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Link Directory Submissions: Getting It Right The First Time

As a webmaster, you're probably all too familiar with the grueling task of submitting your web site to links directories. These days, we can save a lot of time by utilizing Multiple Directory Submission programs. However, if you don't get it right the first time, it's not going to do much to help your indexing on the top search engines, which after all, is the entire purpose. In this article, we're going to discuss what steps should be taken before submitting to Link Directories for maximum results.

First, let's discuss why Links Directories are so important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and traffic. When your web site is added to a Link Directory, you are receiving a static link, or backlink. The more backlinks your web site has, the more important your web site appears to a search engine. If 5 backlinks are found to your web site, Google, for instance, may decide it's not a very good web site, cause only 5 people thought it worthy of a backlink. If, on the other hand, your web site has 2,000 backlinks across the Internet, Google would think, “Hey, this must be an important site - look how many people have linked to it!”. Hence the higher indexing you will receive in Google.

Okay, so we know Link Directories are extremely important for achieving good search engine indexing. How can we make sure to get the most out of each backlink? There are several steps that should be taken before submitting to a Link Directory. Some of these steps may take more time and effort than others, but they are all very important. If you're going to put any effort into this task at all, you might as well make it worth your time, right?

The first step is to choose the best keywords that are directly related to your web site content. Search Engines frown greatly upon unrelated keywords. Once you have chosen the best keywords and keyword phrases for you site, you'll need to research them for optimal traffic building.

There are several online sites that offer keyword optimizing services. Google AdWords and WordTracker both offer great tools for this purpose. Most of these services will require you enter a keyword or keyword phrase. They will then return the best alternative keywords, showing the frequency in which they are searched and the level of competition for the keyword or phrase. What you're looking for is a high search frequency with a low competition. Once you've chosen the optimized keywords, you're ready to submit to Link Directories.

When you submit to a Link Directory, you're usually asked to provide a Title, Description and Anchor Text. First we'll go over the title.

1. The Title should never be over 99 characters long.
2. It should not sound like a complete advertisement.
3. Use keywords in your title when possible, but do not over stuff them

Next is the Description. Not all Link Directories will ask for a description, but for those who do, it should be short, sweet and to the point using, some of your best keywords. Follow these guidelines to create the best Description.

1. Do not make it sound like an advertisement. Imagine the text of your description being read by a car salesman on TV. If it sounds like an ad, change it.
2. Use a few of your best keywords, but do not over stuff them.
3. Do not repeat keywords in your text, or use any other repetitive text.
4. Keep the description short, one or two sentences should do, three at most.
5. Avoid words like “largest”, “best”, “leading” etc. Most Link Directory editors have probably developed a twitch from reading this kind of description, and they, as well as search engines, frown upon it's use.

Then you'll need to provide anchor text. This is very important, because it is something search engines will pay a lot of attention to. Not that they don't pay attention to Title and Description, but anchor text is viewed differently. By this I mean, if your web site is linked on 100 link directories, and each one contains the same anchor text, search engines will see it as “anchor spamming”. This technique will get you a much lower index ranking on Google. Instead, you want to create several different anchor texts for use at different Link Directories. It is also important to note that not all Link Directories will give you an anchor text of your choosing. Many will look at your anchor text, then supply what they think is the best anchor text, in some cases for their own needs, not yours. For this reason, you must do two things: a) Only submit to respectable Link Directories, and b) create a very good anchor text, so they will be inclined to accept it. Here's a few tips on creating a good anchor text.

1. Do not over stuff keywords.
2. Don't make the anchor text too long.
3. Don't make it sound like a promotional advertisement.
4. Use a different anchor text for every Link Directory submission.

Last, you'll want to select the most relevant category for you web site. The more in-depth your category is, the better ranking it will receive from Search Engines. For instance, if you're offering online casino and poker reviews, you don't want to be listed under “Online Gaming”. Online Gaming includes everything from video console emulators to online backgammon. Instead, you would delve into something like “Computers > Online Gaming > Online Casinos > Casino Reviews”. In short, for the best SEO results, get as in-depth into the categories as possible, while maintaining absolute relevancy to your web site content.

If you follow each of these steps, you should get the most out of your Link Directory Submissions. Yes - it's time consuming, but isn't the success of your business worth the added effort?

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