Directory sites present a structured list of sites on the web sorted by category. There are countless directory sites on the web, some specific to a category such as ‘East Coast Restaurants’ to general directories such as Dmoz.org or Yahoo! Directory (http://dir.yahoo.com).

Some directories are free, some require payment to be listed and some require a link back to them on the home page.

When submitting a site to a directory you must first decide which category the site belongs under. With many directory sites you may only submit a site once.

Submitting a site can get confusing when the directory structure starts getting very detailed. You want to make sure to place the site under a category that touches on all of the services or information provided within the site. For example, a store selling jewlry, clothing and handbags may not want to put themselves under a Jewelry category since they sell other items. On the other hand, if jewelry is their strong point it may be the right choice.

If the category splits off into regional categories should you place your site under a specific city or a county?

If the web site is ‘X City Plumbing Inc’ and appears to be focused on serving that specific city then it would be placed under that city category.

Dmoz.org is maintained by moderators, so if ‘X City Plumbing Inc’ was submitted to a county and the moderator found this to be inappropriate the site may be moved to the city category anyway. This is something to keep in mind when deciding the focus of the site.

“Get your site submitted to thousands of directories!” – Quantity is not necessarily a bad thing in this case, but you will need to make sure that the site is submitted to quality directories as well.

The major thing to look out for is having your site submitted to directories that aren’t browsed and don’t get scanned. Even though the link may be there the search engine will never account for it.

In Summary:

• Directories can be free or require payment or a link exchange
• Some directories can be for a specific interest while others are general
• Make sure to submit your site to an appropriate category
• Even though quantity is good, make sure to post to directories that will be searched