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Directory fortunes have gone up and down as far as their importance to SEO is concerned. They are currently on their way back up, vouched for by their increasing charges for site submissions. Pick the right directories and your entry is of enduring value. Even directories that are low in pagerank may grow in PR and be valuable further down the line - the current advantage being that they can't charge too much for an entry. Make their job easy in terms of choosing the right categories, and your chances of getting listed are greater. The common attempt to get a site listed in a higher, or parent category is the best way of getting your site thrown out, sidelines or at best, just taking longer to get listed.

There are of course, directories and directories. The larger directories are important to get into if possible, but not where the cost is too great. DMOZ is an important directory, but getting listed is largely a matter of chance and the whim of editors. It's a shame that such a monster repository is run in such an amateur way such that there is no rhyme or reason to getting listed, it is arcane and growingly irrelevant as a resource. Editors are prima donnas, partially corrupt and believe they are above any kind of ethical scrutiny - it's only a matter of time before either DMOZ changes it's way of reviewing sites or search engines recognise that it is not a directory to take seriously. Submit to it, then forget it. The other prime directory is also somewhat arcane - Yahoo. They charge a fee significantly out of proportion to the costs of small businesses - $299 per year! We believe that even to be listed highly in Yahoo itself that this directory is not worth the cost unless this cost is a small part of your operating costs. There is not even a guarantee that the site will be included and if not the cost isn't refunded. Don't feed the greed - we have sites listed at the top of Yahoo that are not listed in the directory. MSN is very good value for money and has much more effect than either of the previous two. Good directories that have good PR are available for less money or no money.

When submitting to a directory, think of it just as you would think of a link from another site. Where allowed, have good anchor text and have good descriptions ready. If you are allowed to, submit sub pages too, or instead of the home page. If any directory has a redirect on their links such that your site doesn't have a direct reference through the source file - forget them and move on. If any directory has the new rel='nofollow' tag in the links, forget them and move on. Where directories want a reciprocal link in return for listing you, think carefully about the value of the directory and decide accordingly. In most cases you should decline and move on. In some cases the directory wants a link on your home page - forget them and move on. If a paid submission exists for the directory, in many cases it may be worth while. Note the PR value of the site from the home page, ensure none of the above tricks are utilised (redirect or nofollow) and finally ensure that the page you'll be appearing on has a link no more than three pages deep from the home page (the worst example, from which you should run, is where the page you will likely appear on is on subsequent pages of a category where the 'next' button is itself a re-direct - the subsequent page will never get indexed by the search engines).

There are many directories where you can get listed which are worth while - there are many thousands on the web. Be selective, you'll never exhaust all the directory possibilities. After trawling the main directories, look for niche directories in your subject area. These are seen favourably buy the search engines. If you have a site on antique pottery, it makes sense for you to be listed in all the antique pottery directories. Seek these out and get listed in them, paying if necessary.

Further Reading: Value of Directory Links | Directories worth the Time and Effort?

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