In different forums on the net, you see threads by different people asking different questions on directories such as: Are they still effective? Does it worth submitting to? Is submitting to it not a waste of time? etc. This inspired me to write this article probably you may share your opinion.

What Is A Web Directory?
From Wikipedia: A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web. It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links. A web directory is not a search engine and does not display lists of web pages based on keywords; instead, it lists web sites by category and subcategory. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only a few categories. Web directories often allow site owners to directly submit their site for inclusion, and have editors review submissions for fitness.

Directories are one of the good ways of getting related links and targeted traffic. They can help with anchor text and to rank certain key phrases and also provide backlinks. Directory submission is more beneficial for new sites that have no backlinks yet and pages that are trying to rank well for long tail keywords.
Directory submission used to be very important in the past, but now

Business directories can be an extremely valuable tool for small businesses just getting started on the internet. Small businesses must be able to get the word out about the products and or services that they offer prospective clients. One way to accomplish this task is through online methods of website promotion. One of the better known ways is through business directory listings. By getting your site listed in valuable directories it enables companies to get noticed with a link next to their competition. This puts your company on a level playing field with other companies that offer the same service and or product. This provides a quick way to get noticed online.
For businesses that provide services or products to other businesses, there are business to business directories that help to target that market even closer. A human edited business to business directory can provide you with exactly this. You can find out more information about how to submit your site at the site’s submission page.
One of the concerns today in promoting a site through a business directory is finding one that offers a wide range of categories that match up with your business. Many directories may offer category suggestion options during the submission process that will help narrow down categories if one is not already listed. Getting your site listed in the right category is vital as this is where users of the directory will be looking for your site. With a little web site promotion and getting listed in the right places, before you know it businesses and their decision makers will be finding your web page online.

Submitting to web directories are one of the oldest used methods for boosting search engine rankings. Directories provide quality backlink from pages with subject relevant content and are essential to any website’s SEO strategy. Fastreviews.org is a free

The Web Directory, a general web directory which was launched in March 2007
and has since grown to become a popular and strong directory with visitors from all around the World.
The directory is human edited, spam free, search engine friendly and most important of all,
it’s been designed to be user friendly so submitting a url and navigating around the site has been made
as simple as possible. Regular listings are reviewed within 24 hours and a notification email is sent if listings are approved. Listings will be rejected if submission rules are not followed correctly. A full refund is provided if listings are rejected. All feedback is considered and applied if required so the directory continues to improve. We take your privacy seriously, so no personal information such as email addresses is forwarded to any third parties and is only used to inform you of the status of your submission, so you can rest assure you will not receive any unwanted emails from any third parties. Approval and rejection emails may contain services or advertisements which may be useful to you. With over 600 categories to choose from there is a category available for your site or you may suggest a new category to fit your site. Submit your site today.

Business Directory - http://www.the-web-directory.co.uk/3/Business/
Shopping Directory - http://www.the-web-directory.co.uk/234/Shopping/
Contact Us - http://www.the-web-directory.co.uk/C…ntactusnow.php

Web Engine Directory is an automated approval system that gives a free service for all viewers. Indexing is not a question or an issue, with this directory as all major search engines crawl each link with a follow attribute to provide each site to be indexed. Submitting your site to Web Engine Directory gives you a chance to get a higher visibility on the web.

We provide free automated submissions in which are approved automatically. Our indexing is new, but they’re averaging over 300+ hits a day from search queries and submissions are around 30-40 since November 19th of this year since we launched.

We strive to give every submission a visibility for each individual who visits that is interested in the websites we have to offer. Web Engine Directory is working it’s way up to be a well known free automated submitting directory on the web.