Web directories are Internet-based resources that specialize in categorizing websites and linking to them. They could either be a general directory or a specialized directory. General directories contain a large range of categories while specialized directories contain just one or two topics/areas. When choosing web directories to submit or register to, quality is the most important thing to look for. Quality directories are a fantastic link building resource that generate potential for user traffic and create link popularity.

The difficult part is choosing which directory to choose for submissions. There are literally thousands of web directories sprawled over the Web and you need to pick those that will augment and not derail your link building campaign. It is important to sort out which of them is of high quality and which is of low quality, to achieve link popularity for your site. Here are tips to help you judge quality in web directories and decide whether to skip or keep:

1. Direct Links. Ideally, links in web directories must be direct, meaning that when you click the link, it leads directly to your website. Check a directory page’s source code and examine the link coding used. Direct links follow the a href="" HTML link. Check whether the directory incorporates a rel="nofollow tag in the code. If it does, submitting to such a directory would be wasteful since it yields nothing as far as Google is concerned. Moreover, check if the directory redirects using javascript and if so, skip it since this renders the link impossible to follow by search engines.
2. Accessibility. You can check whether a category in a web directory is inaccessible to search engines. Make sure to read the site’s robot.txt file by typing the site address, followed by a slash and robots.txt – http://www.directorysite.com/robots.txt Also, check the image and images folder because this is what websites usually use to make the site off limits. If in the Arts folder or category you see: Disallow: /Arts, this means it is inaccessible. If you see Disallow: /Arts, then it’s a keeper.
3. Pagerank. Although not the most important criteria in ranking a directory, PR reveals a directory’s search engine exposure and clue you in on a site’s link popularity. It tells how frequently a site is crawled by Google. A search engine manifests its love to a site by indexing many of its internal pages.
4. Site Design and Maintenance. Generally you can judge the quality of a directory by simply looking at it. If a site is designed and maintained well, the more likely it is to attract traffic and build link popularity. Quality requires time, effort, and serious thought. A quality site is regularly maintained, free from typos, broken pages or dead links. If the site offers obsolete information, it means its maintenance is sub-standard. Another way to check for maintenance is to look for a “newest links” listing and determine when these links were added. Owners of quality directories update and add new links on a regular basis.
5. Quality Control. Ideally, quality directories that build link popularity are those that are not clogged with spam and ads. It is better to submit to directories that have quality standards in place when considering listings for submission and do not approve every website unless it passes those standards. Search engines dislike low standards in sites. If you want to build link popularity, it is better to skip these directories. Also look out for directories that list MFA or Made for AdSense sites; these sites are sure to sink your ratings.
6. Category Structure. Check for a directory that offers a top level category that is related to your website. Relevancy is a top criterion in link building. If you find that there is a sub-category that fits your site, then this is a keeper. What’s better is that some directories offer a “suggest category” field in case an appropriate category does not exist. If a directory does not contain that option, you better skip it. You have nothing to gain from submitting to a category that is irrelevant to your topic.
7. Links. Examine the number of links present in a directory. If there are over 20-30 links a single page, that number may be unreasonable. Avoid directories that are loaded with too many links because this is a sure indication that a directory has too few sub-categories. Look for a directory that features categories broken down into as many sub-categories as appropriate.
8. Reciprocal Links. Bear in mind that quality directories never ask for a reciprocal link in exchange for listing. Stay away from directories that impose such a condition because clearly, that directory seeks inbound links more than it does great sites. Linking to so-called “bad neighborhoods” will injure your link popularity and search engine rankings.

These are some of the most important criteria to consider when judging quality directories. Submit and register to a quality directory, use other helpful link building methods, and seek help and guidance from a link building service or a link building company to be on your way to a great spot at the search engine rankings.