Three Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills.With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is

We all know that the more popular the site is, the more visitors it will receive. One best way of achieving such popularity is building back links by submitting the site to web directories.

First of all, lets shed some light on what a back link and a directory are. Back links are the incoming links to a website or webpage. They are also called inbound or inward links. The quantity and quality of back links determine the popularity of the website in many search engines like Google.

The are two main types of back links:

One-way links. It is when someones link is placed on the site with nothing in return.

Reciprocal or exchanging links. It is when one site includes a link to another site and that site places a back link in return.

Directories are online catalogues that list other websites according to their contents.

You should submit your link to big directories like DMOZ, Yahoo, or Best of the Web. Various small free or paid directories are also worthy your attention.

Submitting your link to free directories is a must, except for those that require a reciprocal link for your site to be listed. Ultimately, its about you to decide whether to give a reciprocal link or not. Just keep in mind that search engines will not penalize you because of your incoming links, but your outgoing links can do much harm to you. If you link from your site to a known spammer or so-called bad neighborhood, your position in the search engine result pages could suffer. Most of the directories that require a link back exist only to gain link weight for themselves and are not worth your time.

We also recommend that you avoid the directories which require a payment for a site to be included. Many paid directories are launched solely to make temporary money. Their owners will promote the directory and try to inflate its PageRank to attract submissions and then switch to yet another new directory using the same bait. Many also have been banned or penalized by search engines for the practice of selling links without editorial review.

A submission price in small directories can vary from a few dollars as a one-time fee, to as much as $50 annually. There are thousands of such directories out there. Choosing the right ones to submit your site can take some time, work and knowledge.

We recommend that you pay attention the following factors when considering a directory for your submission:

• The Google PageRank or Alexa Rating of the Directory. The higher the better. Never pay for a site submission if a directory has a Google PR of 0.
• Where are the back links of the directory from? Are those from real sites, or from other sites of the same company, or advertisements the company bought?
• Check how long the directory operates. You can check Whois.sc or Archive.org to get an idea. The longer the better.
• Look at other submissions in the directory and in particular in the category you will submit your link to. If you find spam sites or unrelated links, you do not want to be associated with it.
• If you know the name of the company that owns the directory, find more information about the company. If they don't tell you on the site, you can find it with Whois usually. Does the company maintain dozens of directories or just this one? You do not want to deal with the company that runs dozens of directories because they are obviously just out for your money.
• Price does always matter, so keep that in your mind as you make your decision.

As you see there is a thousand chances of getting listed, free, paid, or in exchange for a reciprocal link. Choose the directories wisely. Remember that its not only the popularity that counts, but the quality as well.

I've just scratched the surface in the article presented. You can find a lot more valuable information about how to increase your site popularity by building quality one-way links here: Secret Tips For Building Quality and Natural Looking Links to Your Site

Author is a technical expert associated with development of one-way link building program: Fast Directory Submitter. Did you find those tips useful? Download a free report to learn more: Secret Tips For Building Quality and Natural Looking Links to Your Site.