Doing everything to get your website to the top of search engines can be quite a task. The list of duties to perform can include managing a variety of keywords, swapping links with other webmasters, and having links appear in blog posts and social networking sites, and other tasks that may need doing. Having your site listed on several web directories is another task you should perform.

Getting listed on these web directories is more of an involved process than having your site appear on Google (excluding the first page, of course). Unlike search engine results, directory lists are the result of human labor, and to get on that list you have to submit your site for review. Directories cannot accept every submission, meaning that there is a chance that your site will be rejected. There are ways to decrease your chances of rejection, and a general outline of how to do that is detailed below.

The first thing you should do is learn what makes each directory you want to submit to different. Differences between directories can include how they categorize pages and their maximum length for site descriptions. Main categories are generally the same in all directories with few exceptions, but subcategories can vary widely from directory to directory, which means you should take your time when deciding exactly where you want your site listed. Choosing an accurate subcategory will increase the likelihood of your site being accepted, as well as the chances of someone browsing through the directory to click on the link for your website. There are a few directories on the web that focus exclusively on a single subject (like Health), and having your site listed on such relevant directories can be well worth your time.

Different directories also have different policies regarding how long your site’s description can be. Some only allow a small, 40 or so word description while others are fine with you having a 200 or more word description with which to describe your site and convince people to click. Preparing descriptions of varying length in advance can save you time later when you are submitting your site to several directories at a time.

The content of the site itself is also important, and the more unique and helpful it is the more likely a directory reviewer will accept your site into the listing. How unique your site is can be very important on some of the larger directories out there, as a site that is just like a dozen other sites already on the list will have less chance of being accepted.

Getting listed on some of the larger directories will likely get you listed on several smaller ones as some of the smaller, less known directories base themselves on the really large one. The Open Directory Project in particular gets reproduced a lot, and getting your site listed there will likely get your site listed on a hundred or more smaller directories over the course of a few months. Other large directories, like Yahoo and Gimpsy, get reproduced as well, but not nearly as much as the ODP.

Finally, keep in mind that several directories out there require payment for you to be listed, with some charging an annual fee while others operate on a pay-per-click basis.

Get a free link to your site – submit it for free to the Best LInks Around and Top Links link directories.