“There have been many reports and rumors about the forthcoming Open Directory Project overhaul, dubbed DMOZ 2.0. [...] This may lead to the development of additional tools that could help editors analyze websites and identify higher quality sites based on common non-DMOZ data metrics.” <More here>

Non-DMOZ metrics could include Google PageRank, whether the site is listed in the Yahoo Directory or Best of the Web (both of those listings carry an annual fee). In the past, we’ve maintained that listings in the Yahoo Directory and Best Of The Web weren’t worth the $299 annual fee. It may be time to reassess that position.

Kathryn Katz of www.webcast1.com has published a helpful article in Jill Whalen’s terrific High Ranking Advisor on the subject of niche directories. Here’s what she had to say.

Finding Free Niche Directories

As search engines place more and more emphasis on “link popularity,” web site owners find themselves pressured not only to optimize their site, but to find other quality web sites in their niche market that are willing to link to their web site. Many niche web directories like Business.com, IRED.com and MedMarket.com are willing to list your web site, but at a price. For those web site owners that are working on a tight budget, paying for every link is not only expensive, but not in their budget.

But don’t despair; there are many quality, free niche directories out there. The biggest challenge is finding them. Here are three easy methods to find free niche directories:

Method 1: “Search Engine Search”

Go to your favorite search engine (mine is Google), and type in general keyword(s) related to your site. For example, if I have a wedding caterer site, I would type in “wedding.” Usually, well-ranking niche directories will place in the Top 10 results. In this case WeddingLinksGalore.com is ranked #1 and mentions in the description that the directory offers free links. Click through to the site and look for an “Add a Link” or “Join Vendor Directory” button or link somewhere in the navigation.

Method 2: “Directory Search”

Go to a standard directory, like the Google Directory, and click on “Reference.” Click on “Directories” and then select the major category that relates to your web site. For example, if I have a CPA site, I would click on “Business.” At this point, I could choose to submit the site to the general directories listed under “Business” like CEOTrak.com or narrow my search further to “Accounting Firms” like CPADirectory.com. Probably, I’d end up going through both the “Business” and “Accounting Firms” categories and submitting my site to all free directories that were relevant to my niche market.

Method 3: “Competition’s Links”

Go to your favorite search engine and search for the web sites linking to your competitor by typing in link:http://www.competitorswebsite.com. Then click on each link and find directories that your competitor submitted their site to. Or go to your competitor’s site using the Google Toolbar’s Page Info > Backward Links feature. (The Google Toolbar can be downloaded from http://toolbar.google.com/.)

Here’s another tip: Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when searching for a free niche directory. When looking for a directory, try to think of all markets that relate to your web site. You’d be surprised at what counts as a related directory. For example, I market a general law practice. I came across a quality, free niche directory, WorkIndex.com, that specializes in human resource issues. Because the law practice does employment and labor law, they were eligible for a submission to WorkIndex.com under their “Legal Issues” category.

Keep in mind that you might have to go through several directories before you find some quality, free niche directories that are right for you; however, your persistence will pay off. You will find some great directories that will boost your link popularity and maybe even bring in some quality, targeted traffic as well.

Good luck and happy hunting.

Kathryn Katz
Search Engine Marketing Specialist
Searchwiz Marketing – division of Webcast 1, Inc.
www.webcast1.com

Inbound links can greatly increase the search engine rankings of a web site if the links contain the right keywords and if the links come from related web pages.

Usually, the category pages on an Internet directory like The Open Directory or Go Guides or Skaffe are considered related web pages if your web site fits in the selected category. That means that links from Internet directories can have a very positive effect on the search engine rankings of your web site. They’re one of the first places we work on for inbound links to our clients.

In our June blog, we discussed some search engines using old, outdated Open Directory Project (ODP) descriptions. Since descriptions in the Open Directory are difficult to get changed, people needed a way to tell other search engines not to use those descriptions.

Now, Google has joined the others, saying “Some site owners want to be to able to request not using the ODP for generating snippets, and we’re happy to let you all know we’ve added support for this. All you have to do is add a meta tag to your pages.”

In addition to the coding mentioned in our June blog, you can use this Google-specific code:

<META NAME=”googlebot” CONTENT=”NOODP”>

The Open Directory, www.dmoz.org, is an important link source for any site, and is one of the general purpose directories we always submit our clients to. Its database is reportedly used by about 400 separate web site directories. Here’s a list. The Open Directory belongs near the top of your list in any link building campaign.