Accepted wisdom: submitting your website to web directories such as the Open Directory, Yahoo (with a $299 fee) and Best of the Web will increase the number of links pointing to your website, thus improving your rankings on Google and the other search engines.

But submitting to directories is getting more and more difficult, for three main reasons:

1.  They are almost all paid submissions now. Yahoo charges $299, Best of the Web costs $40, BCentral $50, JoeAnt $40, $70. While these directories give good link popularity (thus helping your rankings), it’s hard to justify these spends for such indirect (and intangible) benefits.

2.  Of the directories that don’t charge, about 60% require that you link back to them. This is so frustrating when we’re manually submitting client’s sites to directories - you get to the submission process, then realise you have to link back to the directory to get a listing. What right-thinking corporate website links to a spam-filled directory?

3.  Of the remaining directories (the Open Directory and a few others), there is no guarantee that your site will be listed. In most cases, you won’t be told that you’ve been listed - all you can do is come back and check to see if you’re there.

At the same time, these directory links are very handy for getting your site established on the Web and in the search engines. If you’re not already listed there, go to www.dmoz.org, find the correct category, and submit your website. There are other directories out there - make sure you’re listed in Irish-specific ones such as Browse Ireland.

Ultimately, it might be best to submit your site to the Yahoo directory and some others such as JoeAnt, Go Guides, and BCentral. While this in total would cost $459 (currently €313.65), it’s worth trying for a year to see the impact it has on Google rankings. If it can move you onto the first results page quickly and efficiently, it’ll be money well spent.

There’s a very good list of the top directories here. Also, check out the 54 free directories list here.