Free Directory Listings

- Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Duds, Duds-2

Updated: October 10, 2008.

The following is a list of free directories where you can list your website. All these directories are free (some require that you link back to them or a partner site). Some of these directories have paid submission options.

I have submitted (or attempted) to each directory and will update this page as information and experience is gathered. Since I link back to all directories (for review purposes). I will note my experience on not linking back to "Link Required" = "Optional" directories based on client site submission results, when available.

This page is a continual work in progress, listings are entered as I review the directories and are not in any particular ranking order. Notes and credits are at the bottom of the page.

I posted a short article at my blog on Free Directory Listings 101, a "How To" guide with tips to get your free directory listing accepted on the first try. Also, check out my new "Free Directory Listings Quick Start Guide" to get up and running quickly.

Update: 04/15/06: Check out my directory interview on eMarketing Talk Show! Good stuff there.

Key to listings:

Link Required	Static Link	PR™	Register	Time Frame	DL	IBL Shown
Yes	Yes	5	No	3 weeks		G, Y!,M

Link Required: Is a reciprocal or partner link required?
Static Link: Is the link static (passes PageRank™) or redirected (type of redirect)? §
PR™: What is the PageRank™ of the directory's home page? Green background denotes a PR1 or better on interior pages two levels down (note: some sites do not show interior PR on the Google Toolbar, but they do an various PR Tools).
Register: Are you required to register or submit an email address?
Time Frame: Actual time for a verified submission or site stated time frame, if this site is not listed yet.
DL: Does the directory allow submission of interior pages (Deep Linking)?
IBL Shown: Does search engines show back links from this directory (see notes below).

More Free Directory Listings - Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Duds, Duds-2

Software-Pointers Directory - Is a quality human edited niche directory aimed at software development and computer related listings (including internet related sites). Sam, the directory's owner listed my site after reading about me in Robin Nobles' "Blogs With A Purpose" article and suggested I may want to review his directory.

Sam told me in an email, "We try to list only appropriate quality sites, our rejection rate is above 80%. Many people don't bother reading the guidelines and just submit all their casino sites. I just entered your site into the database, the link will go online within 24 hours".

* Since I didn't submit to his site, I am going to list 1 Day as the time frame. Then I anonymously submitted a client's site and it was accepted in 3 days.

Update: 04/30/08: Page rank steady at 4, still free listing for software development and computer related listings.

Update: 10/10/08: Page rank steady at 4

Link Required	Static Link	PR™	Register	Time Frame	DL	IBL Shown
No	Yes	4	Optional	1 - 3 Days *	Y	Y!,M

Apexoo Directory - Is the general directory section of the Apexoo search engine. There is not a time frame stated on their site. I submitted an interior page on 10/15/05 and I will advise on progress.

Update: 10/16/05: My listing shows in their search engine, but not in the directory yet.

Update 2: 02/19/06: My site does not show in their search engine any longer and is not listed in their directory.

Update 3: 07/13/06: ( - ) PageRank decreased from 4 to 3

Update 4: 04/30/08: ( - ) PageRank decreased from 3 to 2. I submitted a site on 1/22/2008, showed up right away, strongly recommends reciprocal link, but not required. Checked 4/30/08 and site is still listed without a reciprocal linkback.

Update 5: 10/10/08: ( - ) PageRank showing 0.

Link Required	Static Link	PR™	Register	Time Frame	DL	IBL Shown
No	Yes	0	Yes	1 Day ?	?

High Class Blogs - is a human edited blog directory with high PageRank interior pages. They require a reciprocal link and the submission process is unusual. You must submit via email after linking to them. The do not state an review time frame, but they say "Wait for our approval department to contact you".

Bruce, the directory's owner, contacted my to ask for a review after reading my write up in Robin Nobles "Blogs with a Purpose". Since they link to your blog, if it is hosted on your own site, that would constitute a deep link.

I submitted my blog but did not follow the reciprocal linking instructions that state that I should link to them from my blog's index or main page. I was accepted, but I received a polite request from an editor saying, "Although, we have decided to index your blog, we suggest that you
recommend to your visitors that they follow our submission guidelines exactly for the best chance of approval".

Update: 01/22/06: This directory is only one level deep. It has good PR, but there are quite a few links on most pages.

Update 3: 04/30/08: Page rank ( - ) from 6 to 5.

Update 4: 10/10/08: Page rank still 5

Link Required	Static Link	PR™	Register	Time Frame	DL	IBL Shown
Yes	Yes	5	Yes	2 Days	*

Webmaster Resources - The WebmasterLead.com directory is a niche directory for webmaster related listings with high PageRank interior pages. They give you a text link from the category listings page and URL link from your details page. They do require a reciprocal link, but considering the strength of their pages, it's a good deal. They notify you via email confirming your submittal and when you submission is validated. The site owner told me the typical review time frame is about 24 hours.

I submitted my Free Directory Listings section and it was listed in 2 days.

Update: 04/30/08: ( - ) Page Rank down from 7 to 0

Update 1: 10/10/08: Page rank still 0

Link Required	Static Link	PR™	Register	Time Frame	DL	IBL Shown
Yes	Yes	0	Yes	2 Days	Y	Y!, M

Directory Delux - is a general directory which allows you to edit your listing after acceptance and allows visitors to review your site (please review mine). If you provide an optional reciprocal link your listing will appear in their "What's Cool" section. No review time frame is stated on the site (12 hour review time frame is stated in the DP Forum thread below).

I submitted my Webmaster Resources section and it was accepted in 12 hours ( * I later read at DigitalPoint Forums that they don't want you to submit interior pages - they made an exception for my resource section, but they prefer you submit your main domain).

Update: 04/04/06: ( - ) Their PR was reduced from 4 to 3

Update 2: 09/28/06: ( + ) Their PR was increased from 3 to 4

Update 3: 04/30/08: Page doesn't load, will check later. Doesn't load on 5-7-08 although Google has a cache of it 5-2-08.

Update 4: 10/10/08: ( -) PR decreased to 3

Link Required	Static Link	PR™	Register	Time Frame	DL	IBL Shown
Option	Yes	3	Yes	12 hours	N*	M

More Free Directory Listings - Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Duds, Duds-2

Credits: There are numerous "Directories of Directories" on the internet, but most are not very useful. I would like to thank the two that I have found invaluable in compiling my list of reviews.

http://info.vilesilencer.com/ - An excellent compilation of SEO Friendly Free Directory Listings. Thanks Dan!

http://www.seocompany.ca/directory/free-web-directories.html - another good resource that provides some additional information, such as the link popularity, page saturation and IP address sharing. Thanks Bob!

Notes:

G, Y!, M - (IBL Shown) Denotes search engine shows directory as a back link to either this or a client's site. G = Google, Y! = Yahoo!, and M = MSN. Note: Yahoo! is known to show the largest sample of back links, Google only shows a very small sample and MSN shows something in between. The fact the an IBL (inbound back link) is not shown in Google or MSN is not very significant.

§ - There is some debate on whether a 302 scripted redirect passes PageRank™, but due to possible problems the directories that use 302 redirects have been moved to "Duds".

۩ - These directories share the same Class C IP address (/24) block as other directories
(# denotes directories that share same IP address - example = ۩2)

* - See information within the description/review for further details

Directory home page Toolbar PageRank™ updated as of 07/26/2008.

Effective 10/20/05, I am adding a + or - to the PR value and the update note so it's easier to see which direction the directories PageRank is moving. If there is not a + or -, there isn't any change from the previous PR export.