Don’t be one of those blogs that ends up getting pinged because it “accidentally” linked to porn. Yes, these are real horror stories, caused by Co-Citation. Okay, now that you read up on co-citation, you’re ready to find out what it takes to be a stellar directory.
Directories are a great source for getting links. Remember, the key is to get valuable links pointing back to your blog. This does not mean you want to squeeze your site to every directory out there.
Your Three FAQ For Directories
Before you submit your blog to a directory, there are three important questions you need to answer:
1. Does my website fit into any of these categories?
By submitting your website to a broad category, you risk being co-cited with a less valuable and unrelated blog. Try your best to get as far down into the categories as you can before submitting your blog. This will help improve the odds that your website will only relate to other sites in your niche.
- Example: Your website provides formal wear for plus size women. What category should you place your website in?
- Good Answer: Shopping/Clothing/Plus-Size/Women’s/Formal_Wear/
- Bad Answer: Shopping
The lesson: valuable directory categories build valuable links.
2. Is this directory big enough to attract viewers?
Don’t waste your time submitting your website to a directory that only has a few links in a few categories. Yes, you may be attracted by the idea that your website will be the only website in that category. However, if you think a little harder, you will realize that being the only link means this directory probably doesn’t attract a lot of viewers.
Submitting your website to directories can be time consuming. Instead of wasting your valuable time submitting your valuable website, find a bigger directory that will attract the eyes you desire.
3. Is this directory going to provide me with delicious link juice?
Adding your site to a directory that has a, “no index, no follow” has little benefit to you. Yes, you will be found on this directory, but this link is not really building link juice for your website. A quick and easy way to find out if a directory has a “no index, no follow” is to look at the source code.
My favorite way is to look into the source code, do a CTRL+F and search “follow.” You will quickly find out whether or not this directory has a “no follow” rule when you see, “no follow.” It’s that simple, but many people fail to answer this great question.
photo credit: photosteve101
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