Promoting your website: Web Directories
A new website needs to be found, and it’s not as easy as it once was to get links from other websites.
If you’re an author, book or magazine publisher, you can get your first link from PublishingCentral.com.
But one link is not enough.
Some of the places online where you’ll have a fighting change at getting backlinks to your site is from web directories. Some of these require links back to the directory, and others are free. The only ones I avoid completely are those that require payment for placement, since the vast majority of these links won’t bring more than a few visitors a year.
What they will do, however, is give your website a boost of credibility with Google and the other search engines.
Here are a few quality directories you might want to try:
Free
- Click To Follow directory lets you submit your social networking pages as well as your website for even more Web 2.0 exposure.
- e-sy Going free web directory.
- SearchSight
- JetLinks Listings is free for a listing in one category
- Forage.in
Reciprocal
- Internet Directory: Insurance, travel, cars, directories, videos and more – Promote your websites and articles with a quality Internet Directory as anetdirectory.com.
- SEO Supreme Directory: Add url to directory
- JetLinks Listings requires a backlink if you want to be listed in more than one category
- Ldmstudio Directory will give a premium listing for backlinks with a PR3 or higher.
- WTS Link Directory

You should avoid as much as possible, buying backlinks. Google does not like sites that have links where the links were purchased.
However, there is a difference between purchasing a back link and paying for real advertising.
Ian, I’ve also heard that reciprocal links are not as valuable as one way links. Do you know anything about that?