The first step to improving your search engine rankings
The first step to improving your search engine rankings and achieving good link popularity is to get your site listed in one or more of the popular directories. Two of the better directories are Yahoo and the Open Directory Project. If you have a business related web site you’ll want to get listed in the Yahoo Directory.
The Yahoo Directory charges three hundred dollars per year for a listing. That can be a lot of money for some, but it’s a good business investment. If your web site is not a business related site, the listing is free, however, it will take a lot of follow up and time to get listed.
The Open Directory will give you a free listing regardless of what kind of web site you have. Unfortunately, “free” has its price. The price is “time”. It can take many months and many follow up inquiries before your site actually gets listed.
Your objective should be to get your web site listed at the highest level of the most appropriate category. In order to achieve that goal, you need to think things through. For example, if your site is in the business of shipping auto parts from a small town out in the boondocks, DON’T submit your listing request to “Auto Parts in the Boondocks”, that can be a fatal error. Think a little! Submit your web site to “Worldwide Auto Parts”. You will not only associate your web site with the big boys, but you’ll also get your web site listed in an International Directory.