Increase Web Site Traffic – Avoid Being Blacklisted in Free Web Directories

Internet marketing professionals know the value of submitting their websites to online web directories, both paid and free. With more people using these online resources to find what they’re looking for without having to sift through search engine spam, no expert would ignore this emerging avenue of traffic.

And inclusion in a free web directory brings not only traffic, but a non-reciprocal back-link to your website. As most SEO professionals will tell you, Google and the other major search engines love non-reciprocal back-links. Getting your website included into 100 free online directories gives you a nice side effect of 100 extra non-reciprocal back-links. And back-links are one of the most important ingredients in the high search engine results recipe.

But while it is true that submitting to these free directories is relatively quick and easy, it’s also true that many webmasters are seeing acceptance percentages of less than 20%. So why are so many webmasters seeing less than 2 out of every 10 free directory submissions being accepted while others achieve an acceptance percentage near 100%? And even worse, why do some websites get outright blacklisted from many of these web directories?

The reason is the experts know how to submit their sites in a way that projects professionalism. Remember, unlike search engines, no website gets into a free directory unless a human editor manually reviews the site and explicitly adds it into their database. Most directory owners are looking for sites that will be helpful to their visitors. The more visitors their directory gets means the more people will see their ads, and the more targeted traffic that will be sent to you. This will only happen if the visitors feel the directory is beneficial.

So submit your website like the professionals do by following these guidelines:

1 - Always read the submission rules and guidelines

Many directories have minimum and maximum character lengths for title, description, keywords, etc. Many directories have only 1 permissible language for titles and descriptions. By looking at the posted rules you will ensure that you adhere to the requirements.

2 - Do not submit sites that are under construction.

Why would anyone want to visit a site that isn’t yet completed. This angers most directory owners because they in essence waste their time visiting a non-completed website. This can result in instant blacklist.

3 - Do not submit MFA (made for Adsense) websites

These are websites that offer no real content or benefit, and exist solely to get people to click on Google Adsense ads. Instant rejection.

4 - Do not submit link redirect pages

Redirect sites frequently fail to complete the link. For this reason directory owners do not like them. Instant rejection.

5 - Double-check before submitting adult or pharmaceutical websites

Most general directories will not accept these types of sites. If you wish to submit adult or pharmaceutical websites then you will have to search for directories catering to those niches. Probable instant rejection

6 - Use proper case for significant words in the title and description

Capitalize the first letter of each sentence in descriptions, as well as proper nouns. Submissions that contain fields in all UPPER CASE or all lower case are usually rejected immediately.

7 - Submit only homepage unless explicitly stated that inner page submissions are accepted

Most free web directories only allow you to submit your home page. Some do allow you to submit inner pages as long as they are submitted into the appropriate category. Do not submit an inner page unless the submission guidelines say you can. Instant rejection.

8 - Do not submit into top-level categories

This is where most free submissions are rejected. In most cases you will be required to submit your website into a subcategory. For example, you will not be allowed to submit your online jobs site into the category ‘Business". You would have to submit your site into the subcategory of "Business – Jobs" or "Business – Jobs – Work at Home" or "Business – Jobs – Work at Home – Surveys", etc. Some online directories do allow top-level category submissions, but normally only for people who are purchasing a featured listing.

If you follow these tips when doing free directory submissions then you should obtain a high percentage of acceptances. And the targeted visitors and back-links will follow.

About the author:
John Lee is an acclaimed expert on search engine optimization, link-building and Internet marketing. To read his latest link-building techniques click here.

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