Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a series of techniques used to get your website on page one of the major search engines for specific key words without paying for banner of pay-per-click traffic.
There are many techniques that can create a tidal wave of traffic to your website. One of the oldest techniques has to do with submitting your website to a directory.
For anyone who doesn’t know, directories are websites that provide hot links to other websites. Good directories get a high Page Rank from the major search engines, which adds weight and credibility to your website. Essentially, having your website listed on the top directories is like buying yourself higher page rankings for your keyword focus. Ultimately, this technique can go a long way towards putting you on the first pages of the search engines.
There are many thousands of directories. Here is a side by side comparison of some of the best ones, in order to help you decide whether or not Yahoo! directory is worth your time and money:
Free Directories:
– World Web Index – Free for one month, or $25 for the year. Good PR from the other search engines
– Search Sight – Quick listings, with options for free inclusion
– DMOZ – The best and most exclusive directory on the web, you need to have a legit enterprise to be listed with these guys
Paid Directories:
– Business.com – This one is one of the best out there. $199 a year buys you a lot of PR through this directory
– Linkopedia – $10 a year gets you a good listing here
– Yahoo! – $299 per year. Yahoo! is a big name, but this is an expensive listing to pay for anyone out there.
Ultimately, directory listing has a lower impact as search engines reshape their algorithms monthly in order to include new search applications and techniques. Listing in a few directories has its uses, but you have to make sure that it’s not what you base your budget on.
At $299 per year, Yahoo is simply not worth it, given the unstable traffic return. You’d be much better off going with a few freebies and one good paid directory listing, and then focus on building links other ways. The key to finding good directories is using Alexa. Alexa will tell you the overall traffic ranking a give you a good idea of the overall PR for your chosen sites.
Once you’ve selected your favorite directory lists, go ahead and link in. Then, spend the rest of your time working on other linking SEO techniques. Yahoo! is very useful for a lot of things, but it’s just too expensive for directory listing.