If you want to boost search engine rankings, focus on how to acquire quality links using link building techniques. There is no one best method to launch a successful link building campaign. There are several ways, in fact. When you are after link popularity, using different but reliable means of getting links should always be welcome. This is why leveraging the power of web directories to elevate your link popularity and catapult your site to the top of SERP hierarchy deserves serious attention.

What is a web directory? A web directory is oftentimes mistaken for a search engine but a distinction has to be drawn. A web directory acts like a catalog on the World Wide Web that lists sites according to category and subcategory. These directories are considered human edited resources because sites are subjected to a manual review process before their listing gets approved. Any website owner can submit their URL to a web directory – some for free and some for a fee. Since we are talking about getting free links to improve link popularity, we focus on submission to free directories available on the Web.

How does directory submission contribute to link popularity? Judging by the single link and search capability of a web directory, a site owner acquires a vast number of potential link partners begging to be added. With the use of appropriate strategies, web directories can improve link popularity to a great degree. In order to get a clear picture of how free quality directories boost link popularity, it is important to understand how search engines work. Basically, search engines aid users in locating relevant information based on keywords typed in the search.

Search engines then evaluate the relevance of your page based on a number of factors, including:

1. meta data on your page, to include page title and keywords
2. page content and keyword density
3. absence or presence of keywords in the URL leading to the page
4. number of links from related pages on quality sites that link back to the page
5. number of links pointing from your site to related pages on quality sites. While all of the factors are rated with a certain value by search engines, all rate the number of links pointing to the page highly.

Several benefits can be reaped by submitting your URL to a free web directory:

1. Listing your website with free directories give you permanent links that boost link popularity. By using targeted anchor text and “themed” submissions, the relevancy of keywords on your site are improved.
2. Link building through directory submissions let you acquire links from related pages. For instance, if your site is related to travel, your URL submission is approved only if it is submitted under a travel category, or a travel category within a general directory. This guarantees that links pointing to your web site come only from relevant pages, which search engines love.
3. Directory submissions replicate “natural links,” which are favored by search engines. A natural link is acquired once a site owner voluntarily creates a link pointed at your site.
4. Submitting to directories give you instant targeted visitors that are vital to any link building effort. Although their popularity has been replaced by search engines, people still depend on online directories to locate relevant websites. Having your website listed in free quality directories increase the potentiality of receiving user traffic.
5. Free quality directories can create one-way links. Site owners commonly link to other sites for link building. Swapping or trading links are usually done in order to get a permanent back link from a related website. While there are many free directories that act as link exchanges, there are also free quality directories where links are permanent, free, and does not require reciprocal linking. If you have a terrific website, directory owners would be more than willing to link to your site if you request so.
6. Free directory submissions provide permanent results for a one-time investment. Whether you do the directory submission yourself or hire a link building company to do it for you, it is a worthwhile effort. For a one-time investment, you get permanent and free links that will enhance link popularity and visibility of your site.

Where and how do I submit my URL? The most popular choice is the DMOZ directory, which is a free listing online directory. DMOZ has been operating for many years and catalogs more than four million categorized Web sites. It is maintained by a large number of editors that add new URLs of approved sites to for categorization under relevant topics or areas. However, there are alternative free online directories out there that can help your link building campaign. Identify those directories first. Once you come up with a list of free web directories and before you submit your URL to them, go to each site and review their guidelines for submission to the letter.

Generally, experts put a red flag on directory submission services since it gives you no control over how the submission is handled, if at all. It could also turn you into a potential spammer, which will eventually get you blacklisted, and hurt your site’s link popularity. Google and other search engines are known to penalize associations to so-called “bad neighborhoods,” or sites that abuse SEO techniques and search engine algorithms.