When submitting to directories, there is no magic formula. All directories are unique, generally having different categories and different rules for submission. Directory submission can be quite time consuming because each submission must be tailored for a specific directory. Some directories permit 15-word descriptions, some permit 30 words, and some permit up to 200 words. Therefore, when submitting your site to the most popular directories, always keep their unique characteristics in mind.
Planning a Directory Submission Campaign
Planning an effective directory submission campaign is crucial to your site's search engine visibility. In addition, in some ways, directory submission is even more important than search engine submission because, with directories, you basically have one chance to submit your site correctly. As long as a web site's directory listing is factually accurate, directory editors have no reason to modify the listing. Directory editors' main concern is not how web site owners market their web sites. Directory editors care that the information in their directory is unique, timely, and accurate.
Some directory results come from human editors who find sites through their own research and surfing. Although this is not a common occurrence, most companies prefer the opportunity to write their own titles and descriptions. So rather than risk a directory editor finding your site and writing a title and description you don't like, plan and implement your unique directory submission campaign.
In this log file, keep records of the following information:
Name of the directory
Name of the person submitting the web site
Email address of the person submitting the web site
URL submitted
Date(s) of submission
Categories selected
Web site title
Web site description
Any additional information entered in a Comments field
Relevant contact information of the company and organization, including physical address, telephone number, and fax number
If using a paid submission process, a copy of the receipt and the tracking or order number
Directories generally rank web sites by category, title, and site description. In other words, if your title, description, and category contain keywords that people are typing into search queries, your site might appear at the top of directory results. Therefore, an effective directory submission campaign involves keyword research and copywriting.
How many of you truly and honestly spend hours researching the most appropriate directory categories and writing the best descriptions so that both the directories and your site can benefit? Does your site really have unique content or does it contain the same content that all the other sites contain? Web site owners tend to write the descriptions that benefit them most.
If you plan on using the directories as part of your online marketing plan, try not to think solely about your web site. Try to imagine how a directory might benefit from your information. That is what directory editors are thinking about when they evaluate your submission. Directories do not benefit from keyword-stuffed titles and descriptions. They benefit from sites with unique, quality content placed in the appropriate categories. Thus, help directory editors reach their goals. Build a good web site and do your research before you submit.
Selecting the Best Category
One of the biggest mistakes web site owners make during directory submission is not doing the necessary research on each directory.
To select the most appropriate category for your web site, type your selected keywords in each directory's search box, and study the results."How to Build Better Web Pages?" These are the words that you should be entering in the directory search boxes.
You might want to begin with the most generic search term, such as the word "tea." When you begin with a generic search term, categories might appear at the top of the search results. In all likelihood, your site belongs in one of the categories that appear at the top of the search results.
Do not automatically select the category that appears at the very top of the search results. Your web site must truly be suited to a category to be accepted. Are your competitors listed in that same category? Is the type of information you are offering on your web site similar to the information offered by other web sites in that category? You might find that your site can easily fit in multiple categories. If this is the case, you can select the category that appears at the top of the list.
For the TranquiliTeas web site, the most appropriate category in Yahoo! is the following:
Business and Economy > Shopping and Services > Food and Drinks >
Drinks > Tea > Organic
The Open Directory displayed multiple categories that might be appropriate for the TranquiliTeas site:
Business > Industries > Food and Related Products > Beverages > Tea
Shopping > Food > Beverages > Coffee and Tea > Tea
Recreation > Food > Drink > Tea
Suggesting a New Category
Sometimes, after performing several searches, you might not find a directory category that accurately reflects the content of your web site. In this situation, you can suggest an additional category to the directory editors. To be safe, suggest a category that is similar to other categories in the directory.
For example, a particular state in the United States might display a specific category, but a different state might not. This situation arose when I submitted a web site from a domestic violence shelter located in Waukegan, Illinois. A domestic violence shelter listing belongs in a directory's regional section. In all likelihood, a person who is seeking domestic violence help in Connecticut is not going to travel to Illinois to seek an emergency shelter.
Home > Cooking > Beverages > Tea
The first two categories contain a large number of tea sites, and the TranquiliTeas site probably will be buried in the search results. It might be better to find less-populated categories. However, based on the types of sites listed in these categories, a submission to either category might be appropriate.
The fourth category is not the best category for home page submission because most of the listings specifically mention recipes. Although the TranquiliTeas site contains recipes, the majority of its content is geared toward selling tea.
Cheers
Karthick
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