Are Web Directories Dead Yet?

In our quest to get our clients' websites indexed and prominently ranked on Google, Bing, and Yahoo, we tend to keep our efforts search engine-focused, while there exists a valuable and frequently overlooked tool that can drive the traffic your website needs: online directories.

Web Directories are sites that classify web links by placing them in appropriate categories and subcategories.

Listing your website in these directories offers cheap- or often free- and easy exposure and a few other benefits to boot.

Submitting the clients of my Los Angeles web design and SEO company to online directories is a routine part of our campaign efforts.

Some SEO experts dismiss the idea of listing their sites in directories because they assume users seeking particular products or services will usually use search engines rather than spend the extra time digging through the “layers” of sites like Dmoz.org.

However, while getting your site listed in directories might not attract an especially high number of human views, it will get you noticed by search engines themselves.

You see, unlike blogs and other sites, most directories require manual submission of a link for assessment by an actual person in order for it to be listed. This requirement prevents bots and software-powered spammers from inundating them with sketchy links. Thus, search engines recognize that the sites listed in directories are valuable and legitimate.

Additionally, they will give directories priority when they crawl for new content, so your listing can certainly get you indexed faster.

Along with getting you speedily added to the SERP’s, most directory submissions give you a one-way inbound link, rather than asking for an cross-promotional exchange, and will let you use any anchor text you want in your site title.

Also, some of your prospective customers will elect to use directories for their searches, meaning that when they find and click on you, you’ll be getting interested, targeted traffic that is less likely to bounce.

So if you ask me whether web directories are dead I would ask you if you still know people using dial-up Internet connections :)