How Bad Was This Wait?

One problem with running free directories involves the number of submissions that often need to be reviewed. With the proliferation of automated and semi-automated submission tools currently available, that issue will only get worse. With that said though, what can you say as a submitter when you receive an email from a directory telling you that your submission has been rejected and you can’t even remember submitting to that directory?

I got one of those email messages today from the LostDirectory.com.

We are sorry. We could not approve your link in the LostDirectory. Your wesite is rejected for one or more of the following reasons.1. Submitted without completing the payment.
2. Submitted without providing recoprocal link.
3. Low Quality or PR0.

Please follow all submission guidelines and retry your submission.

Thank you,

Now putting aside the spelling errors in the rejection email, I just had to check out the directory that finally got around to rejecting my submission (for which of my sites I can only guess) that I can’t even remember doing.

On the surface the directory looks quite promising, a PR4 with inner pages that also have PR and it accepts free submissions. Then I came across the reason for my forgetting about submitting to this particular site. Browsing through the latest additions page you discover that some of the sites listed near the bottom were added in December, not last December which would be bad enough, but instead were added in December of 2006!

With that realization, I figured that it was about time to document a few things that you might want to look for when deciding whether or not a directory is worth submitting to and this directory provides a perfect opportunity.

The general belief is that submitting and being listed in a web directory will rarely harm you in regards to most search engines but when it comes to the benefits of being listed, the jury is still out. One thing is for sure, directories with questionable review/listing policies have very limited benefits if any at all. With that said, what should you look for before taking the time to submit your site?

The most obvious would be what is the directory’s Google PageRank? On the surface that question would normally be the first thing many would look at. But in my opinion, with the latest devaluing of directories within that formula for directories, that factor isn’t as important as it once was. Why? Well let’s go back to the Lost Directory again to find out.

As I mentioned it is a PR4 but when you query Google using the “site” command, you discover it only has one page indexed, and as of this writing, it isn’t even the home page. What good is a link that isn’t even being indexed? Then look at the editorial integrity of the site owner. To do that I normally use the site’s search engine and search for one or more keywords that if found show what type of sites are being accepted. For example, I searched for “viagra” on the Lost Directory and low and behold discovered 9 listings mostly for pharmacy sites. While not illegal or a deal breaker, do you want to be buried in between tons of Viagra and Cialis listings?

Lastly, browse though some of the sites listed especially in the shopping categories. Look at the quality. Are there a lot of MFA (made for adsense) listings or affiliate sites? If so don’t waste your time.

Quality directories are still worth submitting to, especially those that specialize in the particular niche that your site falls into, and can help you in the long run. The hardest part is figuring out which are quality and which are junk. If you do your homework before submitting you will be surprised on the benefits. Don’t and you might get the same type of email I got today.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 14th, 2008 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.