THS Articles

Every Search Engine Marketing Campaign Should Have A Search Directory Strategy

By Karin McLean

Search directories play a key role in search engine marketing. Not only are they influential in their own right (according to StatMarket Research, the Yahoo! directory is the number two most frequently used search property), but they also influence other search properties. For example, Google's search results ranking algorithm considers how your website is listed in the Open Directory Project (a major search directory) as part of its criteria for ranking your website in its search results.

It is a best practice to include a directory strategy as part of your search engine marketing (SEM) campaign for two important purposes: to increase the visibility of your website within the overall search market and to increase the link popularity of your site through increased, relevant listings. In creating a directory strategy, it is important to decide which directories to target, and which type of directories will help to build the most relevant community for your website. You should begin by targeting the most influential directories - Yahoo! and the Open Directory Project will provide the most value to your campaign.

Visibility drives traffic and conversions, and they drive sales.

Yahoo!
Yahoo! is the first directory to emerge in the development of the Web, providing users with a search portal that was organized by content category, making it easy to navigate. Yahoo! is second only to Google in the number of search referrals it directs to websites.

Currently, Yahoo! allows one directory listing per domain and charges $299 per listing per year. All listings are subject to change or rejection by Yahoo!'s category editor. This channel may provide fewer rankings for your site that others, but because of its popularity, listings in Yahoo! receive more weight by the algorithms of the major search engines than other directories in determining link popularity.

The Open Directory Project
The Open Directory Project (also referred to as ODP or DMOZ) is a directory that currently has over 63,000 volunteer editors who review and accept or reject directory submissions.

Just like Yahoo!, submitted directory listings are subject to changes by the directory's editors, however the Open Directory Project is a completely free directory. The most important fact about the Open Directory is its influence on Google. Google often updates its copy of the Open Directory Project database, and uses those listings to guide its crawler. Therefore, having a listing in the Open Directory Project is extremely important to a site's visibility in Google, the number one search engine according to market share, as well as to its overall link popularity.

Although the directories mentioned above are the most influential, all legitimate directories that include a website listing and help to build a relevant community around that website are important. The following directories should also be considered for any search engine marketing campaign:

Business.com
Business.com does not directly influence any of the top search properties. However, it does contribute to a website's relevant community. Business.com is a business-to-business directory that allows sites to build their contextual relevance within a business vertical. Directory listings in Business.com cost $99 per listing per year.