If you are thinking of submitting your website to directories for better exposure, then you should carefully weigh the pros and cons of directory submission for your website. In the end, though, you will probably find that there are many more advantages than disadvantages for directory submission.

 Some of the benefits that you can hope to gain from submitting your website to directories are better rankings in the search engines, one way backlinks to your website that result in increased traffic to your site, and increased page rank and visibility of your website.

 Of the relatively few cons of directory submission , the one that stands out the most is that directory submission is time consuming and tedious.  There is the extra work of optimizing your pages and choosing the most appropriate directories for submission.  However, these are minor inconveniences compared the pros of directory submission.

 Since search engines love sites that have relevant incoming one way links, also known as backlinks, these sites are given preferential treatment during indexing.  So when you are submitting your website to the directories, it is important that you choose the most relevant category for your site. For example, there is no use in submitting your website to a directory that focuses on crafts if your site  is health related.  In this case, you will possibly be penalized by the search engines, and what was supposed to be beneficial can now be detrimental.

 Not only do you receive better search engine rankings, you also gain the benefit of increased exposure and traffic for your website.  By improving your search engine rankings , your site is much more likely to be found by visitors searching for your website's subject.  Your site is also listed in the directories and will normally receive traffic from these directory sites also.

 The backlinks that you receive from the directories also help to improve the page rank (PR) scores of your website pages.  These scores are frequently used by other website owners when they are determining whether they should link to your site or not.  If your site has a high PR score, you will have more and sites wanting to link to your website.  Again, this results in increased traffic for you.

 There are numerous benefits for directory submission, but it is also a time consuming project. Software can help speed up the process, but it must still be monitored.  These are probably just about the only drawbacks if you are considering directory submission.  Overall, there are more pros than cons to directory submission, and your website will greatly benefit from a well thought out plan of submission.

-------------------------------------

 This article was written for Webmaster Forums and Buy A Directory . 

If you wish to use this article on your own site, these links must all remain intact.