Directory submissions as part of ‘off-page’ search engine optimisation (SEO) have long been considered a valuable exercise, if approached correctly. Traditionally, directory submissions have been one of the most important ways to build incoming links to a website (especially niche directories) and have always played a vital role in the development and direction of the web.

Opinions on how best to approach directory submission vary and range from those who consider it worthwhile submitting to every directory on the planet, to those who advocate being highly selective and hand submitting to only a few of the better, most relevant directories. There are certainly plenty of options available, with some companies offering to submit your site to a multitude of directories for a small fee.

The consensus amongst professionals experienced in directory submission (and an opinion that we share at SEO Consult) is that your resources would be far better deployed targeting quality directories and manually submitting the entries. Experienced SEOs are quick to advise that nothing works as well as manual directory submission. If your aim was to get organic traffic from Yahoo! and Google, a good place to start would be getting listed in the quality (often paid) directories.

Not only are there now hundreds of ineffective directories, but repeated mass submission to low rent directories might even detrimentally affect your search engine ranking.

By submitting manually to quality web directories, article directories and Vortels (vertical industry portals or directories) sites enjoy numerous benefits.

• Additional targeted traffic
• One-way links to your website
• Quality backlinks
• High Google PageRank
• Improved search results
• High visibility in search engines

Vortels in fact list businesses and relevant information by category and are easily drillable, offering results not reliant on keywords that a search engine algorithm may or may not have identified.

Human-powered directories such as the Open Directory, and Yahoo! (the biggest and most popular) depend on human input for their listings. It’s very important that submission guidelines are followed exactly, and success tends to only come upon submission of a high quality site to the proper category. As the submission process is so specific to each particular directory, submissions MUST made by hand. Automated submission programs can't adequately submit to any directory because it isn't able to study the directory's structure and determine which category is best.

Sites that get listed in the Yahoo! directory automatically get spidered by Inktomi (Yahoo!'s bot) and also by Google. Despite the companies being in competition with each other, the $299 submission fee has been considered good value. Until recently Google even suggested a listing in the Yahoo! Directory as a way to get into their index.

Things have been changing though. In 2007 Google took radical measures against a large list of general topic web directories, the sites suffering to the extent that they couldn't even rank for their own name. The probable reasons are numerous but include:

• General in subject matter – these directories weren’t considered vertical enough, a signal they might be manipulative.
• A lack of discretion leading to low quality, spammy websites being listed. Bad links and bad neighbourhoods.
• Lack of focus - multiple directory ownership.
• Promoting phrases like ‘search engine optimized’, ‘high PageRank’ or ‘highly ranked’ to describe their directory indicated that they weren’t selling listings in a directory, they were selling to manipulate search engine rankings.
• Manipulative link building techniques, including sponsoring blog template themes, buying links at weak directories, putting out junk press releases, releasing link-passing affiliate programs and joining web master forums that allow signature links.
• Stuffing links and contentto ‘look natural’.
• Multiple links that offered a choice of anchor text clearly aimed at spiders and not at human readers.
• Demanding reciprocal links to be included, or for reduced payment or free inclusion, almost certainly trying to manipulate search rankings through linkage.

The list goes on.

What this move indicated to SEO professionals was that Google was scaling down, not just the value of directories that they considered overtly manipulative, but also their appreciation of the contribution of directory listings generally.

This isn’t to say that directories per se had become redundant overnight. What it did do though was to focus attention on the attributes of the more reputable ones and make it even more important that before to invest time, energy and cash in submissions to directories that were shown to be legitimate.

In no particular order, here are some of the factors that should influence the decision whether to submit or not:

• Search engine friendly
• Static text links
• Age of directory
• Recent cache of sub-pages
• Inclusion in major search engines like Google and Yahoo!
• Rankings for category specific topics in search engine
• Quality of websites listed
• Quality of backlinks
• Keywords allowed in title tag
• Core mission of directory

The above factors are important considerations, but something has happened recently that has thrown a potentially giant spanner in the directory works. Google’s Webmaster guidelines in October 2008 removed the advice ‘Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo! as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.’

Google’s John Mu contributed, “I wouldn't necessarily assume that we're devaluing Yahoo's links. I just think it's not one of the things we really need to recommend.” He may well have been highlighting the contradiction between Google’s tacit support or endorsement of paid for directory submissions on one hand, and the war that is being fought on paid links. Taking Google at face value though might indicate that the references to ODP and Yahoo! were removed simply to show no bias to any particular sites. Interestingly, Google even dropped their own link to their own directory. It’s not clear as to whether Google are or will devalue Yahoo!’s links, though as with directories that they consider manipulative, if Google come to a clear conclusion that paid submission directories adversely affect relevance, then they will undoubtedly devalue them in the long run.

Google’s position as the clear industry leader when it comes to searches and search engine generated traffic is, of course, important. Recent developments have proven of great interest to the SEO industry and this is an area that we at SEO Consult will be watching carefully.

For more information on how we can enhance your Internet presence through targeted, crafted, manual directory submission, contact SEO Consult today.