Beginners guide

Web directories are an important part of the internet.

What is a web directory?

A web directory is a categorised collection of links to other web sites. Web directories are not search engines, and do not rank web sites like search engines. Most web directories do have a search feature, but do not order the results based on importance like a search engine.

Categories

Links within categories have a common theme. Most web directories have nested categories. For example a directory may have a ‘sports’ category, and within this category one might find a ‘soccer’ sub category.

Adding a web site to a web directory

Most web directories have a feature whereby one can submit a web site for inclusion. This is normally done by filling in a form. Sometimes one has to email the web directory manager.

Free and paid directories

Many web directories accept paid or ‘featured’ link submissions. This means the link will appear in the chosen category, quickly, and in a good physical position on the page, so that search engines can find and make use of the link.
A lot of sites also accept free link submissions. These submissions normally appear much later than paid links (often months or years), and normally appear under the paid links.

Human edited

Most web directories are ‘human edited’. This means than each submitted site is reviewed by a human editor, before the submission is accepted, and appears in the web directory. This is to ensure that the sites within the web directory are of the highest quality, rather than spam sites. Some search engines also penalise web sites that link to web sites that are considered a bad domain, such as gambling or adult themed sites.

Important web directories

There are several important web directories, which are of great benefit to web masters and SEO.

Other web directories

There are hundreds of other web directories, most of which can benefit you if you are promoting web sites.