Manual Submission to Free Directories

How do you tell if a directory is still accepting submissions?

Some directories have been online for years but are no longer accepting submissions. The only way to tell is to submit a quality site to the directory and see if it's accepted and unless they state what their review times is, the submission can take months to get accepted.

Where to find quality directories?

There are thousands of websites listing free directories but often they are part of their own network and Google often penalizes sites that only link within their own network , so it's not always evident at first glance which listing of directories contain quality sites.

I have found that the lists on Directory Critic to have a good chance of being quality sites because they allow users of their directory to provide their input on those directories and bad ones are eventually removed. They also list their directories via, paid, free, niche, deep link and article directories and you can sort the lists by name, PR, points and date submitted. The later may provide a list of new or very old directories depending on how you sort the results.

How long does it take to submit a site?

I have found that it usually takes about 15 minutes, IF you already have a good list of proven directories to work from and already have the listing data for the website that needs the links (title, description, URL, meta keywords, meta description and sometimes contact info for the owner of the site).

Some directories have a giant list of rules and others have no rules at all so some submissions take longer than others.

The first thing to check is to search for their domain name. If it doesn't come up #1 in Google it is likely penalized and not worth your time to submit there.

Some directories provide a large list of sites to submit to in the confirmation email (often their own network) so if they all look the same don't submit more than a few as Google may demote their value and it may ruin your trust rank for being involved in that network.

Some directories require longer titles and descriptions than normal with a minimum number of characters and you also have to read their submission guidelines, which takes extra time. Some have such annoying rules, and don't explain the errors that come up, that it isn't worth your time to submit to them (businessseek.biz).

Every directory tries to be unique in how they list their categories, to avoid duplicate content and copyright infringement, so it sometimes takes a while to find a proper category also.

Usually directories only allow you to submit the home page. They don't always state this but if you look at submissions that have been accepted you can usually determine if they allow deep links or not. They often also require the use of the official business or site name instead of your preferred title.

Some directories send you an email if your submission is accepted, but for those that don't you will have to check the directory category or use their search a few weeks or months after the submission, which means you'll have to keep good records of the category you submitted to and the title you used.

Sometimes they require you to confirm your email to make sure you're not a spammer.

Some directories go offline for one reason or another or free directories start charging a fee when they get enough submissions, then you have to update your directory list.

You also have to check back a few weeks or months after the submission to see which directories accepted the submission.

Allllll of the above takes time but it usually results in more quality links being accepted than if you used a (spammy) automatic submission service and get spammy links in return.

I have also written an article on what types of directories to avoid showing you how to spot sites putting links in frames, using nofollow on their links, listings hidden or disallowed from search engines, etc.


Lori Eldridge
Copyright © 5-31-09
All Rights Reserved.