Getting your website listed in web directories is an important part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Here are the top ten directories your site should be placed in to gain SEO benefits, in no particular order.:

1.) VLIB.org: The WWW Virtual Library was one of the first websites established in the early ’90s. The process of submitting a site is somewhat complex, but getting sites placed there is quite valuable.

2.) WebWorldIndex.com: A well-established SEO friendly directory with an impressive Alexa.com rank of 32,723. The “Submit Free” link is located near the bottom of each category page.

3.) DMEGS.com: Another one of the top directories, DMEGS.com requires a reciprocal link (or payment) to be listed. It also has a search engine with screenshots next to each listing.

4.) AplusDirectory.net: A+ Web Directory has a Google PageRank of five and allows free site submissions, with or without a reciprocal link. Unlike some directories, it has a fast, uncluttered design.

5.) TheFreeWebsiteDirectory.co.uk: This popular directory offers Featured, Express, and Free listings. The submission form is relatively short and there are a wide variety of categories available.

6.) DirectoryWorld.net: A fast, well-designed directory, DirectoryWorld requires reciprocal links from webmasters who request free listings. It only accepts English-language sites.

7.) AllTheWebsites.org: One of many directories with a Google PageRank of three, AllTheWebsites.org requires registration before users can submit a website to be placed in their index.

8.) NewWebDirectory.com: To submit a link to NewWebDirectory, find the appropriate category and click on “Add Basic Listing” at the top (unless you want to purchase a paid listing).

9.) Internet-Web-Directory.com: Being placed in this top directory is very good for SEO because it has a PageRank of five and it appears in the first page of Google results for Internet Directories.

10.) DMOZ.org: Although it can take a very long time for new listings to gain acceptance, getting placed in this directory is important for SEO; it also ensures placement in the Google Directory and Search.com results.

Each of these top directories has a Google PageRank (PR) of at least three and uses direct HTML links, making them useful for SEO purposes. They don’t require payment from sites placed in their indexes.

Getting your web site listed on directories can be good for search engine optimization (SEO), while increasing direct traffic at the same time. However, not all directories are SEO friendly. When you need to determine if a site can be used for this purpose, please refer to the following SEO Friendly Directory Checklist:

- Do the directory’s links go directly to web sites? Look at one of the categories and see if (point at a link while looking at the status bar) the links go to a redirection/tracking page or directly to the sites they refer to. Directories with direct links are SEO friendly, as search engines can easily identify these links and their destination.

- Does the directory have a Google PageRank level of at least one? You can check this by entering its URL in a web site like checkpr.org. Directories with no/zero PageRank are either too new/obscure to affect SEO, or have been penalized by Google for allowing too much “link spam”. Be careful not to use “FFA” link sites or directories full of miscategorized pages.

- Are web site names used as the titles (anchor text) for links? It is more SEO friendly when directories use the title (or other relevant words) in the text of their links, rather than using a URL, an image, or a generic phrase like “Click Here”. However, gaining links with less desirable anchor text still benefits SEO efforts, just not as much.

- Does the directory not require a reciprocal link? Some directories demand a reciprocal link in return for approval, while others make it optional or don’t ask for it. It is better to gain listings on directories that don’t require reciprocal linking; generally, one-way inbound links to your web site provide greater SEO benefits.

- Is it possible for search engine “spiders” (a.k.a. “robots”) to navigate/crawl the directory and find your link? The majority of directories are search spider friendly. However, if the site can only be navigated using animated/javascript menus (and there is no alternative method like a Site Map), this could be a problem.

There are far too many SEO friendly directories to list here, but they include Yahoo! Directory, URLdirectory.org, DMOZ.org, WebWorldIndex.com, and FreeWebsiteDirectory.com. It is especially important to be listed on DMOZ.org; not only does DMOZ/ODP have an impact upon SEO, but it also provides some of the results for many small search engines.

Backlinks are a web site or web page’s incoming links. Generally, the more backlinks a web site or page has, the more popular or important it is. Backlinks are also called incoming links, inbound links, inlinks or inward links occasionally. The two main benefits of backlinks are increased traffic and higher Google PageRank. Here are 5 tips to help increase the backlinks to your site.

First you need to submit your site to directories. There are many free and paid directories that you can submit your site to. Once your site has been submitted theses directories should begin showing a backlink to your site. Make sure your check any of the requirements they have as well as any waiting period for backlinks to become available.

A second way to increase your backlinks is to comment on blogs or web sites similar to your own. You should find several blogs, forums and sites in your market and become a regular contributor there. Then include your website in your signature.

Third, take advantage of social bookmarking. Post your articles on sites like Digg and StumbleUpon. This will increase your exposure, but will also create more backlinks if people Digg your article.

Fourth, you can create your own WordPress theme and then give it away for free. The trick to this is putting a link to your web site in the footer of the theme you design. Once you upload it and give it away, any one who uses it will create a backlink to your site.

Finally, you can hire someone to do the work for you. Companies such as PayPerPost let you pay to have bloggers review your site. Although, this is a little dangerous. Make sure the blog writing about your site has some common interest or Google may determine that the links aren’t valuable.

All in all getting backlinks is a part of being actively involved in your community as well as knowing your field. If you are competent in these two fields then people should want to backlink to you automatically.

There are a number of words and acronyms involved in search engine optimization (SEO) which are not considered self-explanatory. It is helpful to know what they mean before reading articles or forum messages about SEO. Read on to learn about some of their definitions…

Keyword Density: Webpages are more likely to receive a high ranking in search results for a particular keyword if they use that word frequently (but not excessively). The keyword density is the percentage of the total number of words in which one keyword is used.

META Tags: This refers to part of a website’s HTML code, near the beginning, and includes the Title, Description, and Keywords tags. The Title tag is visible to both users and search engines, while the Description and Keywords tags are only used by search engine spiders. Many SEO experts feel that the “Keywords” tag is of minimal importance.

PageRank: The PageRank, or “PR”, of a website is a numeric ranking applied to it by Google, and largely based upon how many other sites link to it. The higher the ranking, the closer to the top of relevant search results a website is likely to appear. If you own a website, it is helpful to know its PageRank and check it periodically to determine if progress is being made.

Link Bombing: This practice (sometimes called “Google Bombing”) remains effective to some extent, but generally doesn’t allow for the kind of manipulation it once did. The concept is that if enough websites link to a particular webpage and use a specific phrase in the link text, the targeted site will appear in the top search results for that phrase or keyword.

White/Black Hat: Different types of SEO practices are frequently referred to in this manner. “Black hat” techniques usually are efforts to manipulate search results which are opposed by search engines; on the other hand, “white hat” SEO methods can improve a site’s ranking but generally don’t have the potential to harm it.

CTR: This acronym, meaning Click Through Rate, refers to the percentage of website users who click on a link or advertisement. This term can be applied to search results,  e-mail advertisements, banners, and other forms of promotion.

Natural/Organic: When website traffic is called “organic” or “natural”, it means that it comes without the recipient providing payment or anything in exchange. Examples of this are unpaid search listing clicks and voluntary links from other websites or blogs. SEO is a major way to generate such traffic.

Reciprocal Linking: This is a method in which two website owners add links to each other’s sites. It can provide both SEO and direct traffic benefits, especially if the websites are about similar subjects. However, Google has imposed a policy aimed at limiting the SEO benefits of reciprocal linking.

Analytics: When it involves SEO, this is the practice of collecting and analyzing data on a website’s traffic, then using it to more effectively promote the site. It can also be useful when making decisions with regard to web design.

Directories: Online directories are often used as a part of SEO promotional efforts. This usually refers to either “web directories”, which are categorized lists of approved sites (like dmoz.org), or “article directories”, which contain articles on one or more subjects (such as searchwarp.com).

Article directories allow users to make submissions of articles they have created, with one or more links to the user’s website(s) at the end of each article. Using these directories helps increase traffic to the website of the person who created the article, as well as adding to the number of inbound links the website has (which can improve its ranking in search engines). Here are some of the top  directories for making article submissions of this type.

EzineArticles.com: One of the largest article directory websites, EzineArticles has an impressive Alexa.com traffic ranking of 648 (many such directories are in the hundreds of thousands or millions) and a Google PageRank of six. It accepts submissions on a wide variety of subjects, and has somewhat higher standards than many of the other directories.

ArticleDashboard.com: Another top article directory, ArticleDashboard also has a PageRank of six, and a very good Alexa ranking (just over ten thousand). It allows up to three promotional links per submission, and accepts articles on many different topics. There is also a forum for discussing the website and various relevant issues.

ArticleBiz.com: Despite its name, ArticleBiz accepts submissions on everything from car insurance to pet reptiles. It isn’t quite as popular as the above-mentioned directories, but it has a Google PageRank of six, higher than the vast majority of article directories. This means that the inbound links are likely to have greater search ranking value.

GoArticles.com: This isn’t among the top directories for its PageRank (three), but it has more traffic than most others (according to Alexa, which ranks it just under 7,300). It also ranks well on Quantcast and Ranking.com. Submissions must be at least 100 words long, and are limited to fifteen thousand characters.

EasyArticles.com: This is one of the top directory websites for its PageRank (PR5) and has a good Alexa ranking (about 58 thousand) as well. It has a higher word requirement than some of the other directories (200-3,000 words). However, the registration form is shorter than that of most others.

ArticleHub.com: It doesn’t have a PageRank or Alexa ranking as high as some of the other directories, although they are both fairly good, but a significant advantage of this directory is that article submissions don’t require registration or e-mail confirmation. This makes submitting articles there easier and less time-consuming.

ArticleCity.com: Like ArticleHub, ArticleCity allows articles to be submitted without registration. It also has a PageRank of six, making it one of the top article articles by this measure. It also has a rather good Alexa ranking (20.6k), and accepts article submissions on about thirty different topics.

This list of top 10 strategies for building links is based on my own experience of building links to my sites throughout the years. It is important to keep in mind that when it comes to SEO, nothing is set in stone. SEO is a cat-and-mouse game, so I will revise this list from time to time as the field continues to evolve.

Please note that the order in which these methods are listed do not necessarily reflect their order of effectiveness. Some methods may work better than others for certain sites.

1. Submit to web directories

Submitting to web directories is a vital part of every successful link building campaign. Apart from driving traffic to your website through direct referrals, web directories provide static, one-way links to your site, boosting your link popularity and improving your rankings on the major search engines like Google and Yahoo.

It is important to note that not all directory listings are equal. Listings from trusted, established directories like Yahoo! and DMOZ are more valuable than those from the thousands of others on the net. All else being equal, a link from a directory focused on your niche is worth more than one from a general directories.

Submit to both free and paid directories. Free directories provide one-way links to your site with no strings attached, but they can take forever to review your link. Paid listings can be a good investment if the fees are reasonable and the pages on which your link will reside have decent PRs. Your sites will be listed with fewer competing links on paid directories.

2. Write articles and press releases

Submitting your article to directories is a highly effective way to build one-way links to your site. First, you write a thoughtful and informative article on an topic in your area of expertise. Then you submit it to article directories to be read by the general public and reprinted on other web sites. Appended to the end of your article is a resource box which contain links to your site and email address.

While there are hundreds or even thousands of article directories on the web, you should focus on writing a high quality article and submitting to a handful of the more popular ones. Having your article published on a top directory can be worth more than a hundred less reputable ones. If you write something that people find useful, they may pick it up and reprint it on their blogs, newsletters, etc. This is how a quality article propagates virally in cyberspace– it virtually distributes itself without your having to manually submit to a thousand article directories.

3. Exchange links with related sites

Online forums like Digitalpoint are an excellent place to find reciprocal linking partners. Avoid sending out spammy e-mail solicitations like those generated by many SEO software programs. I get dozens of these everyday.

4. Make use of social bookmarking sites

Social bookmarking sites help bring together internet users from every corner of the world into a virtual global village. Submitting content to sites like Digg.com, YouTube.com and Del.icio.us can bring lots of visitors in a hurry.

It is important to understand that sites like Digg and YouTube are not necessarily shock sites. Although there is some publicity to be gained from the shock value of an article or video, one must not resort to tasteless and offensive materials to gain attention. There is only so much value in the attention gotten by being the village idiot.

5. Buy text links on other sites

Although link buying is somewhat an unnatural way to build links, it may be the only way to increase your link popularity if your site is not unique or interesting enough to get people to link to you on their own. Most commercial sites fall into this category.

You should buy links in a way that simulates natural linking as much as possible. Buy text links from sites that are related to yours. Vary anchor texts and descriptions. Buy links from internal as well as home pages. Buy links from both high- and low-PR sites (which can be gotten at a bargain prices).

6. Participate in online forums

Sharing knowledge can be a very powerful way to establish your online presence and credibility. If you check your backlinks on search engines like Google and Yahoo!, you may notice that a number of them come from the signatures of forum posts, that is, if you post in forums. Most forums allow signature links. I don’t participate in forums that don’t as allowing them is the least the forums can do to compensate me for contributing to their contents.

7. Write testimonials and reviews.

Writing a glowing review about a product or service and submitting to your vendor or service provider can give you a very high quality link back to your site. But this strategy can prove time-consuming as many vendors publish only a handful of testimonials from their customers. Don’t waste your time by sending a testimonial to a vendor who does not have a “Testimonials” page on their site. When submitting a review or testimonial, don’t forget to mention to your vendor that they should be feel free to publish your comments on their site (along with a link to your site).

8. Ask vendors and clients to link to your site.

I once bought a $350 script package and asked my vendor if they could feature my site as site made with their script. They obliged and gave me a PR7 text link from their site. Since the link is worth at least $40 a month, my initial investement for the script has paid for itself many times over. Besides the SEO benefits, it is responsible for thousands of visitors to my site a month through direct clicks. The moral of the story: don’t be afraid to ask. The worse that could happen is that they say “no”.

9. Blogging

Setting up a blog is a no-brainer. Even if you’ve no web designing experience whatsoever, you have a blog up and running in no time. Blogs allows for a more informal setting to get your words across. So, it’s much easier to write a blog entry than an article to submit to article directories. Use your blog to share knowlege, voice opinions, connect with others with similar interests, and of course, to link to your other sites.

Avoid spamming blog networks like Blogger and MySpace. These spam blogs (”splogs”) are a waste of time as they will not get much attention from people and will yield little, if any, SEO benefits. Write about something you know and have a genuine interest in. Focus on quality rather than quantity.

10. Content is king.

Yes, content is still king. In fact, content is by far the most important of the ten strategies I’ve mentioned. Having fresh, unique, engaging content is an excellent way to attract natural linking from other sites. This is the type of links that search engines like.

You may have heard of the buzz phrase, link-baiting, that is being tossed around in the SEO community nowadays. The idea is to get others to link to you voluntarily, perhaps by causing some type of sensation or controversy on YouTube, Digg, the message boards, or whatever. Link-baiting, in my opinion, is no more than a new play on the old “content is king” mantra.