Google tell us that directories are a good for promoting your website online.

Submit your site to relevant directories such as the Open Directory Project and Yahoo!, as well as to other industry-specific expert sites.

The problem is they only specifically mention two; the Open Directory project and Yahoo!. Both are very hard to get listed in, in the US Yahoo! offer an express inclusion for $300 which isn’t much help for those of us with UK websites.

There are a ton of directories out there after your money and even more free ones, so how do you evaluate them to work out whether it is worth submitting your site and parting with your cash. Read on and I will give you some tips.

1. Does the website look professional or would a visitor hit the back button immediately?
2. Is there evidence of editorial control? Are there typos in the entries or even worse irrelevant or inappropriate sites?
3. Is the site indexed by Google and the other main search engines?
4. Check some of the listings and see if any of the backlinks are being picked up by the search engines. e.g. use link:www.domain.com in Google.
5. Can you do some basic Search Engine Optimisation on your entry - some features to look out for:
   • the ability to create a unique page for your site with 200 to 300 words of content, some sites allow you to create several pages.
   • configurable Meta Description and Title for your page(s).
   • the ability to use html in your entry to create links to your site with appropriate Anchor Text and the ability to add Heading Tags.
6. Are the links”no-follow”? Or is a script used to track external click? If you don’t know how to check for this don’t worry, it would result in no results  being picked up by the search engines above (see 4 above).