8 Valuable insights into paid and free web directories
Web directories have numerous benefits. Informative decisions
must be made when choosing between submitting a site to a paid
or free web directory. Whatever your choice, ensure that your
website conforms to all required norms: complete, detailed, user
friendly, and distinctive. The options are many and stem from
two main categories: free directories and paid directories. A
free directory is a great way of getting back links. Your site
will probably get listed on a PR3 or PR4 page. Sometimes, your
site will get listed within a few days otherwise it may even
take a month. But it can also happen that the free site never
gets around to listing your site. The options in the free
category are numerous and one can opt for an open directory
project such as DMOZ or a free directory like JoeAnt. Apart from
main directories there are niche directors that are specific to
one segment only like health, alternative medicine, and so on.
Remember, every listing will add to the website's Google
PageRank and free directories of standing do provide a steady
rate of referral traffic. Many free directories have editors who
do the vetting for no remuneration; this allows the directory to
include hundreds of sites at little or no cost. Directories like
DMOZ are used by Google and other search engines as databases;
this means that your web site will automatically be listed in
several major search engines and directories. A paid directory
is one that offers premium service which includes faster
approvals. Most paid directories deliver high quality traffic or
a good PageRank. Less crowded than free directories, your site
stands a good chance of being listed on a higher PR page. Some
directories like Yahoo charge a fee for considering a site for
inclusion. This is towards costs of reviewing your site and the
fee is a recurring expense to be paid yearly. However, there are
exceptions where non-profit sites are reviewed free but there is
a special path for submission of such sites. Other sites charge
a one-time inclusion fee. The costs of paid directories can vary
from US $ 25.00 (one time fee) to US$ 299 (annual recurring
fee). Whether you should opt for a paid or free inclusion
depends on your needs. * Consider what is your goal? * Determine
how much immediate exposure your website needs? * Is there time
to wait for a free inclusion or would you benefit from a quick
paid inclusion? * Is there budget provision for paid inclusion:
pay per click or recurring yearly expenses? * Do you have time
to assume the role of a reviewer and vet your directory before a
free inclusion? * Or, would it be more feasible to pay for a
professional editor to review the web site? * Learn how each
directory is organized and what its guidelines are. * Surf the
net and find out where your competitors are listed. Make a
working plan and choose wisely what will benefit your business
plan the most.