Can Directories Improve Your Search Engine Ranking?

[Dale King]

A lot of marketers are under the mistaken impression that if they submit their website to a bunch of directories this will somehow improve their search engine ranking. Unfortunately, this just isn't true. So where did this myth originate? I don't know exactly, but I think a big part of the problem is unscrupulous marketers offering to submit people's websites to thousands of directories for X amount of dollars. Newbies see these ads and think they've hit the proverbial link jackpot. They don't realize that there are really only a handful of directories out there (give or take a few) that are respected enough by the search engines to significantly impact your website's ranking. And that includes Yahoo and DMOZ, plus a few specialty directories. And even those directories won't help your ranking much if the rest of your house isn't in order.

Dale King