I have always wondered, maybe someone can answer this. Does the description or keywords really have any weight whatsoever for the submitting site? If so, why, and what?
It is proven long ago that text surrounding link also contributes towards ranking of site. Descriptions also set context for the page. So yes, use a keyword rich (not spammy) description and use multiple variants of your description.
Yes the description helps add weight to the theme of the page. If a web directory has pages that have unique content (as opposed to descriptions that are on a thousand other directories) they have a much greater chance of ranking in the search engines. If the directory page ranks in the search engines it should be passing some serious link juice for the related terms for which it ranks.
By writing a good description there is a bigger chance for Google to index that page. You won't safe time by writing a totally unrelated description so I can't quite understand why we're even discussing it
Thanks everyone for the replies. Zexy, more or less, if you auto submit, most ppl will give you one description and use it over and over and over again for all submissions. So is the duplicate content terrible? In the description, the anchored links that are surrounded by a decent content will give out weight to the submitters site or the page?
I use the meta description for the page I'm submitting every time I submit. I write each page's meta description carefully, and I have no intention of watering it down into a second-best, third-best, tenth-best, or whatever description. I can't for the life of me imagine why the search engines would object to you using the page's meta description for every submission. I have submitted to thousands of directories and have never had a problem using the same description. Google and the other SEs are fully aware of your meta description, so I can hardly imagine why they would object to your using it to describe your directory submission. On the other hand, I do alter the title text for submissions, using several variations that accurately describe the page's main keywords and content. I do that to get more of the relevant keywords ranking.
website: www.edogle.com You can post classified submission and article submission both on one roof and it will be approved within 24hrs or less than that. Google PR-2 Good Site.
Your keywords and descriptions will be the most nearby things to your link. And all we know that link must reside at relative content. So, if you put relative content and keyword with your link then that will help you to get better position
Another "Yes, It's important" vote. You want your link to be surrounded by the right keywords to increase it's value.