Tips For Getting Listed And Benefiting From Human-Edited Online Business Directories

Getting listed in human-edited online business directories has proven to be one of the most effective Internet marketing strategies – if and only if you can make sure your website qualifies.

What are Human-Edited Online Business Directories?
There are primarily two types of business directories in terms of operation in the Internet. They may be human-edited or automated. With automated directories, you simply submit your website and its details to the system and it will be uploaded as soon as possible, no questions asked. With human-edited directories, your application will have to be reviewed and approved before your link could be uploaded.

Pros and Cons of Submitting to Human-Edited Online Business Directories
Human-edited online business directories may or may not provide services free of charge so cost would not be included in its list of pros and cons.

Pros:

Edited with a Human Touch – Because the online business directory is operated and controlled by humans, websites containing undesirable content and which have successfully got past search engine spiders will not fare considerably better once they’re evaluated properly by human editors. As all the links in the directory are thus considered valuable, your website, if and when it qualifies, will immediately benefit from improved credibility and reputation.

Automatic Exposure – Getting your website’s link uploaded will immediately bring you exposure to people who might not have known about your website in normal circumstances.

Improved Rankings – In terms of link popularity and page ranking at least, you can definitely see improvement after some time.

Cons:

Processing Time – Because you’re working with human editors, expect processing time to be slower than what it could be with an automated online business directory. If you have provided a free website submission, expect the directory to prioritize paid submissions over free ones as well.

Ultimately, as long as you don’t mind waiting longer than usual to have your submission approved then there’s everything to gain and nothing to lose from submitting your link to human-edited online business directories.

Tips to Getting Listed and Benefiting from Human-Edited Online Business Directories

Tip #1 Pay if you can afford it. To expedite the submission process, get a paid account and you can have your website link uploaded in less than twelve hours.

Tip #2 If you have mirror websites, do not submit them to the directory. This will only place you at risk of getting blacklisted by the site. Submit your main page instead.

Tip #3 Determine the best category for your website. This will ensure that the right people are seeing your website. If your website falls under more than one category, however, inquire if you can make multiple category submissions for one website. Lastly, avoid submitting similar websites to one category. Stick to one website per category.

Tip #4 Websites with illegal or undesirable content will immediately be banned. Even if your website is affiliated or linked with such a site, it is enough to get you banned. Eliminate these affiliations before applying to avoid trouble.

Tip #5 If your website is “under construction” or “under maintenance”, do not submit it for the meantime to the directory. Fix what needs fixing and when it’s up and running, that’s the time to make a submission. Readers from the directory will only be frustrated if they click a broken link and this will consequently dent the reputation of your website and the directory.

Tip #6 If you are using another language besides English for your website, it might require you to place your page in a different category altogether.

Tip #7 Read the rest of the terms and conditions provided by the directory to avoid making any unnecessary violations.

Tip #8 Most human-edited online business directories will require you to submit a brief but detailed description about your website. Be aware that the description you’ll give should be objective and not blatantly promotional. If you are caught providing information that isn’t factual or accurate, this could also prevent you from getting listed.

When making the description for your website, just focus on its key features while making no mention of its benefits.

Tip #9 Once your submitted link has been approved and uploaded, visit the directory to see how it has been categorized, titled, and described. If it proves to be unsatisfactory, you can usually submit a form indicating the desired changes.