Directory Submissions: Directories to Avoid Paying

Below is a list of directoris that have recently been penalised by Google for underhand practices. Basically, these directories are far more interested in gaining revenues from submissions than in providing well-vetted and useful content for search engines.

AvivaDirectory.com
AliveDirectory.com
Haabaa.com
DirectoryDump.com
BigWebLinks.com
ElegantDirectory.com
eWebPages.org
LinkBook.org
Trincas.org
CBravo.com
CDHNow.com
FreeWebIndex.com
Mingleon.com
PremiumDir.com
Submission4u.com
Aerospect.com
Bakie.com
LinkForever.net
LinksArena.com
LinksFactory.net
LinksHolder.com
WebVerve.com
Wezp.com
BestInternetResource.info
DirSpace.com
Eonte.com
Frogengine.com
LinkLister.co.uk
LinkVerve.com
LivelyDirectory.com
Submitdotcom.com

Registering your site with a directory can give you a rankings boost. Registering with the Yahoo and Open Directory is a must for websites that want to be taken seriously. Some rigour (financial & intellectual) has to be gone through in order to get a listing here.

This is not always the case, however, and some directories market by promoting search engine link value rather than their own intrinsic value as resources. If webmaster can pay for a premium listing that gets multiple links to their site with their own choice of anchor text then the directory is there for Search Engine Optimisers rather than for the general public.

Be careful when registering your site with directories. It can be tempting to pay for an increased ranking by these means but it is a short-term view and will provide you with no long-term benefit.