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Building Traffic with internet directories

Before there were search engines, there were online directories. Internet directories function in much the same way as a paper telephone book. Online directory listings are divided up into categories. Each category contains a list of entries. Finally, each entry contains the website's name, a link to the website, and sometimes a picture or brief description.

Despite their age, directories are still a good way for internet users to find what they're looking for on the internet. Directories are, well, direct. Their familiar functionality and style help maintain their popularity. Many telephone book manufacturers have even discontinued their paper books, and now offer completely online listings instead!  

Directories also persist despite many great advances in search technology. Today, most directories are not affiliated with internet search companies.

Listing your website in internet directories is important!

Online directories have replaced the local yellow pages across much of the world. If you owned a retail shop, would you go without listing your business phone number and address? I don't think so.

The same goes for internet directories. Your site's visitors are out there, but many haven't discovered you yet. Internet directories let your visitors find you, and they continue to be an important avenue for driving interested traffic to your website.

Directories drive traffic to your site in two ways:

(1) Directory listings give internet users a way to find and navigate to your website. Believe it or not, people actually use directories to explore topics of interest.
(2) For SEO purposes, some directories yield valuable backlinks. These links can help move your website closer to the front of popular search engine results, which often results in more traffic to your site.

How to find good directories to list your website?

A good directory will have:
-Lots of interesting listings
-Lots of traffic
-Minimal spam
-Good ranking in search engine results

-Absence of the nofollow attribute in links to listed websites

Directories to check out:

DMOZ - Free listing for quality websites. Nice free backlink. The database is run by volunteers, so the time required to process applications varies a great deal. Some sites take just a few days, while others seem to take forever.

Yahoo! directory – Pay the annual fee for a listing and nice backlink. This option is suitable for businesses or those sites with substantial budgets.
Specialty and niche directories - Chances are, there are at least a couple of specialized directories containing only listings with the same topic as your website.
Portal websites - These sites often contain niche directory listings for a given topic. Helps generate targeted traffic to your site, and may provide backlinks.