhd and changes it to osx that it said it had now i cannot get it to do any thinf. it said /etc/master.password:no such file or directory ,sh-2.05a# can anyone please help me i am not apple savvy. thank you dale
Inf on teacher in touro
By: sandy rabinowitz | 21-08-2008
looking for inf on suz white teacher in touro nushing school
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Affiliate Programs Articles
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: is Your Product Targeted Enough?
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
There some factors that you will have to consider when you are looking for good affiliate product to promote to your customers. One of the key questions that you will have to ask yourself is whether the affiliate product that you are promoting is targeted enough. Why do you need to ask yourself this question?
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: Checking the Sales Conversions of the Merchant Website
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
Are you convinced to buying the products after you have read through the sales letter? This is a very important question that you will have to ask yourself when you are looking for affiliate products to promote. Why the merchant’s website sale conversion is so important to your business?
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: is the Commission and Incentive Attractive for You?
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
Understanding the affiliate program that you are promoting is a very important step as you will want to know the benefits that you can get from the Affiliate program. One of the things that you will want to know is the commission and the incentive that the merchant is offering. There are 2 questions that you will have to ask yourself.
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: Checking the Payout Schedule and Limit
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
When you are doing your affiliate marketing business, you will be spending a lot of your time and effort to promote the affiliate product. You will be expected to be rewarded with the commission from the merchant. It is thus important for you to know the payment system that the merchant has in paying their affiliates.
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: Checking the Merchant’s Term of Service
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
There are many things that you will have to consider when you are choosing the affiliate program that you want to join. It is important that you join a good affiliate program so that you will not be taken advantaged by the merchant. One of the things that you will have to check is the merchant’s term of service.
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: Checking the Merchant’s Support and Contact
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
It is true that you do not have to do any customer supports if the customer purchased the product from the merchant and the merchant should be in charge of giving the support. You will be thinking that your role is to just continue referring customers to the merchant’s website so that you will be credited with the commission if the customer purchases the product. Do you know that your business will be affected by the responsiveness of the merchant’s customer support?
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: Do You Want a Long Term Business?
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
Before you even started your business, you will have to decide on the kind of business that you want to have. If you are not clear, you will not know the things that you will have to do to start your business. So what are the things that you need to know if you want to start your own long term business?
Affiliate Marketing Survival Skill: Checking the Quality of the Affiliate Products
By: Zack Lim | 22/11/2008
There are many affiliates who are only interested in earning quick money and they will just promote any products hoping that the customers will buy. It is true that one of your business goals is to earn money but it is also important that you make your customer happy. One of the things that you will need to do is to check the quality of the affiliate products that you are promoting to your customer. Why is it important?
Internet 
