SEO: directory listings

Once you have a good idea of your keywords and you have some solid content on your website, the next step in Search Engine Optimization is link building. You want to be linked from as many well-known and respected websites as possible.

This is a time-consuming process, but it will definitely work on your search engine rankings.

For most of my customers I start with the free listings. The only cost involved is my time. But there are also some worthwhile paid directory listings. I want to mention those here so you can evaluate for yourself if you want to spend the money on these:

• Yahoo! Directory – $299 per year for commercial listings (free for non-commercial listings)
• Business.com – $299 per year for commercial listings
• Best of the Web – one time $299 fee

Do I really need to be on these directories?

Not necessarily. Most of my customers are local and for them local (and much cheaper or free) directories are more important. Many of my SEO customers are in a good competitive position and already rank in the top 5  for their keywords, so for those clients it does not pay off to add these listings. And I certainly don’t want you to spend money if you don’t need to!

But if you are struggling to get to the first page of Google, then it might be worthwhile to increase your SEO budget and make the investment in these listings.