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Just like anything else you must learn in the world of website promotion, it is necessary to understand what you are dealing with before you jump in with both feet. It is no different with website directory submissions. This article will delve into the basics: the things you must be aware of so you swim instead of sinking.

There are literally hundreds of website Directories on the Internet one can submit their website to. A Directory as used on the Internet is a repository or a huge database of information about websites that is heavily optimized for reading and a directory supports search and browsing in addition to simple look-ups. A website directory does not list every website on the Internet, but they do catalogue all sites that submit their site for that purpose. The best example of a Directory that I know of would be Yahoo.

Are you asking yourself just how to go about submitting your website to directories. Well, first, remember that there are literally hundreds of website directories on the Internet. It is imperative that you locate and submit your website to as many as you can find appropriate to your niche.

You can do a keyword search for website directories, Directories or Website Submissions Directories and go take a look at every one you can find. Make certain that you create you own list of directories as you will want to submit your website to them once a month or so. Be aware that it is recommended that you select Website Directories that focus in your niche or select those that will accept all niche's. Just like anything else, it will not do you any good to submit your Internet Marketing website to a Directory that focus' on Healthcare.

The one significant advantage you will derive from directory submissions are the number of one way back links you get to your website. Free website Directories with higher page ranks are where I submit my sites. Why, well, remembering that a higher page rank is more important to search engine rankings, I find it is better to put my energies into submitting to Directories with a Page Rank of 3 or more. Of course, considering the simplicity of the act of submitting your website to Directories, it would not waste your time to submit to even the lower page ranked sites as well, which I will do time allowing. What's that old saying: The more the merrier!

Submitting to website directories enhances your chances of being crawled by search engine spiders faster then if you did nothing but wait to be spidered or submitting to a search engines "add url" form. One of my major goals of website directory submissions is to get indexed by the search engines. By being indexed in website directories, it becomes practical to expect that search engines will be spidering/crawling these established sites more often the your new site. Once the spider sees a back link to your website, the spiders will then as a matter of course crawl your website soon afterwards.

There are submission software programs available that make the process much easier. Considering that each website directory is different from the next, it is logical that each website directory requires different information upon signing up to submit. You can expect, though, generally to be asked for:

1. Your site name and URL.

2. A short description or summary of your sites focus.

3. Many will ask you for the keywords for your site.

4. And you will be required to select a category for your site. Some website directories start with a simple category structure. When their high level categories become saturated they will begin to add new categories. Website directories also may offer regional categories such as countries, states, cities, continents and Islands.

High page ranked website directories receive much more traffic then those with lower rankings. I think it fair to say that you should expect moderate traffic at best from any directory unless they are extremely well ranked and have a high Alexa rating too. Directories such as Yahoo and The Open Directory Project (ODP) will receive much more traffic then the other lesser ranked website directories. The ODP is also referred to as the 'dmoz' which is derived from it's original domain name 'directory.mozilla.org'. The ODP is owner by Netscape and is constructed and maintained by a group of volunteers.

A few examples of website directories you may wish to look into might include:

1. Ansearch - Focusing on the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

2. Best of the Web Directory - Best of the Web lists content rich, well designed websites categorized by topic as well as by region.

3. JoeAnt - This is a group of editors the once volunteered for the now defunct go.com directory.

4. Open Project Directory - (aka dmoz or ODP). This is the oldest website directory online.

5. Starting Point Directory - Organizing sites by category, this website directory is edited by human volunteers.

6. World Wide Web Virtual Library - This is the oldest website directory online.

As a free website promotion technique, website directory submissions is a great way to enhance your websites positioning with the search engines. There are basically three choices to choose from. First, you can do it yourself: this method is certainly the least expensive as the only cost you incur is the cost of your time. Or you can hire it done or outsource it. SO the next best thin is to hire and SEO company that offers website directory submission services. This is still manually submitting your website but you are just contracting with someone else to do the actual work. Then you have your automated software technique. Get ready to tick off a bunch of Directory owners if you go the automated software route. Using this type of software, you have limited to no control over what you submit, which will invariably cause you a mountain of problems later on.

There is; however, a "VERY HAPPY MEDIUM". I use a software program that automates the actual form filling but you make the primary decisions of what category you select or how you want your summary to read etc.. Bottom line, I find this method a great deal more effective: I get the benefits of auto-filling the website directory forms but the control of a manual submission. It really is the best of both worlds. It does take a little longer but it is well worth the extra effort in the short and long run.