The majority of professional and boutique SEO services out there include directory submissions as part of the overall wholisitic link building approach for websites looking to gain first page placements in Google. For a brand new website, directory submissions can be great for starting the proverbial ball rolling and harnessing some much needed backlinks.
But the sad truth is that in extremely competitive markets, such as weight loss and pharmaceutical industries, these SEO companies will cajole you directory submissions and think they can positively contribute to the ranking of your site. The reality is different as the weighting (or Authority) that Google labels these directories is in actual fact quite low, but there are two authority directories that have stood the test of time and that many search engines place a lot of importance on, and they are Yahoo and DMOZ Directories.
DMOZ is the original directory that is contributed to by real humans and includes the largest database of sites listings on the web. Although the acceptance part can take months, a link in DMOZ is very important. Yahoo directory is the second useful, albeit expensive with a annual charge. Most of the websites in the first page of Google have a Yahoo placement, so that should tell you something about the impact of this directory!
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