There are, quite literally, millions and millions of web sites on the web today, and most small businesses find it a constant struggle to be found among all the competition. One method that many of these webmasters have found to raise their exposure within a cost effective method, is through web directory submissions. If you have a small business website and have been experiencing difficulty building traffic to it, then web directory submission may help you get things moving within the right direction by explaining what web directories are, why they are good for your business, and how best to use them.

What Is A business website directory?

A web directory is a website devoted entirely to collecting infos about other sites and categorise then based on their specific niche. A business directory limits itself to business web sites just. These directories, and there are thousands of them, assign each website a small plot of virtual real estate on their website that will contain a brief description, a link to the website, and possibly a screen shot image of the website’s homepage. All of this infos is then organized into a database that can be searched by category, name, or sometimes even geographic location or region. So far they don’t sound much different from a search engine, do they?

The main difference among a business website directory and a search engine is that while a search engine simply returns a bunch of robot collected links, a web directory returns a list of human edited entries with website descriptions. This means the sites you find through a directory have been reviewed, sorted and categorized by an impartial editor before actually being placed on the website. This keeps the junk and spam sites to a minimum, and is why they are used by a lot of people.

Business web directories give a small business web website the ability to compete on a level playing field. While it is frequently really difficult to be found within the crowd of search engine results, the categories and geographic divisions of a directory make it easier for your potential customers to find you. In a web directory, all of the sites have an equal chance to stand out. Usually the easiest method to accomplish this is to spend the modest fee for a premium, or featured, listing. This means your listing will be at the top of the list and frequently have a larger font size. By purchasing a featured listing even a small website can stand out within the crowd.

How Do I Get My website Listed?

Getting your website listed within a business directory is really not complicated at all. Every business website directory will have a submission form somewhere on the website, almost linked to from a relatively prominent location on the homepage. To submit your website for approval, simply fill out the form with your website url, your E-mail address, and a short description of your website or business, then click the “submit” button. Your web directory submission then goes into the queue where an editor will eventually inspect your website and approve or reject the submission. Unfortunately though, you are just getting started.

To really use the web directory submission strategy to your advantage, you need to submit your website to many, many directories. While the submission process itself is fairly simple and straightforward, it can become tedious and time consuming when you start talking about adding to hundreds, or even thousands, of directories. This is where some of you decide to use one of the many software programs out there to submit their website automatically, but beware, if done improperly, this method can cause more harm than good. Frankly, unless you have someone to show you how best to use the software, you should probably avoid it, and just submit your website manually. This will take longer, but the rate at which you build the links will look much more natural, and not cause you any kind of problems.

Now that you understand what these directories are, how they function, and why you should use them, do an web search for, “Business Web Directory” and get started putting your web website within front of your future customers.

Author Bio: Dinu Vlad is an editor at http://www.jasminedirectory.com, one of the many business directories that offers business owner the chance to list their firm.

Category: Business
Keywords: business directories,effective marketing strategy,effective marketing,marketing strategy