2. Every webmaster wants links (possibly a lot of them!).
That's not surprisingly because links from other sites are
not only a source of traffic, but also a very important
factor that helps a site to rank well in search engines
results.
3. Apparently submitting your site to web directories is one
of the quickest ways to get links, but getting listed is
sometimes much more difficult than it may seem.
4. The problem is that web directories are swamped by a
large number of low quality submissions: poorly
designed web sites, web sites without any original
content or created only to display advertisements and so
on.
5. For this reason directory editors review hundreds of
sites per day and accept only those complying to a very
strict set of guidelines. There are days, and I talk by
personal experience, when more than 90% of
submissions are rejected, in many case without even the
need to visit the site simply because of a poorly written
submission.
6. If you want to increase your chances to see your site
listed, it's essential to understand what informations
you are required to provide about your site and how to
properly submit them.
7. At least title, description and url are required by all
directories.
9. Directories have more or less restrictive rules about
what you can or cannot have as your site title.
10. Some allow only your official domain name or company
name, other are more liberal.
11. In any case a good title should never exceed 4-5 words.
Using a long list of keywords as title (keyword stuffing),
excessive repetitions and inappropriate punctuation
must be absolutely avoided.
13. Many sites are rejected due to an inappropriate
description. A description is not an advertisement and
should never contain superlatives or excessive
marketing hype.
14. Directory listings are usually searchable by words
contained both in title and description so the keywords
commonly used to find your site should be included in
your site description. However always write 2-3
complete sentences that sound natural do not make
your description a long list of keywords.
16. You would say that people should at least be able to
correctly submit their own web site url. If you work as
directory editor for a while you will change your mind! It
happens quite frequently that a site is rejected simply
because of a mistyped url.
17. Never type your site url directly into the submission
form. Test it in your browser, save it in a text file and
copy and paste from there.
18. Each directory can have some other specific rules, so be
sure to carefully read the submission guidelines and
comply to any special requirement.
19. It's said that you never get a second chance to make a
good first impression: directory editors read the
informations you submit before visiting your web site.
Learn to properly write your submissions and you will
greatly increase the chances to have your website
accepted.