HOW TO MAKE DIRECTORY SUBMISSIONS YOURSELF?

Making directory submissions on your own would require a huge amount of
time and dedication. There are several steps that need to be followed in order to
submit a site to a directory. Each of these steps is explained in detail:
Compile a List of Directories:
To begin with, you would first need to compile a list of directories to which you
would like to submit your site. There are thousands of web directories available
online and you would have to make a reasonably large listof directories to
which you would like to submit your site. You couldconduct general searches
on Google or Yahoo or browse through sites like
http://www.directorycritic.comto compile your list of directories.
Check for SEO-Friendly Factors:
From the list of directories you have compiled, you  would then have to narrow
down on the ones that are search engine friendly. By this we mean a directory
that will return links that are counted and valued by the search engines.
There would be no purpose in getting a directory link to your site if the links
weren’t search engine friendly or ‘SEO-Friendly’. Ifthe links you get don’t matter
to the search engines, they won’t matter to your website either! There are several
things you should do to ensure that your links are SEO friendly:
Ensure that there are no META nofollow or noindex tags on thelink pages:
To do this, you would have to view the page source ofone of the link pages in
the directory. The page source can be viewed simply by right clicking your
mouse. You would see an option that reads ‘View Source’ or ‘View Page Source’.
Click on the option to view the source code of the entire page. Within that page,
look closely for the following code:
<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex,nofollow”>
If you do find this code mentioned on the page, don’t bother submitting your site
to that particular directory, as the search engines would not count the links it
gives out. When ‘noindex’ is written in the code, itbasically tells the search
engines not to index the page, while ‘nofollow’ tells the search engines not to
follow or count the links on the page.
Save time in having your website manually submitted to a hand-picked list of quality web directories.
Therefore, even if only one of these parameters existin the  META tagsof a link
page, avoid submitting to that directory.
Ensure that the links do not have a ‘rel=nofollow’ tag onthem:
You should also make sure that the links on a page do not appear in the
following format as this also commands the search engines not to follow links:
<a href=”http://www.domain.com” rel=”nofollow”>Domain</a>

The directories that give out such links would be worthless to submit to, hence it
is important that you first view the source code of each directory to ensure that
the links you may receive from them will be valued andcounted by the search
engines.
Ensure that the links are not JavaScriptgenerated links:
When the source code is viewed, the links should appear only in the standard <a
href=”></a> format. If any other coded format is used,  you can be certain that
the links are not SEO friendly links and would hence,be ignored by the search
engines.
Save time in having your website manually submitted to a hand-picked list of quality web directories.

Some directories give out links that  redirectto a page other than the home page.
These links are not valuable as they are not direct links to the site.
URL of the link pages should not contain too many parameters:
You have to ensure that the  URLof the link page does not have too many
parameters. An example of such a URL is:
http://www.webdirectory.com/link.php?u=23&as=2323434324&as=23423asfsfa
s&pw=32433.
Although this factor alone may not make a directory non-SEO friendly, it is
believed that search engines either don’t index or don’t place too much value on
those pages that have too many parameters in the URL.
Only if a directory passes all these criteria, will it be considered an SEO-friendly
directory. Before getting down to the actual task of making submissions, you
would first have to compile a list of several such SEO-friendly directories to
which it would be worthwhile to submit your site. This would involve the
laborious task of having to go through several hundredsof directories
independently to see if they match the criteria for SEO-friendliness. This is where
a submission service, like Directory Maximizer, comes in handy since they do all
these checks for you before starting with your submissions.
Choose the Right Category:
Probably the most important aspect of making a directory submission is
choosing the right category under which to submit your site. Some directories
offer a wide range of category and sub-category choices  and it is important to
first browse through all the options and choose as specific a category or sub
category as you can find that will be most suitable to list your website.
Remember that directory links would not be of any useif they come from
irrelevant categories that are not related to the theme  and content of your site.
Hence choice of category is very important. If you donot find a category that is
suitable for your website, some directories also offer the option of suggesting a
category. If the directory editor approves your suggestion, a new category would
be created.
To make this process simpler, let us take you step-by-step through the actual
submission process. The website we will be submitting as an example, is a site:
http://www.statisticalforecasting.com.
Save time in having your website manually submitted to a hand-picked list of quality web directories.

We would like to ideally submit this site under the main category of Reference
and the sub-category of Statistics. For this we would  first have to go to the main
page of a directory and browse through the category choices for the ‘Reference’
category.
Below is a screenshot showing the homepage of a directory with the cursor on ‘Reference’:

When you click on the main category, you will be takento that category page
where you will have to then choose your sub category.The sub category chosen
for this example is ‘Statistics’.
A screenshot of this is shown below:

Submit Website Details:
After you have made the proper choice of category, your next step would be to
submit your site. To do so, you would first need tolook for the option in the
directory that says ‘Add Listing’, ‘Add URL’, ‘SubmitSite’, Submit Link’,
‘Suggest Site’, ‘Suggest URL’ or ‘Suggest Listing’.These are the common terms
that can be found on the homepageand category pages of a directory. The option
to add or submit a site is usually found right at the top or right at the bottom of
the page.
In this particular directory, the option is found at the top as shown in the following
screenshot:

When you click on this ‘Add Site’ link, you will be  taken directly to the
submission form page.
Read and Follow Directory Guidelines:
When you arrive at the form page, the first thing you need to do is read
the submission guidelines carefully.
An example of this is represented in the screenshot below:

The guidelines of a directory are basically rules and regulations that need
to be adhered to while submitting a site to. Some directories are very strict
when it comes to accepting sites to be listed in them and if you ignore the
guidelines mentioned for each directory, you could well be wasting your
time, as the directory editor would instantly reject your site when it comes
up for approval.

Choose Your Directory Listing Option: 

There are all kinds of directories available online - some are free to submit 

to, while others come with a listing fee. All directories have various 

pricing features and listing options mentioned, offering at least a few, if 

not all of the following: 

Paid Listings: 

Some directories require payments to be made in order  for websites to be 

listed. These directories are also commonly referred  to as ‘Paid 

Directories’. The amount that needs to be paid for eachlisting varies from 

one directory to another. 

While some directories charge a one-time fee for a site to be listed, others 

require payments to be made annually, monthly or after determined 

periods of time. 

Most paid directories offer various payment packages, the most expensive 

package offering the most benefits to the website in terms of quick review, 

guaranteed back links, featured listings, advertisements and attractive 

placements. 

The paid listings or ‘Featured Links’ will be given a  special place on the 

website above other listings, often highlighted in a different colour, so that 

they attract more attention. 

Below is a screen shot of the listings displayed in a directory. As you can see, 

‘Featured Listings’ are given importance over and displayed above, the ‘Regular 

Listings’. 

Free Listings: 

Directories that offer free website listings are also  known as ‘Free 

Directories’. Free listings are often referred to as  ‘Regular Links’ or 

‘Regular Listings’. No payment whatsoever is required in order to get a 

site listed in these directories. However, each sitethat is added free of cost 

will most likely have to undergo a review process. This could take 

anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and link approvals from 

these directories are usually not guaranteed. 

These listings when approved appear within the category under which it 

has been submitted. It is often difficult to find a specific listing in a free 

directory, as that would involve manually going throughseveral pages, 

looking through several thousands of undifferentiatedlinks. 

Reciprocal Listings: 

Some directories require a link exchange with the sites that are to be listed 

in them. Only when these directories find a link pointing to them in a 

website, will they give a link back to that website. This process of 

exchanging links is known as  reciprocal linkingand directories that 

demand reciprocal links for a listing are also known as  reciprocal 

directories. 

All web directories would offer at least a few of these listing options, if not 

all. Some directories offer a combination of these listing options, such as a 

free listing with reciprocal links or a paid listing with reciprocal links. 

Fill up the Submit Form: 

A submit form is the form into which basic website details need to be 

entered. These will be the details with which your site gets submitted into 

a directory. 

Below is a screen shot of a typical directory submissionform: 

Pricing: 

Starting with the pricing you would first have to select the listing you 

prefer for your submissions. Mark your preference inthe space provided 

at the side of each listing. 

For example if you choose the regular link, you wouldhave to indicate 

your choice by clicking on the circle provided on the left of the option. 

Screenshot:

Title: 

Titles entered for a site should be short but meaningful phrases that in a 

few words, capture the essence of the site. Limit the title to 4-6 words 

comprising not more than 45 characters. 

Tips 

•  Each title entered should not consist of more than 45 characters 

•  Titles should not be all upper case 

•  Avoid over-stuffing and repetition of keywords

•  Avoid the use of exclamations (!) or superlatives like‘best’, 

‘cheapest’ or ‘greatest’ 

•  The titles entered should sound objective and not too promotional. 

Do not use offensive or vulgar words. 

•  Some directories may insist on just an ‘Official Title’, i.e., the either 

the company name or the website name. In such cases, besure not 

to enter any keywords in the titles. For example, if  to submit a site: 

http://www.statisticalforecasting.com, we could use either of the 

following titles: 

o  StatisticalForecasting.com – the domain name of the website 

o  Statistical Forecasting – the official website title 

Screenshot:

URL: 

The URL that needs to be entered while submitting a site should always 

be that of the site’s homepage and not of inner pages or folders. Most 

directories do not allow inner pages to be submitted;hence it is always 

better to stick to entering the homepage URL, unlessotherwise specified. 

Tips 

•  Do not submit parked domains, domains with no content,those 

that are still under construction or those that re-direct to another 

site 

•  Avoid submitting unregistered domains and those that are hosted 

on free hosting services 

•  Submit the URL in the correct format, i.e., with or  without the 

‘http://’, as may be specified 

•  Add a forward slash (/) at the end of the URL, if required by the 

directory 

Screenshot: 

Description: 

The descriptions entered for a site should, in a few meaningful sentences, 

state what the site is all about and what it has to offer.Descriptions 

entered for a site should preferably be limited to 200-250 characters unless 

otherwise specified. 

Tips 

•  Avoid including pricing or any other details that are  likely to 

change with time 

•  Do not mention contact details such as an address, email or a phone 

number 

•  Do not capitalize the first letter of every word of the description 

•  Avoid ending the descriptions with ‘etc’, ‘and so on’ or ‘and much 

more’ or even ‘…’ 

Save time in having your website manually submitted to a hand-picked list of quality web directories. 

Page 26 of 53 

•  Avoid using controversial words like ‘sex’, ‘sexy’ or ‘cialis’ or 

‘viagra’ as part of your descriptions 

Screenshot: 

Keywords: 

The keywords entered for a site are the words with which you expect your 

site to be searched. Targeting specific keywords withyour directory 

submissions could help you gain high search engine rankings for the 

same. This field may be altogether absent in some directories; however, 

most directories offer this as an optional field. 

Tips 

•  Do not repeat a single keyword more than once 

•  Pay heed to the format required – whether the keywords should be 

separated by a comma, a space, or both 

•  Make sure that the spellings entered are right

Name: 

Enter the name of the person associated with the website. Some directories 

display listings along with names. The name entered in  this field may 

therefore be displayed along with the website’s listing in a directory.

Email: 

Very few directories are particular about the kind of email address 

submitted, so this should not be a cause of worry. However, as a 

precaution you might want to enter the email address that is associated 

with the site domain, as some directories do not accept email addresses 

from free accounts like gmail, ymail, hotmail, and so on. 

Tip 

•  Refrain from entering your regular, business email address as you 

could expect to get a whole lot of emails from directories. Hence 

you could perhaps maintain a separate email account only for the 

purpose of directory submissions. 

Category: 

If you have already selected the category into which you want to submit 

your site, this field of the form will be filled with the category of your 

choice. If however, you come to the form page without choosing a 

category, you can do so simply by clicking on the drop down arrow, 

which will reveal all the categories and sub categoriesfrom which you 

could make your choice. 

Screenshot: 

Enter the Code and Submit the Form: 

Most directories do not allow  automated submissionsand thus include 

verification codes known as ‘captcha’ codes on to directory submission 

forms. These codes can only be entered manually. Several thousand 

submissions could be made at a single time if the process is automated. It 

would not be possible for human editors to review somany submissions. 

For this reason, visual codes are attached at the bottom of the form page. 

Tips 

•  Enter the code exactly as it is shown unless it is mentioned that the 

code is not case sensitive 

•  Wherever necessary you will have to accept the terms ofagreement 

by checking the space provided 

•  Submit the form after double checking all the details entered 

For the Reciprocal listing option: 

If you have selected the reciprocal listing option, you will have an 

additional field of the submission form to fill. 

Reciprocal URL: If you have chosen the ‘Regular Link with Reciprocal’ 

option you will first have to copy and paste the link given below the space 

provided for ‘Reciprocal URL’ on to a page on your website. Then you 

would have to copy the URL of that page where this link exists and paste 

it within the ‘Reciprocal URL’ box given in the form. 

If you have not chosen the reciprocal option, you DO  NOT need to fill in 

anything in the ‘Reciprocal URL’ box.