One popular way to boost your off-the-page factors and your Google ranking has been to get your site listed in web directories. There have been rumors that Google is beginning to discount these links (see our previous post), but for now, this still seems to be a somewhat beneficial strategy.

DMOZ

Google’s own web directory is feed straight from the DMOZ Directory (also known as the Open Directory Project). If you aren’t familiar with the DMOZ, it is probably considered to be the most respected directory. It is completely free to submit your site and is run completely by volunteer editors. The bad news is that it is just about impossible to get listed in the DMOZ. Many webmasters have been unbelievably frustrated by their failure to get  very high quality sites listed in the DMOZ. Because it receives so many submissions, it can take months (or longer) to even get an editor to look at your site.

I personally do not like the DMOZ (it has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve never had a site listed there….I promise). I have experienced the frustration of trying to get listed several times. The volunteer editor system allows for too much power and subjectivity of one person in the process. The only way to get in now, is to know the editor.

You should find the best category and submit your site to DMOZ, but just don’t get upset when you don’t get in. I wouldn’t even bother, but it is free and maybe you’ll get lucky!

Yahoo Directory

The other very important directory is the Yahoo! Directory. Like DMOZ, this is a human-edited directory, but it is not free (for most). There are some categories that you can submit your site to for free if it is not a commercial website. For all other sites, the cost is $299 a year ($600 for adult sites) to get reviewed. This doesn’t even guarantee inclusion!

Some webmasters are adamant that the fee is worth it, while others are just as sure that it isn’t. For many webmasters, the fee is too high for it to even matter. If you have a good website that should be accepted, it might be worth getting listed for a year or two. After that, you should have enough credibility to live without it.

Other Directories

There are many other directories, both free and paid, to get your site listed in. Here are a few items to consider when deciding on which directories to submit to.

• Age of directory- The older, the better
• Directory site structure- Make sure the directory has a search engine friendly  structure.
• Size of directory- This seems to be changing. It used to be that a directory with many pages was thought to be better and have more authority. Today, it is so easy to copy links from other directories in a matter of hours, that fewer pages seems to be gaining preference with Google.
• Theme- If the directory has a similar theme to your website, that is a plus.
• PageRank- The higher the PR of the directory the better. Keep in mind  that the page your site will be listed on is usually not the main page of the directory. If your category page has a high pagerank, that is very beneficial.

There are rumors circulating that Google is beginning to lower the value it places on links from web directories including DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory. If the rumors turn out to the true, this would cause a huge shift in the SEO community, as relevant directory links have been a primary tactic used to increase page rankings in the SERPs.

The rumors have been fueled by a change in Google’s webmaster recommendations. Two key bullet points have disappeared from the suggestions:

• Have other relevant sites link to yours.
• Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites

Google is not claiming that it is devaluing links from these directories, but it is also not saying that it isn’t. A move like this could really increase the importance of link exchanges and back-link building services like Linkvana.