The Value of Niche Web Directories

Web directories are an important component to search engine positioning. Directories come in all shapes and sizes, some are generic, while others are highly specialized. Directories, are defined as categorized topics or collections of information organized into a tree like structure where categories are used to define each groups association.

Being listed in a directory not only brings in targeted traffic, it provides a one-way link from a web site with similar content. Directories are generally highly ranked in search engines, and are considered well respected resources, two traits that are desirable in Reciprocal link partners.

While smaller directories that focus on a specific niche might generate less traffic, the quality of the traffic from a niche site is usually highly targeted and will be superior to that generated from general search engines.

If you are looking to hire a DJ, traffic from yahoo will be less qualified than traffic from sites such as TruGroovez.com. Most visitors to Trugroovez will have a genuine interest in dance music and djing. The nature of highly specialized directories result in visitors who have a serious interest in the directories theme, or a at the very least an interest in a theme related to the directory.

As a result, web publishers need to make a conscience effort not to ignore the value of directory listings. Regardless of their size, a related niche directory listing can be extremely valuable.

Many directories offer sponsorship opportunities. Vendors can optionally purchase sponsorship to increased their exposure with a bold listing or top category listings.


Determining a Directories Value

It is difficult to assess the value of a directory listing, as there is an obvious advantage to a listing of a closely related theme directory that is difficult to measure and quantify. In general, webmasters can use common web guidelines to determine the popularity of a directory and assess the directory link's value.

To assess the value of a web directory, consider the Page Rank of the web page where the link placement of your site will occur. The Page Rank is indicative of how important Google may find a specific page. Another reliable third party measuring tool is Alexa. The Alexa ranking provides insight into how popular a web site is. In general, a link from a web page containing a Page Rank of 5 or higher is considered very good. A link from a site in Alexa's top 100,000 is also generally very desirable.

Music Moz http://musicmoz.org claims a main Google PageRank of 7 and subpages all contain a minimum of a 5 for PageRank, the overall site has alexa rank of 29,556. Clearly if you are in the music business, Music Moz would be a very desirable link partner.

To determine a sites PageRank without downloading the Google Toolbar, use the following online tool from http://www.prchecker.info A website's Alexa ranking can be found by entering the URL into Alexa http://www.alexa.com

It is recommended that PageRank and Alexa ranking be only used as a guide when determining a directories reputation. It is important not to get too caught up in either Google PageRank or Alexa Ranking as webmasters can use "tricks" to artificially inflate their numbers.

The bottom line, links from directories that are small but niche, can provide quality web traffic. Niche web directories are perhaps the very best types of directories because they contain keywords related to your web site. Search engines are always looking for ways to better index information, and niche directories do it more quickly.

Web Directories...are They Relevant to SEO?

Post about the relevancy of web directories in the game of SEO - by Aaron Wall - seobook.com

http://www.seobook.com/archives/001583.shtml

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