Free directories let you submit a link for free. Often free directories will provide upgraded listing fees or require a reciprocal link to submit a link to their free directory. Free directories can be a great resource for promoting your own directory or Web site but it’s easy to waste your time submitting to dead directories or a free directory that is packed full of SPAM.
When you’re looking for free directories to add your link to, observe the number of links they already have and the quality of their listings. If the directory is unmanaged, unpromoted, and full of SPAM, it’s best to steer clear.
2 users comments for " What is a Free Directory? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHi,
I’ve just registered a domain name and want to have a go at running a free directory.
You mention the quality of listings.
What methods can I use to improve this?
I’ve already thought of setting Guidelines, followed by CLOSE monitoring, with a warning or deletion for listings that don’t comply.
I’m also wondering if adding a (regularly updated) blog or articles to the front page will combat that ‘deserted’ feeling that a lot of directories have.
Thanks for an interesting site!
Cheers,
Jane
Good guidelines, close monitoring, listing approvals, relevant content & links, minimizing total # of outgoing links, on-page SEO, friendly URLs & titles are all ways to improve quality “in-house”. The quality of your own backlinks and promotion impacts your listing quality significantly too, which means getting lots of high quality backlinks and building up a name and reputation among other high quality directories.
Having some fresh content (via articles, blog, newfeeds, etc.) sounds like a great idea to not only improve the feeling of desertion but to increase search engine indexing and potentially bring natural, relevant search engine traffic. My only warning is to keep it fairly simple and clean. Your directory might have 10 categories, with 1 page per category. Introducing 50+ new pages with a Wordpress blog is going to take the focus *off* the directory - replacing desertion with dilution and confusion! Keep it clean and it could work wonders.
Leave A Reply