Building a Web Directories Strategy From Scratch

In 1999 most people found new websites by browsing, not searching. Yahoo’s directory, organized by hand into categories like “Business and Economy” or “Recreation,” worked more like a phone book than a search engine, and getting listed there mattered more to a new business than almost anything else you could do online. Building a directory strategy meant understanding a handful of specific directories, each with its own rules, and working through them methodically.

Start by mapping the directories that matter

Not all directories carry the same weight. Yahoo’s directory is the one most people browse directly, and a listing there can send steady referral traffic on its own. The Open Directory Project (ODP), also known as DMOZ, launched by Netscape in 1998, works differently: it’s maintained by volunteer editors and its listings get syndicated out to dozens of smaller directories and portals, so one accepted submission there echoes across the web. LookSmart and About.com round out the tier worth your first round of effort, and after that, look for directories specific to your industry or region.

Write your listing before you submit it

Directory editors reject submissions constantly, and a rushed listing is the fastest way to end up in that pile. Write a plain, factual description of what the business does in two or three sentences, avoid marketing language like “the best” or “world-class” and pick the single category that best matches what you sell rather than the broadest one you can find. Editors are volunteers or low-paid reviewers working through a queue, and making their decision easy is the whole game.

Submit to Yahoo first

Yahoo’s submission process in 1999 is free but slow, often taking anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months for a straightforward business site. There’s no way to check status beyond waiting, so submit early and keep working on the rest of your list rather than refreshing your inbox.

Submit to the Open Directory Project

DMOZ’s review times vary category by category depending on how active the volunteer editor is. Because DMOZ data feeds so many other directories and portals, a single accepted listing here does more work than it looks like on the surface. If your category doesn’t seem to have an active editor, most versions of the submission form let you apply to become one, which is a legitimate way to get a listing seen faster.

Work through niche and local directories

After the big two, look for directories built around your specific industry or city. A regional chamber of commerce site, a trade association directory or a hobbyist portal in your niche will send a smaller volume of visitors, but those visitors tend to be well-matched to what you sell, and the listings are usually easier to get approved than Yahoo or DMOZ.

Track what’s working

Without the analytics tools that would show up years later, your best source of truth is your server’s referrer logs. Most hosting providers in 1999 include some form of raw log access or a basic stats package like Webalizer or Analog. Check which directories are sending visitors and how those visitors behave once they land, and let that data decide where you spend more submission effort.

Keep listings current

A directory listing isn’t a one-time task. If your business moves, changes its name or adds a new product line, go back and update the listing, since an outdated entry can send visitors to the wrong expectation just as easily as no listing at all.

Directories won’t stay the center of how people discover websites forever. Crawler-based engines like AltaVista and the newer Google are already indexing far more of the web than any human-edited directory can keep up with. But for a business getting online now, directory listings are still the most reliable, low-cost way to be found, and the discipline of writing a clear, honest listing is a habit worth keeping no matter how discovery evolves.

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More from 1999: browse the SEO archive or see everything published this year.