The Critical Difference Between
Search Engines and Directories

Search engines are basically dumb computers, and the English language has many words doing double-duty. If you sell CDs, you could get traffic from people looking for info on certificates of deposit rather than music or software.

Directories, on the other hand, are staffed by humans who review all submissions. They are split up into categories which the user has to "drill down" through in order to find the type of site he or she is looking for. All the sites in a category are usually going to be very relevant — you won't find porn sites masquerading as information sites as is often the case with search engines.

So it can be very, very good for your website to be in a directory, especially the most popular, Yahoo!. However, some of them have started charging for their review services. Hey, they have to pay their staff and make a profit in order to stay in business. (The dot-coms that bombed didn't grasp this simple concept. Now you know why they couldn't stay afloat, and directory services are not about to fold for the same reason... which is good, because you *want* them to stay in business so they can serve up your website to their users!)

It's important to note that when you pay a submission fee, you are paying *only* to expedite the review process. If your site is not deemed fit, the directory is under no obligation to list it. You'll be given a chance to make changes, but you can't get a refund. It can be an expensive lesson at $299. That's why I stress content, content, content. If a site exists mainly to serve the owner's ego rather than to provide some sort of value for their visitors, why should a quality directory like Yahoo! validate it with a listing?

Unfortunately, you there is no software which can automatically submit your site to the major directories. Your URL has to be manually submitted, and it is very time-consuming because you have to find just the right category for it. It can be tricky, so proceed very cautiously. I've heard it's very hard to change categories once you've been listed, at least with Yahoo!. So if your focus shifts drastically in the next few years, you will probably have to create a whole new site in order to get listed in the more relevant category. 

So why spend the extra time? Well, now that the major search engines are ranking sites based on link popularity, a listing in a major directory can be quite the coup for your site! (click here for my article about link popularity)

If you're ready to try your hand at submitting to the directories, here are some links to take you there, with lots of information about each directory:

Submitting to Yahoo!

Submitting to Looksmart

NBCi.com (formerly Snap.com)

Submitting to Open Directory

Submitting to About.com

Good luck! As with everything else, your chances of success increase with the amount of effort you're willing to expend. And the kind of traffic you can earn with a directory listing is worth the extra time it takes, so go for it!