How To Get Free Traffic By Submitting Your Website To Directories

One way to get more traffic, and to let your target audience know that you exist, is to submit your site to directories. Unlike search-engines, in order to appear in directories on the web you usually have to create a profile entry in the directory and submit detailed information about your business. Some directories are free while some may charge a fee per period.
There are several major directories, and a few minor ones, that you can look at. Web directory entries are usually found by humans, not crawlers, and can lead to noticeable increases in traffic to your site. If you are new to the process and have never submitted your website to a directory before, you might be wondering where to start. Here are some tips you can use to get started.

1. Choosing The Directories

When you are first starting out with a custom e-commerce store, you may expect to quickly appear first in Google’s search results. The truth is, it takes much time and effort to get there. Search engines crawl the web each day to discover new sites that have been created. Web directories on the other hand are human reviewed links and hence more trusted. You will have far more luck when you submit the website to the directories and it is approved. There are two kinds of directories. General, and local, though these are not usually mutually exclusive.

2. First Submit Your URL To The Major Directories

This will save you time and effort in the beginning. When you submit your site to the major directories, some smaller directories will also pick up your listing and include it automatically in their own so you will get greater exposure for less effort.
The two major web directories are: Dmoz, also known as the Open directory project which is free and Yahoo which has both monthly fee and free options

3. Use Local Directories

Make sure you submit your site to local directories because a significant proportion of searches are location specific especially on mobile devices. Google officially says that 40% of mobile queries are related to location. All the major search engines also have a local directory that you can submit your business to. There are also some directories available for anyone looking to get found on search engines.These are
Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Business Portal.

4. Target Business Specific Directories

There are thousands of business-specific directories that provide a great source of relevant traffic, however, it requires significant effort to find the best ones for your business. It is also not advisable to submit your URL to just to any site. Research more about the directories you intend to submit URLs to, ensuring that they  are legitimate and are intended at helping your business. Otherwise you may find your efforts resulting in a lower rank rather than a higher one for your website.

5. Get Help Where Necessary

Don’t be afraid to seek out help. If you hired a company to create your custom store. It may be wise to  ask them for help with website directories as well. Many companies that offer hosting services and web design services also help build up your website’s presence by submitting your custom e-commerce store to the website directories for you. If they do not offer this service you can always opt to outsource the work.

6. There Are No Quick Fixes

Submitting your custom store to various web directories can take a bit of effort, but avoid getting sucked into the quick fix option. Do not fall victim to the ads that claim they will submit your site to hundreds, if not thousands, of directories for a fee. There is no quick fix, each submission requires manual input of your website details and the more quality submissions you have, the better your chances of success.

By Dr. Ataollah Etemadi