Are Directory Submissions a Load of Steaming Elephant Droppings?

I, of all people love no obligation freebies and hate those e-mails and directory sites that promise the world and only deliver huge amounts of elephant droppings.

Those directory submissions that you make may be tedious and take a lot of time. After all you first have to find out where to click to submit your site, how much it is going to cost (if anything), how popular the site is, will you be hit with e-mail spam after submitting, will your link be a clean and follow link - the list of the ideal directory is a long one.

For me the ideal directory has the following characteristics:

1. The Add URL link is immediately prominent.
2. A mix of free and premium links (allowing me to gauge traffic and leads before stumping up any cash).
3. Minimal outside advertising or, at least advertising that is relatively unobtrusive.
4. A level of trust - this is a difficult one as it based on my gut feel which takes into account factors such as; look and feel, where I was referred from, previous experience with the site, who referred me, how many clicks to the submission form, how 'busy' the directory is and probably just how I am feeling on the day.
5. The ability for visitors to engage in Social Networking is important - they must be able to 'Like' or 'Tweet' from the directory.
6. The marketing of the directory - does the directory provide RSS feeds, does the directory use Social Media to showcase new or selected listings.
7. Is there some sort of mechanism for me or my clients to get involved in the directory and be 'rewarded' for my participation - e.g. if my directory listing is rated, commented on and visited a lot does it move up in the rankings?
8. Is the directory search form prominent?
9. Is help an e-mail or form away?
10. Does the directory offer relevant categories for the niche that my business is in?

I reckon we have got most of the above right in new MyZA Directory. The MyZA directory is based on a number of successful online Local Business Directories that have been consistently delivering clients and leads to since 2005.

The following steps will help you get a free listing on MyZA:

1. Register first here.
2. Navigate to the category you want your business to appear in.
3. Once you are in the category you want your business to appear in click on the "Add Business" link and fill in the form.
4. To add a Premium Link click on the "Premium Ad" link - a premium link appears at the top of the category, is highlighted and contains a heap more info than a standard link.

Helpful tips to getting a lot of traffic out of your directory listing:

1. Choose your category well
2. Make sure that the Title reflects your business - e.g 'Jannies Pub' means far more than 'Jannies'
3. Use all 255 characters in the description field.
4. Use keywords that are relevant to your business. You may also use keywords that are not in the description as these are only used for searching the database and not as Meta Keywords.
5. Don't SHOUT, use normal capitalisation.
6. If you list in more than one category change the Title to reflect the category you are listing in; e.g. 'Jannies Pub', 'Jannies Restaurant', Jannies Guest House' etc.
7. If you list in more than one category change the Description to reflect the category you are listing in as well
8. If you are listing in more than one category use Deep Linking and link to the page relevant to the category you are listing in; e.g. janniespub.co.za/pu.html, janniespub.co.za/restaurant.html, janniespub.co.za/guest_house.html etc.

Two useful tools and sites to help you decide whether that directory listing is worth it:

1. Alexa - www.alexa.com has been around since Pa fell off the bus and offers a nice snapshot of traffic. See MyZA Alexa Traffic - for an example. Alexa only show Traffic Stats for the Top 100 000 web sites in the world. To get an indication of traffic for a site out of the Top 100 000 compare your site to a site in the Top 100 000 by using the compare function.
2. Yahoo Site Explorer will give you one more indication of popularity by listing backlinks (links from other web sites to the directory you are considering). See the MyZA Backlinks for an example - . Bear in mind that the Yahoo Site Explorer will give you results for backlinks WITH www and WITHOUT www.

If you need more convincing of the benefit of listing in a targeted directory the I suggest that you read one small business owner's report here: MyPE Responsible for 80% of Business Referrals

At the end of the day the way to navigate around those steaming piles of elephant do do is to keep your eyes open and stay informed OR use a professional directory submission expert.