PageRank has Updated. Looks like quite a few sites have changed PR. We are currently updated the database of 20,000 directories. Everything should be up-to-date by late Thursday.

I have created a step by step guide to creating a Really Bad Directory. Why stop at one, why not create a slew of bad directories. When it comes to SEO, here are methods that you should use to make a crappy directory. Please feel free to combine these methods for optimal non-performance.

1. Share a database between your network of directories. Having the exact same listings over a network of related sites is great.
2. Automatically approve listings without any quality control at all.
3. Inter-link the directories of your network. Sitewide links would be best.
4. Offer a service to list a website to your large network of directories, thus creating a type of link-farm with lots of duplicate content.
5. Host your directory network on the same IP. If you can’t do it then you can always host it on the same IP C class.
6. Use blackhat link techniques. Don’t worry that this method could wipe out your site at any time.
7. Rather than create your own categories, use a readily available category dump that is used by thousands of other sites.
8. Create a network of identical directories.

Comments are always appreciated.

A recent post on a SEO forum was asking which directories were the oldest. I realized that I could not readily answer the question so I went into research mode. I researched archive.org and found the date that the directories were first crawled. In some cases, the domain had other uses before becoming a directory. In those cases, I found that earlier crawl date where the domain was actually a directory.

I added a new age field on all our top paid directory rankings. These sites are the paid directories that we recommend.  They have all been around for at least 5 years.

I also added age information to our high PageRank sites in our paid directory list on this site. This list has many high PR directories that are pretty useless, despite their PageRank. For example, a PR8 site that is only 3 months old should be ignored. I am hoping that the more information that I can provide will help people make informed decisions.

P.S. We have also adding age to our free directory list.

Our submissions are completely free, although we are not a directory in the traditional sense. Our listings are intended for the benefit of our readers rather than the benefit of the directories.

First, please do a search of our directory list by entering your directory domain (e.g. abcdir.com). We research most of our additions ourselves so your directory is likely listed already. Our only criteria is that the website is a directory of websites that offers website submission process. We do not list adult directories. Please note that low quality sites may be assigned nofollow attributes.

To have your directory considered for inclusion in our list of directories add a comment below using the following format

Directory Domain*: The domain of the directory
Directory Type*: (e.g. general, legal, blog, USA, German language)
Cost of a Listing*: Free, Paid or Reciprocal. To be considered a “free” directory it must offer permanent, “dofollow” listings without requiring anything in return (like a reciprocal link).
Language: The language of the directory, if it is not English.

Example:

Directory Domain*: legaldir.com
Directory Type*: Niche / Legal
Cost of a Listing*: Paid
Language: Polish

In order to identify automated / spam submissions only comments in the above format will be reviewed. We review submissions every 3-10 business days.

There are good and bad directories. When it comes to dishing out hard-earned money, you should ensure that you are getting a good return for your money.

1. Directory Age. Choose a well-established directory.
2. Search engine friendly URLs
3. Human edited
4. Well indexed.
5. Unique IP.
6. Good search rankings.
7. Original categories.
8. Good PageRank. Higher is not always better.
9. Original content.
10. Well designed categories.
11. Your listing page is accessible.
12. Reasonable traffic
13. Clean SEO techniques.
14. Contact information available.
15. Site maintained.

Please visit the complete article at our sister. It has a detailed explanation of the paid directory selection factors.

Your comments would be appreciated.

For 3 years I paid the $299 a year for a Yahoo directory listing for one of my sites. A year or two ago I cancelled the annual payment. When going through my Analytics logs I noticed that I had a bunch of referrals from dir.yahoo.com .

I checked and there is still a listing for my homepage. I have heard some rumbling from other people that had similar experiences. The site in question would be considered a good quality site for the category it is listed in. I don’t know if the quality has an effect.

I guess that may help you answer your question “Is it worth paying $299 a year for a listing”. I often see this type of question in the forums. If you are on the fence I think this experience might help you make up your mind.

January 2012 – This post has been replaced by: Submit your directory to our list for free.

Please do a search of our directory list by search for your domain (i.e. abcdirectory.com). If your directory is not in the listed we will add it for free. Our only criteria is that the website is a directory of websites that offers website submission process. We do not list adult directories. Please note that low quality sites may be assigned nofollow attributes.

To have your directory considered for inclusion in our list of directories simply add a comment below using this format:

Directory Domain*:  The domain of the directory
Directory Type*: (e.g. general, travel,  blog, USA, French language)
Cost of a Listing*: Free, Paid or Reciprocal .  To be considered  a “free” directory it must offer permanent, “dofollow” listings without requiring anything in return (like a payment or recip link).
Language: The language of the directory, if it is not English.

Example:

Directory Domain*: frenchtravel.com/dir
Directory Type*: Niche / Travel
Cost of a Listing*: Paid
Language: French

  To submit, add your info as a comment  below.

In order to identify automated submissions only comments in the above format will be reviewed. We  review submissions  every 5-15 days.

I apologize for the delay but we have finally updated our PageRank stats.  Google has had 2 separate PR updates over the last month or so.  Below are PR stats that result from queries to our database of 20,000 web directories.  I would have to say that overall, directory PR is still looking quite good.

Sure, there are still a lot of crappy, cookie cutter general directories being created with dropped domains. The majority of the directories in the database have been around as directories for years. The stats can be used to give us a general idea of the directory world.

Directory PR Statistics as of Jul 27, 2011

 Percentage distribution of PR

Change since the Last PR Update

Factors that may have affected these numbers:

• Since many of the directories are added by the editor of this site, the directories included cannot be considered random. The results of any given date can be skewed by the types of directories that were added in the previous period.  We rare;u add .info general directories.

As a result of the factors above, the statistics produced are more useful in showing general long-term trends.

Web-Directories.ws has reached a major milestone.  After 6 years of continuously adding directories they have reached a total of 20,000 listings.  These listings are divided into general directories, niche directories, regional directories, non-English language directories and Internet Press.  The Internet Press category is made up of things like blogs, articles, press releases, and social media.

The most popular directory list  is the free general directory list. There are currently 3200 listings. This list takes a lot of effort to maintain as directories continuously switch from free to paid. I spend a lot of time identifying the directories that are actively adding new free listings. On the other side of the coin you have dead directories that have not added a listing in years or some that only approve paid featured links.

We have also done a lot of work on our niche and regional listings. Most of these listings come from research, the majority of which come from good old fashioned Google searches. I do the work so you don’t have to.

How can I make the site better? Your comments are always appreciated.

Our sister site, Best-Web-Directories.com now offers a UK Directory Submission Service. We will submit your site to UK related directories. These directories include UK specific sites as well as .co.uk directories. If your  website offers local products or services then UK related links will really help your rankings.  You may also gain traffic from searchers looking for local sources.

Best-Web-Directories.com has been providing quality, cost-effective submissions for the last 5 years. They offer a wide range of general and niche submissions.

Looking for Free UK Directories

We are currently offering 50 UK submissions. We would like to offer a 100 submission package but we require a few good free UK directories. If you have one, please post it as a comment below.

UK Directory URL*: UKDirectory.co.uk
Type of Directory:  General
Cost of a Listing*: Free

In order to identify automated submissions only comments in the above format will be reviewed.