SEO Blog

The Internet plays host to thousands of directories. Some are stronger than others and as such provide more benefit for those who use them. The one thing that they all have in common though is that they provide an opportunity for businesses and website owners to promote their wares.

For websites, directories can be a fantastic source of links. Most will allow you to include company information and a URL, which in turn will help develop your local search profile and link building efforts in one fell swoop. However, even better than just offering a URL link, some also allow embedded text links.

In terms of SEO, we are all trying to optimise pages for certain phrases. This is to give the search engines the clearest possible indication what we want that particular page to rank for. Therefore, by having a link (which builds strength) within a specialist term (increasing relevance), you are increasing the benefit of this one listing.

So which directories should you choose?

First of all there are high strength premium directories. Often offered by specialist companies and even the search engines themselves (Yahoo particularly), premium directories require payment for inclusion within their listing. This gives them a unique strength and can gain you links that you rivals can only dream of. There are no guarantees with these, but if you have the budget and you find a decent, reputable premium directory in your sector, why not invest?

Next there are the strong free directories. These are often Yellow Pages style directories featuring businesses in all industries, right throughout the country. Yell.com is an obvious example of this, another is Dmoz. Get listed, get a link, get your site strengthened!

Then there are the rest. These are often smaller specialist directories, often targeting certain locations or industries. Whilst they don’t have the strength of premium directories, they still provide the link and will certainly add to your site’s relevance.

Some of these will offer negligible traffic flow and link strength, so the benefits aren’t always clear. However, if you have done a lot of link building in the past, you will be all too aware that sometimes you have to do plenty of groundwork to get any benefit whatsoever.

Sometimes these things work and really give your SEO a shot in the arm, others won’t do anything. As with most optimisation techniques, the proof is only really found when you sign up and get yourself listing.

That said, if you find a directory that is of a really low standard and you doubt its credibility, steer clear. The last thing you want is to have your links tainted by becoming embroiled in a bad neighbourhood. It is rare, but the last thing you want to do is end up signing for a distinctly black hat link farm.

The best thing about directories is that they are easy to source and just as straightforward to sign up for. So much link building is left to chance or requires extensive research, directories just need a few forms filled in, maybe some money passed over and you’re away. Couldn’t be easier.

The benefits can be far reaching too. Not only do you build SEO strength, but as with every link, you stand a chance of attracting targeted traffic too. Better yet, that traffic knows who you are, where you are and what you do, so they already have a reasonable idea of what to expect. Ergo, they are more likely to convert.