SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

There is also a fourth kind of directory: a hybrid directory. A hybrid directory is actually

a combination of a directory and a search engine. Yahoo! and AOL both operate hybrid

directories.

The more directories your site is listed in, the better you’ll perform in search results. Most search

engines crawl directories, and some even use directory listings to supplement their search results. Just

be aware that directories can be outdated, so make time to check your directory listing to ensure it

stays fresh. If you notice that the directory doesn’t seem to be updated regularly, you may want to

remove your listing, because being included on the directory could reflect poorly on your site.

Submitting to directories

By now you’ve figured out that directories work differently from search engines. You must complete

the submission process to have your site included in most directories. But even when you’re submit-

ting information about your site, there’s an art to doing it.

How you list your site can mean the difference between the site being included in the directory or

not. Before you even begin to create your listing, it’s usually a good idea to navigate through the

directory that you’re submitting to. Look at other listings and make note of what works in them.

Keywords are of little importance when you’re creating your directory listing. Instead, what will make

the difference is the content on your web site. So if you’re faced with listing in a directory that’s strict

about reviewing sites before they are listed, make sure you have fresh content on your site. And it’s

also a good practice to keep that content fresh by updating it regularly.

Links can also be important when your site is being reviewed for inclusion in a directory, so be sure

you keep your links updated. Broken links can be detrimental to your site, and links that lead to

unrelated pages won’t reflect well either.

Other elements of your listing that editors evaluate for include:

 Appropriate categorization

 Accurate titles and descriptions

 Title and descriptions relevant to the subject of the web site

 Domain names that match site titles

 Secure ordering capabilities on e-commerce sites

 Contact information that’s easily accessible

 Links to privacy policies, return policies, and product or service guarantees

 Working and appropriate links to other sites and resources

 Images that display properly in the most common browser formats

 JavaScript that’s free of errors

NOTENOTE

213

Adding Your Site to Directories 14

75002c14.qxd:Layout 1 11/7/07 9:53 AM Page 213