Major online directories
Like search engines, there are hundreds of different directories online. Some are general directories,
whereas others are very specific and associated with only one industry or organization. When you’re
selecting the directories to which you’d like to submit your site, be choosy. Don’t try to list your site
in a directory that’s inappropriate. You’ll just be wasting time and collecting rejection slips.Some of the most well-known directories on the Web are: Yahoo! Directory (dir.yahoo.com): The Yahoo! directory is one of the oldest directories
on the Internet, but when you go to Yahoo.comyou actually won’t be taken to it. Instead,
you’ll be taken to a search engine, because Yahoo! changed its format not too long ago.
How ever, you can still access the directory, by going to the web site just listed. Yahoo!
directory is a general directory.
GoGuides.Org (www.goguides.org): This directory’s purpose is to be completely spam-
free. It’s a comprehensive search directory that even has image-searching capabilities.
Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org): The Open Directory Project is one of the most
widely accessed directories on the Web. Users submit sites, and volunteer editors review
them. ODP is also an open-source technology, so many other directories use this technol-
ogy as a basis for their own offerings.
Google Directory (directory.google.com): The Google directory is one of those direc-
tories built on the ODP platform. Google is most well-known for its search capabilities, but
adding a directory takes advantage of the desire of Internet users to dig deeper into very
specific search results.
SearchSight (www.searchsight.com): Another general directory, SearchSight is one of
the lesser-known directories, but it’s quickly gaining traction in the search market.One reason search directories are still hanging on in an age of search engines is the social nature of
those directories. Internet users like to participate in organizing the Web (and you learn more about
that in Chapter 18). Socially monitored sites also seem to have more viability with Internet users.
People trust others who have the same needs and desires they do much more than they trust robots,
crawlers, and spiders.Paid vs. free directories
The free versus paid debate is one that’s hit every aspect of the Internet and Internet technologies at
one time or another. There was worry about free web-site hosting versus paid web hosting, and fret
over free e-mail versus paid. And in both cases, whether free or paid is better for you, turns out to
depend on what your specific needs are.The same is true of the debate over free versus paid directory listings. Many experts will try to say
that free directory listings have nothing of value listed in them. This is simply not true. Some free
directories are actually very strict about the listings that are included in their results. On the other
hand, most users believe that paid directories automatically equate to better quality sites. Again,
not true. Paid directories can be just as lax about the review process as any other directory.215
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