Boosting Your Website with Free Directory Listings Part I

There are many ways to boost website traffic and popularity. For me, one of those ways is through directory listings. Whenever I put up a new website, obtaining directory listings is always one of the first steps I do for promotion.

There are new directories popping up everyday. If you are not familiar with directories, check out my Travel Article & Website Directory. Directories are websites that list links, usually in a categorical fashion, to other websites.

Directories fall into two main categories—free listings and pay listings. For the purposes of this article, I’m only addressing those directories that are free and that require no reciprocal linking. In a later article, I’ll dive into directories that charge for listings.

You want to get your website(s) listed in directories for three main reasons:

1. Over time the pages you are listed on could grow and eventually pass your site Page Rank.
2. You could receive traffic from your listings.
3. Your listings will eventually establish recognized incoming links to your website(s).

Don’t expect a windfall of traffic from directories. While there are some very good ones out there, most directory owners don’t focus on getting traffic and thus don’t produce any to you. However, they still function to satisfy points one and three.

I typically submit my new websites to around 300 directories that offer free listings and that don’t require a reciprocal link in return. This list could easily be larger, because I find new directories daily.

Next time we’ll talk about where to submit your website, how to submit your website, and why not to do it yourself.