Omar Kattan

Archive for the ‘Directories’ Category

Once upon a time, Directories were the backbone of the internet.  Actually, Yahoo started it’s life out as a small human edited directory attempting to organise the millions of websites out their into logical categories. Then Google came along!

Another prominent directory on the net is DMOZ aka the Open Directory Project (ODP) is  an open source initiative hailing itself as the largest Human edited Directory on the Net.

The ODP data is used by thousands of other niche directories around the net including Google’s own directory which uses ODP data as it’s source.

Here is a list of my favourite directories on the net:

1.  DMOZ www.dmoz.org has 5.8 million inbound link (IBLs). DMOZ is a free directory established in 1999 with a pagerank of 8.

2. Yahoo Directory http://dir.yahoo.com was established in 1995, has 5.1 Million IBLs and a pagerank of seven. The Yahoo Directory charges $299 per year for a review.

3. Business.com www.business.comwas established in 1998 has 113,000 IBLs and a pagerank of seven. Business.com charge $299/yr for a review.

4. Librarians Internet Index www.lii.orgwas established in 1998, has 475,000 IBLs and a pagerank of seven.  LII is a free directory.

5. Starting Point www.stpt.comwas established in 1994, has 121,000 IBLs and a pagerank of four.  Starting Point charges $99/yr for a  review.

6. Ezilon www.ezilon.comwas established in 2002, has 123,745 IBLs and a pagerank of six. Ezilon charges $69 for inclusion.

7. Best of the Web www.botw.org was established in 1996 has 2,369 IBLs and a pagerank of seven.  Best of the Web costs $250.

8. Gimpsy www.gimpsy.com/was established in 2001 has 1,169 IBLs and a pagerank of five. Gimpsy charges  $49 for inclusion.

9. GoGuides www.goguides.org/ was established in 2001, has 1,110 IBLs and a pagerank of eight.  Go Guides charges $40 for inclusion.

10. Chiff www.chiff.comwas established in 1998 has 4,892 IBLs and a pagerank of 5. Chiff charges $60.

Do you know what a directory is?

A directory is a human edited list of websites that is categorised by topic.  The first major directory on the internet was Yahoo! 

Soon after DMOZ (founded by Netscape) became the first and largest directory edited by thousands of volunteers from all around the world.

The importance of directories: 

Directories are important because they (the good ones at least) are regarded by the major search engines as authoritative, which means that a link from them to your site would be considered an authoritative link.

How do you submit your site to directories?

Very easy.  Follow these steps:

1. Go to the directory of choice
2. Navigate to the best category that fits your site’s theme
3. click on the “suggest url” link
4. Read the rules of the directory
5. Fill in your title, description and url
6. press submit

 Tips on submitting to directories:

1. The title of your listing should be your site’s name
2. Read the rules
3. Make sure not to stuff your description with keywords
4. Read the rules
5. Make sure you stick to the character limit specified by the directory
6. Read the rules
7. Note the directory editor’s style and submit listings in line with the directory editor’s style
8. Yup, you guessed it … Read the rules!