Directory listings are more like catalogs that, unlike major search engines, require you to submit your site if you want to be included in their listings. They’re a great way to begin acquiring links and driving traffic to your site…whether it’s new or old.

There’s literally a plethora of directories on the Internet for you to choose from. Some allow you to submit your site for free while others charge a one-time or annual fee. Even if they charge, the investment is worth it if you’re just starting out since links from these sites will also help lift your organic search rankings off the ground.

The two largest directories online include: DMOZ and Yahoo! Search Directory

DMOZ – Also known as the Open Directory Project (ODP), it’s free to add your site to DMOZ. While it is free, it also may take up to a year for your site to get listed, which causes frustration for many webmasters. Regardless, a link from DMOZ can be quite valuable so list your site here first and then move on to other things.

Yahoo Directory – Not to be confused with the actual Yahoo! search engine which delivers actual search results, the Yahoo! Directory is perhaps the oldest directory on the Internet. Links from the Yahoo! Directory are extremely valuable in helping build your organic rankings. Commercial sites must pay $299 annually to be included but the links from the directory and other Yahoo! properties around the world make it worth the investment.

Of course, it’s likely there are other industry specific and blog directories out there for you to choose from.

For the most part, the submission process to most directories is relatively easy and since links from them validate your site in the eyes of the search engines, the time involved is well worth it. But once you get listed in a few of the major ones, the relevancy boost levels off pretty fast.

In short, it’s not important you get listed in all directories – listing in just a few directories will give you about as much rankings boost you can expect.

Ann Smarty at Search Engine Journal has a great short blog piece on link building worksheets. Remember though, these are just examples…do not use an exact variant of the examples below but pick and choose from each and add custom elements of your own that you see fit.

The first example from Garrett French of Link-Building-Guide.com is a comprehensive and concise worksheet that promotes an advanced approach to link building…evaluate each linking page and track keywords in the title, text and within tags. This guide provides a systematic approach to link acquisition and takes into account many advanced SEO features like crawlers and massive amounts of link data.

Another link building spreadsheet from Kalena describes organizing a spreadsheet for directory submissions. Her system creates 5 or 6 Excel worksheets for different aspects of the link building campaign – columns in each workbook have the same headings. Read more about Kalena’s system here.

YourSEOplan also gives suggestions on how to construct a link building worksheet along with examples you can download…columns include: URL of linking page, requested landing page, contact e-mail, date requested, link received? (Y/N) and notes.

Two more examples, Raven Tools and WordStrea, are given in the comments section of Ann’s blog.

Also, see this forum discussion at Sphinn for more insights.

The new general guidelines went into effect yesterday and include:

1. Only enter listings for businesses you own or are explicitly authorized to represent

2. Represent your business exactly as it appears in the offline world. The name on Google Maps should match the business name, as should the address, phone number and website

3. Do not attempt to manipulate search results by adding extraneous keywords into the title field, and do not include phone numbers and URLs in the title along with your proper business name

4. Create only one listing for each physical location of your business.

5. When entering categories, use only those that directly describe your business. Do not submit related categories that do not define your business.

6. Provide information that best identifies your individual locations and provides users with the most direct path to your business.

7. Provide the one URL that belongs to your business both in terms of the landing page and the displayed URL. Pages that redirect to another domain, or act as “click through” sites may lead to penalization.

8. Use the description and custom attribute fields to include additional information about your listing. This type of content should never appear in your business’s title, address or category fields.

This list is only general as other factors could lead to your site being removed. If you’re not sure if something would be allowed or not, err on the caution or get clarification by posting a question in Maps Help Forum.

Search engine optimization professionals are delighted Google has made these changes…see some of their reaction in this Webmaster World discussion thread.

Find the tips of the trade that can accelerate your rankings to the top…and, know what to avoid and what to do to stay at the top.

SEO Advantage will constantly monitor the forums and seek resources that will help give you a sense of what longstanding professionals in SEO are thinking…of course, if you have a specific issue, post it in the forum and see what the veteran SEOs have to say about it.

Topics run the gamut – keyword research, directory listings, link building, search engine friendly web design and more.

Check here often to see what’s percolating in the search engine forums – and of course, check back for our own feature articles on search engine optimization tips and current events.

I’d like to introduce a new directory optimized specifically for passing along maximum linking benefit, geared toward graphics professionals such as web developers, graphic designers, animation specialists, programmers, ad agencies, printing companies, etc.: SBDgraphics.com

Directory listings at SBDGraphics.com are free now, as the directory builds up its page rank and quantity of listings. So, it’s a good time to get in!