A while ago I wrote an article which basically slated web directories. It was not a scientifically reasoned argument, but came about because I hired someone to submit my site to some directories and they did such a bloody awful job that I went of directories par se for good. They just seemed utterly pointless.
Why submit your site to web directories? Why are there any web directories?
It is still my opinion that they only reason why there are so many web directories is because they must feature in some of those “make a million dollars online in one week by harnessing the power of the Internet for only $39.99 reduced from $599,99 for one day only” ebooks (note to self, if I ever jump aboard the “make money online” bandwagon I need to work on my titles).
Basically, people build web directories because an ebook or secret forum tells them to do so. What makes most directories totally useless is not that they provide no SEO benefit at all, but because people just do not use them. Hands up if you know someone who uses a web directory on a regular basis (or ever) to find new content online – anyone? No, I thought not (if you do, please tell me below, I would love to hear from you!).
However, some directories are not so bad as others. Some do seem to send a little traffic, albeit a tiny, tiny little bit, which suggests that they are used by some people (haven’t you heard of Google!!?!?!!). Here is my list of the top 10 web directories that may be worth taking a few minutes to submit to. If you keep your site, description and keywords etc. in a notepad then you should be able to submit to all within an hour, if you are like lightning and the directories respond reasonably quickly.
Top 10 Web Directories (as at December 2011)
Of course, there is nothing much special about these. They have just worked a little for me on a few occasions. A little is better than nothing though! No in any particular order either (other than the order in which I discovered them).
- http://pxdaj.com – a crazy name, but an active and well-managed directory
- http://shotlisbon2008.com – I think this is one of those sites set up with a different purpose, but still active even though the 2008 event is long past!
- http://hableweb.com – if you know what a Hable is please tell me. Some people either know or do not care, as they happily use it.
- http://texadata.com/ – note that they are so lazy they have not replaced the default PHP Link Directory – again, some people seem not to notice!
- http://dirvisa.com/ – a directory of VISA companies? No, not at all. All sorts of sites.
- http://biohesion.com – great name, for a green glue. Not so good for a web directory!
- http://asepag.org/ – Ase Pag must mean something, somewhere. According to Google translate it is Romanian for “six pages”. So there you go. Much more than 6 pages though, and more than 6 users too.
- http://andihde.com – looks like “and hide” spelt incorrectly, and probably is.
- http://socicam.com – looks like “and ihde” web directory, and maybe is!
- http://minkees.com/ – another simple directory that benefits from the human touch
Of course, the point of this article is to introduce you to some alternative directories. If you are totally new to submitting your site to directories, then you still need to look at Yahoo! Directory (although if they continue with their current trend of closing down Yahoo! products, it may not be such as good investment!), Best of the Web, GoGuides and Joant – all good (and premium, i.e. you have to pay to be reviewed / listed) directories.
I hope to add to this list as I review the logs to see where else traffic is coming from. It is always worthwhile looking at them access logs!
Disclaimer – there is no guarantee that submitting to any of these will help you – the experience of one person / one site is not a reflection on what “works” or does not work on the Internet.
