How to submit your web site to Yahoo, the Open Directory Project and other Internet directories

This special article lists all parts of our special article series about how to submit your web site successfully to Yahoo, the Open Directory Project and other Internet directories.

What is an Internet directory and why should you care?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between search engines and directories? If you don’t know the difference, then your site may be excluded from major sources of web traffic.

If your site is listed in Internet directories, then it can also have a higher ranking on search engines, for example Google prefers web sites that are listed in the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org).

If your web site is listed in industry specific and regional directories, then it can gain a higher link popularity score which can improve your rankings on other search engines. In addition, directories bring targeted traffic to your web site.

So what is the difference between search engines and directories?

• Search engines use software programs to index your web pages, often called robots or spiders. They are programmed to constantly crawl the web in search of new or updated pages. They will go from one page to another until they have visited every web site on the Internet. Every search engine employs different criteria to determine if your web site should be indexed and how well your site should be ranked. The most popular search engines today are Google, AltaVista and AllTheWeb.

   

• Internet directories don’t use software programs. They are compiled by humans who organize web sites by subject into categories. If you submit your web site to an Internet directory, your web site will be visited by real people who can decide whether they include your web site or not. The most popular directories are Yahoo and Open Directory Project.

If someone searches on a search engine site, the query must match the words on your web page. If someone searches on a directory site, the query must match the words in the description of your web site in the directory.

A listing in all important Internet directories will have a very positive effect on your web site. If you want best results for your site, you should make sure that your site is listed in all relevant Internet directories.

How to get listed in Yahoo, DMOZ and other Internet directories

As explained in our last newsletter issue, a good listing in Internet directories can bring your web site a lot of traffic and it will increase the link popularity of your web site.

In general, to get your web site indexed in a directory, you have to submit your site to a particular category. In addition, you have to submit a description of your site. An editor will review your site and then accept or reject your site according to its quality.

Sometimes it’s harder to get indexed in Internet directories than to get listed in search engines. There can be a variety of reasons why Internet directories won’t list your web site.

If you follow our tips below, it’s more likely that your web site will be listed in Internet directories. This will improve your search engine rankings and it will bring more visitors to your site.

The most important tip is: submit your web site to the right category and follow the directory’s guidelines carefully.

Most directories are very specific. They list only web sites that fit their topic or world region. Even the major general directories are very picky, for example if you have a UK-based site, make sure it’s in the appropriate regional category of the directory.

If you submit to Yahoo and your site is commercial, you must submit to the “Business and Economy” category. If you submit to the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org), you must follow these rules: If your site isn’t written in English, you must choose the World category, if you have an adult site, you must choose the Adult category, if your site has regional information, take the Regional section.

So before submitting your web site to a directory, read the directory’s submit guidelines carefully. Here are the addresses of the major directories and where you can find their guideline pages:

• Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com/docs/info/include.html
• Open Directory Project: http://www.dmoz.org/add.html
• Zeal: http://www.zeal.com/guidelines/style/
• Gimpsy: http://www.gimpsy.com/gimpsy/doc/faq/faq_suggest_site.php
• JoeAnt: http://www.joeant.com/guidelines.html

Further directories for the specific topic of your web site can be found at “directory of directory” sites, for example searchenginecolossus.com and beaucoup.com.

Submitting to general directories and industry-specific directories can improve the link popularity score of your web site and so it can improve your search engine rankings.

How to get your directory submission accepted by the directory editors

A listing in Internet directories is important for your web site. It brings traffic to your web site and it increases the link popularity of your site so that it gets higher search engine rankings.

If someone searches on a search engine site, then the search query must match the words on your web page. If someone searches on a directory site, however, the query must match words or phrases in the directory’s description of your web site. That’s why the description is the most important factor when submitting your web site to Internet directories.

Give your description a lot of thought and be very precise in your wording, otherwise editors will re-word it to their liking. You run the risk of losing your important keywords and phrases in the description. Keep your tone down. Your first goal is to get listed and show-up on a search for your main keyword or phrase. Let your web site do the selling.

• Your site description does not have to be identical to your META Description tag. You’re free to enter any description you want as long as it follows the directory’s submission guidelines.
• Don’t just submit a list of keywords but 2-3 sentences that convey what your site is about.
• If the directory demands both a title and a description, then don’t repeat the title in your description. You will just be wasting copy, because it will get edited out.
• Look around in the category you want your web site to be listed in and try to mimic the general wording. Many directory editors have a certain style that they like to see.
• Speak of yourself in the third person. Don’t use the “we” terminology, for example don’t say “we offer kitchen furniture” but say “offers kitchen furniture”. The directory sites cannot use the “we” word because it would imply that they are the ones offering kitchen furniture instead of your company.
• Avoid superlatives, exaggeration, hype and marketing speech as much as you can when filling out the submission form. For instance, do not submit titles such as “The best company for kitchen furniture” or “#1 radio manufacturer world wide” (even if it’s true). Describe your site in functional terms, not the usual promotional copy used for your visitors.
• On a related note, don’t use all capital letters and exclamation marks. NOT even once!
• Include only your most important keywords or key phrases in the description. Don’t use all the keywords you can imagine.
• Keep your description short. Editors always edit for brevity, clarity and accuracy. The longer the description, the more likely the editor will have to edit it. If you describe your web site as “Provides a directory of the best affiliate programs on the market where you learn how to build a new income stream”, the editor might reword it as “Provides associate program information”.
• Don’t use expressions that have no real value and that don’t describe the purpose of your site, for example “Welcome to the kitchen furniture site” or “Try our products”. Directory editors always delete such phrases.
• Don’t add pricing information in your description. On the one hand, it doesn’t describe the purpose of your site and on the other hand, it’s often difficult to get your description changed once you’ve been accepted in the directory.
• Always spell-check your description. This means that you shouldn’t start crafting your description in the submission form on the directory web page but in your word processor application. If you can, let someone else proof-read your
  description.

If you follow these tips, you can be reasonably sure that your description won’t be edited and that it will contain your most important keywords.

Why your web site might not get listed

It can be very expensive if you pay a non-refundable fee to the directory only to get rejected. There can be a variety of reasons why Internet directories won’t accept your listing. The most important ones are:

1. You didn’t submit to the right category.

Directories are very choosy. Make sure you completely follow each directory’s guidelines, for example on Yahoo, if you have a UK-based site, make sure you submit to the appropriate regional category of the directory.

2. Your web site has no real content.

Do not submit your web site to directories unless it has substantial content on a particular subject. This means that you should not submit special keyword-stuffed pages you have created for the search engines, or web pages that contain only affiliate links.

Ask yourself honestly if the web page you want to submit will actually hold a visitor’s attention for at least 2 minutes.

3. Your web site doesn’t have a professional look.

Directories are looking for professional designed sites as every site in the directory reflects the quality of the whole directory. Sites that have “blinking text” and clip art images scream “amateur design”, especially on a site’s home page. Many directory editors won’t navigate a site further than the home page when they see any indication of a poorly designed site.

Test your web site with other web browser applications than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. At least, use one of the Mozilla/Firebird/Netscape browsers to see how they render your web site. Don’t assume editors use Windows computers and the latest versions of the browsers.

Keep the loading time of your home page to the minimum. Almost all editors of popular directors have a backlog of sites to look at. Your site has only a few seconds until most editors decide whether to take a deeper look at your web site or to move on.

In addition, your site should be easy navigable. Directory editors don’t have time to find out how your site works. Use a spell checker to find spelling mistakes or have a professional proof-reading service check your web site.

Web sites are often rejected because they contain broken links or a broken graphic link. Any broken link is reason enough for a site to be rejected because it shows that the web site is not managed in a professional way.

Why your Yahoo submission might not be accepted

1.    Your web site uses uncommon plug-ins.

If your web site is password protected or requires some kind of plug-in, directory editors will probably not list your site at all.

Your site should not contain the latest technology that makes it potentially inaccessible to even a minority of your users. This can include excessive use of JavaScript, Java applets, Flash movies, Shockwave and other web elements that require some form of plug-in download. You don’t know which operating system and browsers the directory editor will use when looking at your site.

2.    Your web site isn’t popular.

Some editors look at the Alexa rank first to decide whether it’s worth looking at your site or not (although this doesn’t make sense because either your site has exciting content worth linking to or not). Directories don’t like to add the 536th site about “home based business opportunities”.

Your site must be original and popular. It’s a bit like the hen-egg problem. Your site should be popular but actually, you submit your site to directories so that it becomes popular. We recommend using the software program ARELIS to get more sites linking to your site.

3.    You haven’t published your post address.

It really helps if your site has a real address/phone/fax/email address attached to it. It also helps if you provide a contact name. Publish your street address and not a postbox address. Directories don’t want to list fly-by-night companies.

4.    Watch out for 19 additional mistakes.

I had also published an article that describes the 19 common mistakes that prevent your web site from showing up on search engines. The reasons listed there also apply to your directory submission.

How to resubmit your web site to Internet directories

Have you followed our directory submission tips in the last weeks? Then it’s very likely that any directory will accept your web site submission the first time.

In short, make sure you have a professional looking web site with unique content that is accessible in all popular browsers and that has been proof-read by others. In addition, you should follow the directory guidelines very carefully.

If your web site doesn’t get listed within 3-4 weeks, just re-submit it. Keep submitting your web site to the directory every 3-4 weeks until you get in or get formally rejected.

The main reason your web site gets rejected are time constraints. Editors of popular directories receive hundreds of submissions every day and have a backlog of sites to look at. The directory editor probably didn’t have the time to visit your site.

If your web site has not been listed after 4 weeks, send a cordial email message to the directory editor. Try to get the right contact person for your category. Some directories such as the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) publish the person in charge at the bottom of the category page. Click on the name to find out his or her email address.

Tell the editor that you have waited several weeks and that you have already submitted your web site several times. Ask politely about the status of your submission and whether there’s a problem you need to correct. Be sure to include your web site URL, the category name and the submission dates.

Even if the editor doesn’t reply immediately, your site might get the attention it deserves and it might get listed quicker.

If you have submitted your site to the popular Open Directory Project, you can ask about your site’s status at the public forum of the DMOZ editors.