Use Website Directories To Get Noticed

The greatest challenge for new Web sites is getting noticed.

It's estimated that over 3,000 new Web sites go live every day. That's a lot of noise you'll need to be heard over.

That's why Web Directories are so handy.

The Net is awash in them, by the thousands. Yahoo! started it all, with handy lists, arranged by categories, of Websites large and small. Then Google and MSN and dozens of other search engines came along and consumers got used to looking in directories for relevant Web sites.

Now those very same search engines scour the thousands of other Web Directory sites out there, making note of the sites listed there. Those links are then calculated by the search engines for listing Websites of that category.

And those so-called "organic" search results are what gets your site listed for consumers searching for information specific to the niche of your site.

When posting a listing to a Web Directory, here are five tips:

1. Look for free listings. Many sites will try to get you to pay for a listing. A paid listing means nothing more than a free listing to a search engine. If you can only get listed on a directory by paying, make sure it has a high page rank (over 5) before buying that link.

2. Post only in the category that is specific to your niche. The surest way to get de-listed or outright banned is by blindly trying to get linked in any old category. Directory Webmasters are very serious about mismatched categories. Don't get on their bad side by listing your site in a non-relevant category.

3. Be selective in giving reciprocal listings. Some Web directories are so traffic-starved that they need your link more than you need theirs. Only reciprocal link with sites that have a greater page ranking than you have.

4. Give a great description of your site. Make the site name compelling, not just a name. use the title to zoom in on the niche. Stress your site's main attraction. Think of the title as a newspaper headline. It gets your reader's attention.

5. List keywords. If your site offers free listings, stress that in the meta tag description. If it's a niche specific directory, make sure you use that niche in your keyword description.

About the Author

The author publishes the Sites of Note free Web directory for general interest sites http://www.sitesofnote.com.