Internet Directory for Link
Building
by Sharen
When most website owners think of Internet Directory, if they even consider them at all,
they think of them as a way to gain a one-way incoming link. Inclusion in the various
Internet directories is rarely viewed as more than a one-time entry event. The goal is to
get listed and gain the inbound link, for better or for worse.
Traffic from some mainstream directories is often low and seldom considered as part of the
equation. The potential of the directory listings as a source of potential link partners
is rarely thought of as a strategy at all.
Directories have far more possibilities hidden within their listings than is generally
thought. Many webmasters, and even some search engine optimization experts, ignore the
less obvious value residing in the various categories.
By looking beyond the obvious single link and search capabilities of an Internet
directory, a website owner has a wealth of potential link partners, waiting to be added.
They are easily found in the leading Internet directories and in the many specialized
minor directory listings as well.
Some of the very useful directories for link research include the Open Directory Project,
better known as DMOZ; the Yahoo! Directory; the Google Directory; and the many specialty
directories directly related to the searcher's area of business.
By utilizing the appropriate strategies, directories are a gold mine of linking partners.
They are simply begging to be mined by an enterprising and prospecting webmaster.
Selecting the Directories
The most obvious Internet directory to start with when beginning a comprehensive link
search is the well known DMOZ directory. With its complete category and sub-category
classification system, any website owner can find numerous sites within their area of
business.
If your website is already listed in the DMOZ directory, the first step is to go directly
to your own site's category. Within those pages of listings, whether you are in the global
or regional category, will be some of your direct competitors.
There is no need to contact them for link exchanges if you are concerned about loss of
visitor traffic to their sites. If you are not listed in the DMOZ directory, find the
category where your site would probably be included. The process remains the same for
finding link partners, whether your site is listed or not.
On the other hand, if your goal is to build what Google considers a "hub site",
link exchanges with competitors are a positive. For purposes of this discussion, however,
the goal will be more straightforward link exchanges. We will focus on gaining additional
incoming links for their search engine benefit, and on links for attracting extra visitor
traffic.
Within the selected category, the listed websites are placed in alphabetical order, and
the listings may include one, two, or even more than ten pages of sites. The important
thing to remember is all of the listed sites are theme and topic related to yours.
The same concept can be used in the sub-categories and the higher categories in the same
subject area. The listings are generally all related sites thematically. The same
procedure can be used for businesses that are related and complementary to yours, like
flowers are part of weddings, and therefore make sense for wedding dress sales.
The Yahoo! Directory provides a similar opportunity for the website owner. The Yahoo!
Directory has many of the same sites listed as DMOZ. That is a given. There are, however,
many more sites listed in Yahoo! that are not part of the Open Directory Project. That
fact opens up many more possibilities for the webmaster.
When you go to the Yahoo! Directory, as with DMOZ, go first to your category if you are
already listed. Select the most probable one, if your site is not included. Note that the
listings are also in alphabetical order, and may have somewhat different descriptions than
the DMOZ directory employs. Use the same procedure as before, and your list of potential
linking partners will grow larger.
A third important Internet Directory is the Google Directory. Using listings supplied by
the Open directories Project, the listings are very similar to those found in DMOZ. Google
offers a major and important difference, however. Google orders the results from the
highest PageRank listing to the lowest, making your sorting that much easier. Keep in mind
that some of the PageRanks on display are possibly out of date, and may not reflect the
site's current PageRank.
If exchanges, for higher PageRank purposes are important to your site, then the Google
directory offers what you seek. As a general rule, don't let PageRank determine your
linking partners. It is far more important to make your site helpful for your visitors and
customers.
Putting Specialty Directories to Work for You
The major Internet directories are not the only game in town. In fact, because of their
widespread popularity, they might not be the idea link partner hunting ground for
everyone. A powerful alternative source of directory link leads is found in the sometimes
overlooked specialty directories.
Often only representing one industry segment, these directories are populated with
businesses possibly interested in links. In fact, many of the included companies might not
have been contacted for link partnerships at all. The highly specialized directories for
your industry and some small general ones might have the link partners your business
seeks.
The first step is to search for the specialty and minor directories in the search engines.
Enter combinations of "directories" and "your industry" and lists will
appear. It won't matter if the directories are paid or free for inclusion, as you are
searching for link exchanges. If one of the newly discovered directories is free, however,
be certain to get your own website included. After all, a directory is a valuable incoming
link too.
Be cautious of possible link farms. Whatever you do, make sure your business is not part
of one of them. Link farms and other so-called bad neighborhoods are specifically against
the guidelines for the search engines. For inclusion of your site, choose only respectable
directories. One way to determine a link farm is it will usually require many return
links, and links for other sites. Don't participate in such linking schemes.
Making the Exchange Offer Properly
Simply click on the links, one by one, and examine the sites carefully. Know something
about the site. Look for contact information and find the webmaster's name if possible. In
your e-mail to the prospective exchange partner, be certain to offer some strong
indication that you have actually visited the site in question.
Tell your prospective partner that you have already linked their site and you feel your
site would be beneficial to their site visitors as well. A really good idea is to tell the
webmaster of a part of their site that you found especially interesting and informative.
Place a link on your own site to the sites you have decided to contact first, prior to any
requests. That is simply proper linking etiquette. It also displays your professionalism
to the recipient who is probably tired of link exchange spam.
Be sure to always visit the site as well. It is never a good idea to link partner with a
site you wouldn't feel comfortable recommending to all of your customers. Your business
and personal reputations are at stake.
Don't threaten to remove the link to their site if they fail to reciprocate. If the site
was interesting and helpful enough to offer a link partnership, it should be one you
intend to keep, as a permanent link. Be sure to know your potential partner sites well.
As an additional policy, maintain a chart of all of the sites contacted for exchanges, and
the dates and e-mail details of those requests and the results. Good records will also
prevent you from constantly contacting the same webmaster, over and over, as a result of
having forgotten their response.
Far too many people send e-mails without having visited the site at all. Don't be part of
that group. Know your potential partnership sites and their benefits to both your business
and that of your visitor traffic.
Benefits to Your Website
The use of directories for finding linking partners will benefit your website and your
online business more than employing the commonly used random approach. Most website owners
do not have a plan for finding link exchanges that make sense for their site. A link only
has real value to your visitors, if it has something in common with the overall theme and
interest of your website.
The search engines, especially Google, reward incoming links more highly if they are
related to the topic of the receiving web page. Links from similarly themed pages carry
more weight with Google's algorithm, than those which have little in common with the
landing page.
Specialty directories that include your site within their listings are already themed for
your topics. The other sites listed there will also be themed for your site. For more bang
for the link buck, keep your links related to your web page's topics and themes.
The page will receive a bit of a Google PageRank boost and a much higher level of incoming
link popularity. Combined with a strong and properly focused anchor link text program, the
added links will help to boost a site higher in the search engine rankings.
Conclusion
Directories are an excellent source of theme related link partners for any website. If the
directory used for the search is a major one such as DMOZ, the Yahoo! Directory, or the
Google Directory, sites with your main topics are readily categorized. Finding potential
linking partners is very easy, using the major directories.
The smaller specialized directories provide unique link partnership opportunities,
available mainly to those in your industry. Their included links are very closely themed
to your site.
While searching the various directories, don't forget to get your site included in their
listings as well. And by using the many Internet Directories, combined with professional
link exchange requests, you can vastly increase the number of links to your website.
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Copyright © Sharen
About the Author:
Sharen is the founder and Search Engine Marketing Consultant for Link Popularity Experts (http://www.linkpopularityexperts.com/), a
Link Popularity services company serving small and medium businesses. He has specialized
in search engine optimization since 2001, including three years as the Search Engine
Specialist for Nudget Publications, a technical book publishing company.
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