A method you can use if you would see your web-site go up in the ranking is manual directory submissions.But it’s a bit more than you might think. The principle might sounds easy enough, all the different elements involved, make it complicated and also really time consuming.

To do directory submissions you first have to choose the directories you want to submit to.You will end up with a long list; if you take this seriously, you understand that submitting to 5-10 directories is not nearly enough to receive some good links…250+ sounds more like it.It will be money and time well spent going through the trouble of searching for more specific directories, as those who cover a broad spectrum might not entirely be what you need for your specific product or service.

It is of key importance to submit your site to directories which have a category that is related as closely as possible to the content of your site, if you are off-topic, your submission will be rejected by the directories.A simple way to get started is Google, as it takes only a few seconds to type in ‘directories’ and you will be astonished by the amount of directories that will pop up on your computer screen.Wikipedia is another option you might look at.

Never go with directories that are not SEO-friendly.If they are not then you should forget them and carry on searching. SEO friendly web directories will give back links that are valued by the search engines.Also check where the links are directed to, they should always go to your site and if they don’t it’s a redirect,they are redirects and then they are of no value to you.

Once you have checked the links and your list of SEO-friendly directories is as complete as it can be,you can proceed to the actual submission of your website.You can start surfing to the web directories one by one and try to find a category that is as closely related to your site as possible; then look where you have to click to ‘submit your website’ or ‘create a link’.

Next, you will see a submission form appear on your screen.On all those submission forms, you will have to fill in a name, a description, an URL and an email account, and sometimes some additional details depending on the directory’s rules.First you will study the guidelines of each directory as they have their own criteria and if you don’t adhere to it, your submission will be declined with no explanation from the editor of the directory.

Once you’ve read through the guidelines of all the directories, you will have to select a payment option.You will see that most of the web directories will not charge you to make a submission (although they might sometimes contain a possibility to pay anyway); the other option is to work with directories that do charge a certain amount for submissions.Select how you want to pay as there are a number of possibilities.Paid submissions will be a good option if you are aiming for a good position on the directory and you want a guaranteed review of your submission as fast as possible.For free submissions, it might take considerably longer to get reviewed and your web-site will be listed among a lot of other sites.

It is vital that you fill out the form as precise as you can and that you make no mistakes.The title often referred to as the name of your website, cannot be too long and should at all times be to-the-point.Some directories will only allow you a certain amount of characters for the title.The URL is where you enter your home page address.Web web directories will review your site as well as the content of it.There will be a much higher chance of rejection if the content of your web-site is unclear or contains too much irrelevant information.

In the description you need to explain what the site is selling or offering in a a couple of sentences usually restricted to 200-250 characters.In your description you should enter the same keywords as the ones you would expect your visitors to type in when they are searching.

Of course a personal name and an email address will be required on the form as well.Not all web directories accept emails from free accounts, such as hotmail, so if you have an email connected to the website It's advisable to use.

Many web directories will simply not accept automated submissions. As the sites are reviewed by real people there would just be far too many for them to deal with.It makes perfect sense that a manual review requires a manual submission, hence the code you will be given to type in manually.

Often you are given the possibility to give a link back from your site to the directory.This is not required but if for some reason you decide give a link back; fill out the Reciprocal URL field.In order to fill out this field, you will have to insert a link to the directory on your web-site and then paste your URL into the ‘Reciprocal URL field on the submission form.

By now, you should have an idea about how directory submission works and how many hours might take to submit your web-site to all these web directories.As discussed before, the fact that it can take a some time before you receive a review and the different rules that are set by the different web-directories can make it quite frustrating, especially when you find out that not all the directories accepted your submission.You can always outsource your manual submissions to a Professional Directory Submission Service; they will do your submissions for you, a lot quicker than you can and at a decent price.