Hello all, Many directories exist some better than others, but is it the best directory to submit to? A directory with a good PR is a good start but now what. First of all just because the home page of the directory has a good PR does not mean its a good directory for your site. Navigate through the different categories to one that is most appropriate for your site now check: The page rank of the page to submit to, try to aim for at least 3+ but 2 is ok. Check if the page has been recently been cached! - if the page has not been cached then the link will not pass any benefit to your site. I have been in many directories where a good PR has been displayed but the page has not been cached (i know that it should not have a PR displayed but it does sometimes) Look how many external outbound links the page has, the PR of the page gets passed to all the sites that the page is linking to so if there are not many links on the page and the PR is good then its worth a link. When filling out the submission form out, if the directory allows it add an anchor text to the title, Use a descriptive keyword for the title if allowed. If there is the option to add deep links to other parts of your web site then this is well worth doing. Hope this helps people out. If i think of any other things ill post them here, if anyone else has some tips then please post them.
Given the time it takes to check some of these factors it may be better to just submit anyway - after all what has happened in the past is only an indicator of the future.
Nice work rapesco. Good concise information. Just to reiterate your main point: focus on quality links rather than quantity.
It does not take long at all to do all these tests, and is well worth doing in the long run to make sure the links you are getting are of good quality.
Just remember that you should submit to as many directories as possible. You will never get penalized for submitting to any directory so it will only help you or have no affect on your link popularity. You never know which links from directories the search engines are going to count so submit to as many as possible.
Honestly, I never check out the directories I submit to. It only take a few minutes to submit so I just submit and move on. I also don't concern myself too much with the pr of a directory since there are many pr0 directories out there that can become a pr5 with the next update. Every site has to start somewhere. Just my thoughts.
That is true but it could take a very long time for the page just to be cached. For quicker results check that the page has been cached and has a rank.
directory submission will help your link popularity so submit as many as you can and use your target keywords as your anchor text...
Investigating a directory is a very good thing to do for a paid directory. It takes so little time to submit to a free one that researching it first isn't really worth the effort. Especially as has been said, todays prO may be next months pr5.
This guide is based on submitting to a paid directory to make sure your investment is going to give you quick and effective results. But yes i agree about free directories.
Oh, I didn't realize you were referring to paid directories. That is a different story. Those I would research before submitting.