Directory Listings

[Gravitate]

Hi,

I apologize in advance because I fear this is not the appropriate forum to post this question, but I searched for with the word "Directory" in the title and couldn't find one. Moderators, if I missed finding the proper forum, please feel free to toss me over there.

Anyway, here is my question. I am trying to get my site listed in the proper directories to build some good incoming links. I have already started to research some good industry specific websites to get links from, but I am trying to determine the best general directories to get listed in. Here is what I have found:

Inktomi $39/year
All the Web $35/year
AltaVista $39/year
Teoma/Ask Jeeves$30/year
Yahoo-Express $299/year

Would any of you consider this an exhaustive list? I suppose this is a loaded question because I have read about others like Go-Guides, Joe-Ant, etc, but was wondering if they were worth the time and/or money.

Thanks!
Michael

[cbp]

These ones:

Inktomi $39/year
All the Web $35/year
AltaVista $39/year
Teoma/Ask Jeeves$30/year

... are not directories. They are search engines. Links from then will not count as incoming links to "link popularity". The money for these only guarantee that you will be spidered/crawled every so often.

Yahoo @$299 is often considered not worth it by a lot of people. Submit for free, but do not hold your breath.

DMOZ is the one that counts, but can take a while to get into. GoGuide, JoeAnt etc are worth it but not as valuale as DMOZ.

Also try some industry specific directories.

CBP

[Gravitate]

CBP,

Thanks for the clarification. If I understand you correctly, you are saying DMOZ and Yahoo are the only true, large directories (outside of industry specific ones) that we should consider?

So, you think JoeAnt and GoGuides are worth it, huh? I tried to get myself listed there, but the pages where I would have been linked from had no PR (though, I am not sure if that makes it a bad idea - still not clear on all of the SEO stuff...) I will check these out. I don't mind spending the money as long as it has good value.

Thanks.
- M

[cbp]

Yes - DMOZ and Yahoo are the biggies - but its a judgement call if the $299 for Yahoo is worth it.

GoGuides, JoeAnt etc are worth it (they free) - they won't have no PR, just a PR <0 (that may increae in the future). All links will help - especially if your keyword(s) are in the anchor text of the link.

CBP

[Gravitate]

Hi CBP,

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that they were free when I was checking them out. I will look into them.

Sorry for the double post! My browser was hanging and I pressed the button twice.

- M

[cbp]

They are not all free, but GoGuides was offering free submissions for a while - think its still going.

CBP

[jackson992]

Just wnted to make sure it's understood that the inktomi amount is listed per page not per site

[cbp]

Yes, it per page or URL.

I have paid for a couple of sites, just the home page - as its a crawler based SE, it finds the other pages....

CBP

[jackson992]

Could you explain what you meant by that last statement. I have also paid for one page per each of my sites.


"as its a crawler based SE, it finds the other pages"

[cbp]

Inktomi is a crawler based SE (like Google) - paying only guarantees that you get crawled every 48 hrs (I think its 48) - if you have good links to your site they will find you via crawling regardless if you paid or not.

CBP

[ronniethedodger]

Inktomi is a crawler based SE (like Google) - paying only guarantees that you get crawled every 48 hrs (I think its 48) - if you have good links to your site they will find you via crawling regardless if you paid or not.

It is 48 hours. The one advantage of getting crawled that often is if you have fresh content and need it out there quickly.

But the paid submission is per page. People just do their Home Page and maybe their Sitemap in most cases. It gets a little costly for any more than that.

I can't remember the cost off hand, but it is pretty cheap considering that is good for one full year. Cheap as in like around $30 I think. It is not a bad bang for the buck....especially if you have a constantly changing site.

[Jurgen]

Hi CBP,

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that they were free when I was checking them out. I will look into them.

Maybe I should clarify a few things here from my experience. They way I understood the questions is that Gravitate is looking for some different information.

There are search engines out there where you can submit your site for crawling for free. Because it is free it will take a few weeks or even months for the crawler to spider your pages. They don't even give you the 'garantie' the the site will be crawled.
Only if you subscribe (pay big bucks with some) you will get this garantie.
But this again will NOT give you a 'garantie' for a good ranking. Only that the site will be crawled frequently during your subscription.

The cheapest way is to manually submit your pages to the "free" search engines regularly (be careful not to do it to often, follow their guidlines) and be patient.

DMOZ (which is a human operated directory)is certainly very time consuming but worth it. And as far as I know, Yahoo is only free if you are NOT a business and selling something.

I hope that will help to clarify a few things for Gravitate.

Jurgen
www.absolutelyfabulousflowers.com

[cbp]

The cheapest way is to manually submit your pages to the "free" search engines regularly (be careful not to do it to often, follow their guidlines) and be patient.

I have not submitted to the free crawler based search engines (ie Google et al) any new page or site for a very long time - its makes no difference and is a waste of time and energy (and money of you paid someone to do it). The crawlers will find you via links on their own schedule.

CBP

[Jurgen]

[quote]its makes no difference and is a waste of time and energy (and money of you paid someone to do it). The crawlers will find you via links on their own schedule.CBP

That is correct, once you are in thier schedule the spiders will come back eventually. It all falls into place with time.

One other thing what was mentioned:

to build some good incoming links...

I think this has nothing to do with getting listed in SEs or directories. To be FOUND is the key. Am I right???

Jurgen


www.absolutelyfabulousflowers.com

[ronniethedodger]

One other thing what was mentioned:

to build some good incoming links...

I think this has nothing to do with getting listed in SEs or directories. To be FOUND is the key. Am I right???


You get found by SE spiders from the inbound links....your link exchanges increases you being found more and more with each link you have out there. More Links = Increased Finding. Or increased visits to your site in some cases.

You cannot be found by a Directory. You need to get listed in those.

[Jurgen]

You cannot be found by a Directory. You need to get listed in those.

This is what I still don't quiet understand. I read and heared that is a big plus to be listed in directories, manly DMOZ (it sure took me the longest time to get there but I made it).

Why is it so important? And aren't search engines enough? You still would get the same result, wouldn't you?

Jurgen

[ronniethedodger]

Why is it so important? And aren't search engines enough? You still would get the same result, wouldn't you?

Yes and no. It is not the end of the world not being listed in DMOZ. But it is the big daddy of backlinks that you can ever have.

DMOZ is considered "the" directory. Also referred to as an "authority" directory. It is non-commercial and incorruptable. It is the number one starting point for the googlebot, and it is also the directory behind the Google directory. You can also see Google's PR ranking in the DMOZ directory. The listings in the DMOZ directory are sorted by PR.

The sites listed in this directory lead the SE's spider's down their path. Having a listing in DMOZ assures that your site will be seen by virtually every known spider that crawls for web content.

Yahoo Directory was one of the top "authorities". Still is to some extent...but you have to pay to get into it now. There is debate now on whether or not it is directory worth paying to be in.

Consider directories as a link exchange without the need to reciprocate. Also, consider them to be higher valued link than an just any ordinary backlink. If you look at it from that point of view, then you have a pretty good grasp of the concept.

Without the listing in the DMOZ directory, you will have to be "found" by other means. Doing submissions alone is not enough. You need backlinks (the more the merrier) from other sites to keep those spiders coming back more often and with more interest.