Have you ever heard about directory submission? Your answer would be yes if your everyday terms include search engine optimization. If your answer is no, I would like to tell you how fortunate we are that you’ve found us! We will take you into search engine optimization, from introduction to directory submission. 

Directory submission helps in the visibility and ranking of sites regarding search engine optimization. This includes submitting the website’s URL and other appropriate information to the online directories. 

Such online directories help categorize your site and list other sites. The list also contains links to other sites and a brief description like the one you will upload for yours.  

How To Make Directory Submission?

Before we can dive further into directory submission and its benefits for your sites, let us tell you how to do it right. 

Here are a few steps to get it right: 

• Choose a directory that is most relevant to our business and satisfies your audience. A good rule of thumb is choosing directories that have a high domain authority and have a good name for themselves.  
• The next step is to finish the website information that will be relevant for directory submission. These include your website URL, RSS feed, website description (within 100 words), and email address. 
• Once you finish these steps, you can also choose the category, with some directories allowing you to choose the sub-categories.
• You can finally submit your website.
• Then begins the wait for approval. 
• You can also track the progress. 

Be as accurate as possible, and you will be able to get accurate results. 

8 Benefits of Directory Submission Sites

Before we can dive into the strategies to accomplish a directory submission that is effective for our sites, let us take a look at how it can help us: 

1. Directory submission can help connect businesses and share ideas with a global audience. 
2. It also helps increase your online visibility, especially when submitting it to relevant directories. The other users looking through such directories will discover your website, taking the next obvious step: visiting it. Your website will also benefit from this by seeing an increase in traffic. 
3. The website will also see enhancements in SEO, such that you will gain backlinks to your site owing to reputable directories. 
4. It is also helpful for your website as you will see healthy, organic traffic growth. The categorization in online directories is quite specific. You will find sites categorized based on industries, geographical locations, and niches. 
5. Through such specific directories, you will attract targeted traffic. Find users for your site who are interested in the products and services you offer. 
6. It’s a no-brainer that your brand will see enhanced exposure, which can enhance credibility. The website also sees an enhanced visibility that presents the business as a trustworthy and legitimate entity in the industry. 
7. Submitting your site to a specific directory helps establish authority in your industry or niche. Your brand also benefits from directory submission as it is listed alongside other relevant websites or businesses, which enhances your brand’s reputation.  
8. Local SEO efforts are boosted with the help of local directories, as it will help your visibility in local search results. This particularly benefits your brand if you run a business with a physical presence. 

Strategies for Effective Directory Submission

Now that you know how to benefit from directory submission, you can finally proceed to improve your directory submission process. The following ways are a great place to start: 

1. Creating and Maintaining a Spreadsheet

Maintaining a spreadsheet will help you stay organized and on top of your game. Keeping a tracking sheet with your website details will help track progress, such as approval. You should rethink this decision if you only submit your website in one directory. Keeping a spreadsheet will help you keep track of the progress your site is making in the different directories you have submitted.  

2. Setting Goals and Targets

This is one of the most important points when carrying out any task in SEO. A goal will help you focus on where you want to take your business. Submission activities require a specific set of goals that you would want to achieve. 

For example, if you are submitting your sites after a re-design, you would want to target new directories. So, your goals will include targeting certain directories relevant to your industry or niche. 

Other goals will include conducting your independent research into the online directories to check them for domain authority and quality. This will help you choose relevant directories to boost your business, especially the website’s reputation. 

You must also remember that you should be realistic so that there is no overwhelming feeling on your part.  

3. Utilizing Tracking Tools

You may wonder why I should use tracking tools for directory submission despite keeping a spreadsheet. Well, you will need this to keep track of your backlinks. Backlink analysis tools will help you track the backlinks you have gained through submissions. 

Such tools help check the relevance and quality of your backlinks, which helps you know which directories are worth submission. Tracking tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Analytics will help you gain valuable insights into traffic and anchor texts of your links.  

These are the top three things you must keep in mind before you proceed to submit your site. 

Preparing Your Website for Submission

These are a few additional steps you should take before directory submission. Take a look: 

• Ensure your website structure is neat and clean so that the category and sub-category you use during submission align with the content. You should also take care of the content on your site. 
• This helps your visitors get a clear picture of what your brand or business is all about. Ensuring a neat, clean website structure with relevant content that aligns with your brand’s image and overall services. 
• Optimize your website’s SEO to benefit from the directory submission instead of being negatively impacted. Check your site’s on-page and off-page SEO to ensure you are fixing any existing issues before submitting your site. 
• It is also important that you check your website’s speed to optimize it for mobile and PC users. This is one of the most important points that can give you a boost to your competition in the listing. 
• After you have taken care of your site, you can now work on the directory submission. Make sure you have a captivating listing description that is crisp and attention-grabbing. You should also choose relevant categories (and sub-categories, when available) for your website.  

Potential Drawbacks of Using Directory Submission Sites

The directory submission is not all hunky dory. There are disadvantages to it as well. Consider the following list to avoid disadvantages that you may experience: 

1. If you are not using tools that help you know the quality of the directories, you can run the risk of listing your site in low-quality directories. This will end up doing more harm than good. So, do not use a shortcut in this regard. Instead, use the appropriate tools to study the directories before you submit the site. 
2. Another factor we often forget to consider is that not all directories are created equally. Some may have poor reputations and, on top of that, may be filled with spammy links. So, be careful before choosing a directory to list your site on. 
3. It is a time-consuming process that can take longer if you do it manually. This is because you need accurate information that remains consistent across multiple sites. This can become draining for you, making the entire process time-intensive. 
4. Search engines such as Google constantly update their algorithm to penalize sites with spammy backlink profiles. So, one way to avoid penalization is to submit your site to a reputable directory. 
5. You may not see a sudden boost in your website traffic. Thus, it is important to note that you will need some time to see the results. The directories take time to review and approve the submissions, which can further lengthen the time it takes for your search rankings to show a positive influence. 
6. There has been a marked decrease in the priority that search engines give to directory submission. This is because different relevant things have been getting important, such as content quality, authority, and mobile friendliness (because we’re all on our phones for the maximum time.)

Best practices for directory submission

• You might have years of SEO or digital marketing, but it is still easy to get directory submissions wrong. Here are the different ways you can curb your chances of going wrong: 
• Do not submit your sites to a low-quality directory or irrelevant directories that can harm your site. 
• Check everything about the directory before you go into the submission process. Some directories may ask for a fee for the listing, so you must check it beforehand. 

Wrapping It Up! 

In conclusion, directory submission can help connect businesses and share ideas with a global audience. You must keep quality over quantity in mind. 

Listing your site on directories has several benefits, including a stronger backlink profile. But there are also certain disadvantages that you must keep in mind, so refer to the article for the same.  Comment below if you know of any other tricks!