Some Knowledge

I just looked in to how to get some publicity for a website today.  I was searching for how to make millions with a blog, and came across the concept of submitting a site to various directories on the net.  I have of course seen web directories before, but I seldom use them for anything, relying instead on the search engines to find me information.  I went back to Google after I read this article on a blog about website promotion and searched for “free directory listing” or something similar.  There were a lot of search results, so I picked one that looked interesting and began exploring the site.

What I found was a list of supposedly free directories.  There were something like 2400 directories on this list.  All the different directories were linked, so it was an easy task to go through the list from the start and find out about the different processes for listing this site.  The first couple sites were not usable.  The next site took my information and wanted $39.99 to list my site.  That window got closed.  I found a couple sites that took my information and did not try to charge me anything.  Here is what a directory usually asks for inclusion in their list:

• URL  (This is obvious.)
• Name of site.
• Description of site.
• Email of site owner.
• Name of site owner.

Some sites ask for more information like physical address and phone number.  I quit out of the application if that was the case.  Some sites asked for reciprocal links to be pasted on your site.  I could not be bothered to add links to get a simple listing.  Some sites ask for registration, but seriously, I have more user names and passwords now than I can keep track of, so, this ended any application.

Aside from annoying things like directory sites telling me their free submissions were closed after I had filled out the application form, the process was simple.  It took  some effort to wade through the sites and find the submit URL link, and I spent most of the day reading random information and trying to find categories for my blog.  That’s the main thing I found for directories, you should have a specific common topic for your site if you want to submit a site.  Since my blog here is more general and covers a range of subjects, fitting it into one category is a bit of a problem.  I tended to put it under education or science, two topics broad enough to encompass what I will write about.

The bottom line is I have already had this site included in one directory, and I heard from a couple more that they received my submission.  I have yet to see any traffic from any directory, and this will probably take me a while to go through all the various submissions.  I have screened 40 of these directories so far and there are thousands left on the list.  I can see where website promotion can be very time consuming and run up a lot of money if you pay for inclusion in any list.  I can also see why people use programs to do multiple submissions.  This is time consuming and a bit annoying.  Still, it was a good experience for me and taught me something about how Internet marketing works.  If this blog ever becomes popular it will be because of the work I’ve done on it.  The equation for success is simple enough.  You need content and promotion, and both take effort.