Three Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

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One of the big attractions of Directories, from a SEO point of view, is One Way Links. Backlinks from a quality directory will enhance your site's reputation. The more incoming links you can get, the better your search engine rankings and the more traffic you will receive from the Search Engines. There is nothing better than free traffic!

Types of Links:

Typically, Directories will offer a variety of links:

Free Links - check whether they use the "nofollow" attribute - "nofollow" means Google PR will NOT be passed to your site. However, you will get traffic from this link.

Regular Links - typically similar to Free Links but the "nofollow" attribute is not used.

Reciprocal Links - the directory will list your link in exchange for a link back from your site.

Feature Links - typically these links will offer extra exposure; normally they are listed above regular listings in a particular category; many sites offer other advantages such as site thumb shots of the site's home page.

Are all Directories equal? Of course not - some have a better reputation than others. For example, most SEO experts recommend a listing in the Yahoo Directory (currently $299 / year) and Business.com ($199 / year or PPC model). SEO experts also recommend Niche Directories. So, for example, if you wish to promote a Real Estate site, then you should be listed in real estate directories. In addition, Directories with a good reputation will also enhance your site.

SEO Tips:

We recommend that you submit to directories that are well categorised. Your link will then appear on a page which is "on theme" and Google will see the relevance. In addition look for directories that require extensive descriptions of the site. Relevant text around your link will again enhance the quality of the link. The quality of the site can be judged by its design, Alexa Ranking and Google PR. Finally, it is useful to check whether the Directory accepts Deep Links. Google will raise flags if the same anchor text is used to link to the same home page. Deep links to inner pages is more natural and will not flag G's attention.

Traffic:

One of the reasons you should submit to directories is traffic. This can be another source of "free" traffic for your site. Busy directories will receive considerable daily traffic. Browsers will eventually choose a link to leave on! You can measure the site's likely daily traffic from the Alexa Ranking. An Alexa Ranking of 1 or 2 will be Google.com! The larger the Alexa ranking number, the less traffic the site receives.

Howard Farmer
A to Z Business Directory
Free Business Links - Get your A to Z listing plus a business category link: Free, Reciprocal and Feature Links available. Link submissions moderated within 24 hours