Most people know about and consider PR as a factor for determining quality web directories.  Although PR can be useful as a quick reference, it is far from the best or only consideration.  Below you will find a list of other factors that should be taken into account when evaluating directories.

• Review the directory’s listing titles and descriptions.  Titles and descriptions that contain only a list of keywords and do not form a complete sentence or clause are an immediate indication that the directory does not provide editorial review.  Not only do these listings appear "spammy" and unorganized, but this also provides evidence that the directory’s listings are not reviewed for undesirable content.
• If the directory claims to be family-friendly, check to see if web sites listed contain nudity.  There are arguments as to what exactly should be considered family-friendly.  Many believe that web sites with swimwear or lingerie images should be acceptable while others feel otherwise, but it would be hard to argue that nudity should be acceptable for a family-friendly resource.  Using the directory’s search function can be useful to find sites by undesired keywords.
• Check to ensure listings are properly categorized.  Good co-citation is an important part of web directories.  It is valuable to be listed alongside web sites that are related in content to yours.  If a web directory does not properly categorize listings, the value of those listings is lessened.
• Check the directory’s backlinks.  Quantity is good, but strong backlinks are better.  Of course, a combination of both is usually ideal.
• The web directory’s Alexa rating can give a good indication of its traffic.  Traffic is a very important factor that is often dismissed for quality web directories.  Many web site owners and promoters think of directories only in terms of backlinks.  While the strength of the directory and backlinks provided are certainly important, direct, targeted traffic is very valuable.  Alexa data is far from perfect, but as traffic indicators go, it’s the best measurement we have.  Alexa has a significant webmaster skew.  However, since web directories are webmaster sites, this does not pose much of a problem for us in this case.  Therefore, Alexa typically offers a good idea of the traffic-level for directories.
• Check search engine rankings for the web directory.  An easy way to do this is to search for the main categories of the directory, such as Computer Web Directory, Shopping Web Directory, Entertainment Web Directory, Regional Web Directory, etc.  Directories that rank well for searches relevant to their main categories are obviously considered favorably by the search engine, which is a very good indication of what the search engine considers to be quality.

The potential benefit, level of value, or even possible harm (bad neighborhood listings) of submitting to low quality directories is debatable.  However, submitting to low quality directories is not always a wise use of time and/or revenue, and it can be a very time consuming, difficult task to check each and every directory against the above considerations.  However, when submitting to directories you expect to be high quality or those with higher pricing, the above factors can be very useful in determining if the submission is worthwhile. It can also be useful to consider these factors when composing your directory list, choosing the directories to which you should always submit, favorite directories, etc.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 5:03 pm and is filed under Tips for Directory Submitters, Tips for Directory Owners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.