Search Engines vs. Directories?

Keep in mind that search engines and directories are two different things entirely. If you do a search in Yahoo and you find your site, it doesn’t mean you’re incorporated in Yahoo’s Directory (which costs $299).

Search engines rely on robotic software to crawl through pages online, but directories require real humans to review and determine quality and therefore rankings for the sites they visit. You may have submitted to free directories before like DMOZ Open Directory Project (Google) or the SEO Company. These offer good opportunities to get your site out there and recognized online.

The Yahoo Directory can provide a distinct advantage for people who have quality websites established and are looking into serious marketing techniques. Yahoo can be a huge step above many of the free options, if you’ve optimized a quality site and are serious about promoting it. You aren’t guaranteed to be listed just because you pay out the dough, so make sure you’ve fully optimized your site with a good amount of content on every page first to make sure you can make the most of this investment. It can sure pay off once you’re ready to use it!

Keep in mind that DMOZ (free) is linked to Google (the biggest search engine by far), but it can also be hard to get on their list. If you want to gain credibility with Google, submit your QUALITY site and only submit it once. Any way you look at it, optimize your site and take it seriously before you try too much marketing, especially any time it involves spending money.