There are free and paid sites on the internet which are called directories. These sites contain huge lists of various websites categorized based on their content. These are the directories which the search engine crawlers use to find the relevant websites for you. So web directory submission is done to enable a search engine to find you.
These submissions are done by the website owner. That is these are manual directory submissions. There are various ways in which you can submit your website in a directory to be search by the search engines. You can opt for free submission, reciprocal link submission, paid submission, sponsored listing, bidding or affiliate links.
Whatever be the way, the method is the same. Follow these tips for a hassle free submission:
Choose the right directory and relevant sub category. There are vast choices for submission. But you have to figure out which directory has the right theme related to your website content. These themed websites help the web crawlers to look right into these sites and save time.
If you link to the right sub category, the users intending to search a particular relevant keyword will have no confusion and your chances of getting more traffic will also increase. Search engines will like your site because you placed it in the right directory and right sub category.
Submit your home page only and only once. If your website is something like somedomainname.com, you should submit only this page to the website, ONCE. Do not submit it more than once for either the directory webmasters will delete it or the search engines will punish you for being misleading and annoying.
Your home page is like your face. So anybody who likes the face will anyway would like to know more about the entire site. For specific page linking you should try social networking and bookmarking websites.
Always read the terms and conditions of directory submissions carefully. If the directory has terms you don’t like, don’t waste your time on that. And if your website doesn’t match their guidelines, they will hands down, reject it.
Your email address should be from your own domain name. For example, if your website is somedomainname.com, then your email id should be from the same domain name, that is username@ somedomainname.com. Some web directories make it a mandatory condition.
Setting the frequency. There are thousands of directories. And it is a good idea to submit in all the relevant ones. If your domain is brand new, out of the oven, for the first week submit your website to at least 8-10 relevant directories per day. For next couple of weeks, add to another 15 directories/day and finally after that, make it 10-15 directories per day till the list comes to an end.