Hi funkyP, thanks for the post, some good points there, I have over 70 directories and it’s nice to see feedback, as a person who also submits to directories I agree with you on a lot of your points, especially the categories!
But you also have to look at it from the directory owner’s point of view.
A directory that offers free none reciprocal links does not need your listing, it serves no SEO purpose for the directory. (Not entirely true, but I will explain in more depth below)
Therefore there are things that you need to consider to improve your chances of the submission being accepted.
1. Make your title descriptive, just stuffing it with keywords will not get your submission accepted. (From an SEO point of view you need to get at least one or two of your keywords in there, but be creative).
2. Description, this is very important to the directory owner, he knows you want to get your keywords in, but what he wants is a short (not too short) description that sums your site, product, or services up in two or three sentences.
If you consider the reader you will not go far wrong, imagine you have come to the directory looking for something, if your search returns results like:
Cameras, digital cameras, all types of cannon cameras, we sell Nikon cameras, cheap cameras, latest cheap digital cameras, Olympus and cannon cameras for sale, buy cannon cameras online, we sell Nikon cannon and all top makes. (This was an actual submission to one of my directories)
Then you would not be impressed, on the other hand, if the description read:
We are specialist suppliers of the latest Cannon, Nikon and Olympus cameras, we also carry a full range of cameras to suit every budget.
We have budget cameras as cheap as £20, we have a large selection of inexpensive digital cameras.
We are usually the first to stock all the latest models of Nikon, Cannon and Olympus cameras.
You can even ad at the bottom:
Tags: cheap cameras, Nikon cameras, cannon cameras, Olympus cameras, cheap digital cameras.
Some directory owners may not like this, but at least it is easy for them to delete the last section and accept your listing. (Always leave a blank line between your description and your tag line).
Personally I would accept the submission with the tags, it doesn’t reduce the experience for the directory reader, they would read your description and ignore the tag line.
And also bear in mind, a well presented submission will also get you traffic from the directory.
Now, when I said the listing does nothing for the directory in terms of SEO, that is not entirely true, A well written description is new content (be it only a tiny amount) but in the current SEO climate, where unique new content rules, this is where the directory gains, also you gain, a well indexed camera page is what you want also.
If you now consider the first example above, a directory that accepts submission like that will also run the risk of the page being penalized for keyword stuffing.
If the page is de-indexed for keyword stuffing then your link is useless.
Another point while we are on the subject of descriptions:
If you submit the same description to all directories you run the risk of being penalized for link spamming, I know people who will use the same 5 description to submit to all directories, although this is better than submitting the same one, it will still not do you any favors, have you ever wondered when you check your back links why the search engine does not see all the back links you have built! This is one of the reasons why.
Now I can almost hear the groans and moans of every webmaster that as done directory submission, but before you dismiss this advice on the grounds that you just don’t have time, let me explain.
Gone are the days of mass links, gone are the days when you could bang anything out there with a link to your site and it would improve your SERPS.
Now its quality that will get you to the top, so instead of banging links in every directory you can find, be selective, your SERPS will benefit far more from placing a fraction of the links on well indexed directories with good PR, than they will from mass link spamming.
I can also give you some tips on ways to create large quantities of quality unique descriptions quickly and easily, but that’s for another time. If anyone is interested PM me.
Description length:
It is better to submit a longer description as opposed to a description that is too short.
You would be surprised how many people submit with no description, or a few words, even some SEO agencies will do this, the ideal description would be two or three sentences.
NEVER put URL’s in the description, this will almost guarantee your submission will be refused, some people will submit a site, then in the description list other sites, or deep links of the site they are submitting.
Never put a URL in the description, if you are looking to deep link then do it properly, again, this is a subject in its own right.
Finally, one of the time consuming aspects of quality directory link building is finding the directories in the first place, for those of us who do this for a living it’s easier as we can save them for the next site.
If you just have one site to promote then the tendency is not to tack your linking directories.
One solution is for everyone to contribute to a list, so Ill put a site up to accept submissions from webmasters, to create a quality list, then everyone can use the list for their link building, please give me some time to do this as I am very busy at the moment.
Well, Like funkyP said, that’s my opinion for what its worth. Hope this is some help.
The main mistake most people make is they consider directories only good for one purpose; submitting links to them, if you make the same mistake then you will undoubtedly have a lot of your submissions refused.
A couple of other quick points to consider.
If you come across directories that offer their visitors more than just another directory, again, bear this in mind when submitting, directories that have facilities that keep their visitors coming back will get used far more than others.
For some time now I have been concentrating on this aspect, some of my directories offer free sms sending facilities, some have free MP3 downloads, a directory that as got a good returning clientele will get used far more, and can become a traffic source in its own right.
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