Updated: October 23, 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.
Update 2: 08/13/06: Want a free link? Check out this free directory rant.
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).
Want someone to hand submit your site to hundreds of free directories for only $349? If so, check Info Vilesilencer's submission service. Other submission services are also available.
Do you want to submit to one of the Web's best directories? Submit to Best of the Web Directory.
NicheLister - A directory of niche directories. I submitted a directory and it was accepted in 5 days. There are a number of categories and most are free, although some are noted as costing $2.00 for a listing. The site has 0 page rank right now.
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | 0 | Yes | 5 days | not known | Y!, M, G |
Free Site Listings (No guaranteed review time. Listings appear below Featured Sites)
Submit Featured Sites (3 business days review time for a one-time $49 only)
I was going to try out a free listing, but I tried
several different categories and the all had the note:
(Note: Please note that this category doesn't have a free submission
option), so not sure this really has a free option. I'll send an email and
see what they have to say about it.
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optional | Yes | 2 | Yes |
Featured Sites 3 business days Free Site Listings -No guaranteed review time. |
Yes for a fee | Y!, M, G |
Allthewebsites Directory - A human edited niche web directory offering website promotion and other webmaster resources. They do not require a link back in return for a listing, but they appreciate it. Submission time is estimated at 2 - 4 weeks *.
* Actual experience: I submitted this site and an established client's site to this directory. When I check my submissions' status, the directory's website states "Sorry. You have no approved links associated with your account. If you have submitted your URL recently, it may be waiting in the queue for approval. Normally, It takes 2 - 4 weeks for review of the URL submissions. If more than 4 weeks, your site might have been banned due to non-compliance of the guidelines. Contact the Webmaster for details.". At 4 and 6 weeks I emailed the webmaster and I received a reply about a month after first writing with an apology for the slow response. They listed this site and rejected the client's site (it was eventually added though after 22 weeks)
Update: I noticed when my site was recently listed in Google, there were several links from Allthewebsites. When I checked, I found I was listed in the "Newly Added" block in the sidebar of many pages. Those links redirect via a 302, but Google listed them as links (curious - I will have to watch for 302 hijacking). The links have been there for 10 weeks (on 06/29/05). I suspect they don't add links very often, but I will monitor the situation and advise.
Update 2: 07/24/05: The 302 "Newly Added" links have been replaced with other listings, but they still show in Google's link command (until the next IBL update or two).
Update 3: 03/05/06: It has been brought to my attention that the submit form now contains language that makes it seem that a reciprocal link is required. It is not, just submit without filling in that field (thanks to Ari for noticing this and to Dan for confirming that a link is not required).
Update 4: 03/18/06: I was advised that a site was recently accepted (without a back link) in two weeks (thanks Ari)
Update 5: 04/18/2008: Page rank ( - ) from 5 to 3
Update 6: 09/13/2008: Page rank stayed at 3
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Optional | Yes | 3 | Yes | 2 - 22 Weeks | Y!, M |
R-TT Directory -
A directory featuring numerous categories with instant submission.
They require a link to their "parent" site and that your page, where you
place their link, be indexed by Google. Data
Recovery - that is their required partner link. *
Since my site is brand new and not in Google yet, this
didn't work for this site at this time, so I tried it with a
client's site which is indexed and it worked great! Fast and easy.
Update: Since my site is now listed in Google, I tried this directory again and it worked instantly. Not good for un-indexed sites though.
Update 2: 10/22/05: ( - ) Home page PageRank reduced from 6 to 5.
Update 3: 02/18/06: ( + ) Home page PageRank increased from 5 to 6.
Update 4: 04/18/08: ( - ) Home page PageRank reduced from 6 to 3.
Update 5: 09/13/2008: Page rank up from 3 to 5
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | 5 | Yes | Instant* | M |
Exactseek.com - Is a search engine and directory that claims to send a spider to your site within 24 hours of your confirming your free submission. They require that you subscribe to "Site Pro News" which can contain some pretty good information, but sometimes it's just advertising. Exactseek Submission FAQs. I submitted this site and it was spidered 10 days later, then listed in 14 days. I submitted a client's site and it was spidered and listed in 1 day.
Update: 02/18/06: ( + ) Home page PageRank increased from 6 to 7.
Update 2: 05/21/06: I have removed the green interior page designation for this directory because their interior pages route through a search script and therefore, do not show PageRank. I don't know if this was a change or that I had missed that before.
Update 3: 04/18/08: ( - ) Page Rank dropped to 3
Update 4: 09/13/2008: Page rank up from 3 to 4
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | 4 | Yes | 1 - 14 days |
Directory World - A categorized directory where webmasters can add their websites for free. That is the text for the required reciprocal link. They claim a 28 day review time frame. They also have a $10 one time fee 48 hour express review option. My site was listed in 21 days. I submitted a client's site that was never listed.
Update: 02/18/06: ( + ) Home page PageRank increased from 5 to 6.
Update: 04/18/08: ( - ) Page Rank decreased from 6 to 5.
Update 5: 09/13/2008: Page rank decreased from 5 to 4.
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Yes | 4 | No | 21 days | Y! |
Wikidweb - "Wiki Directory of the Web" is an interesting, "Open Source" wiki driven directory. With instant submission and no reciprocal link required, this site deserves to be watched. Being wiki driven, anyone can edit your submission (this might get real interesting). Since they have anti spam procedures in place, I believe this directory will strengthen and be successful over time. You can add additional "deep links" to interior pages. You have to use the wikicode to add these and make sure they are outside the <urldesc></urldesc> tags.
See my wkidweb review for additional details. I have had lots of communication with the site's owner and I have become a volunteer editor.
Update: This directory is growing fast and new listings get indexed fast by Google and MSN.
Update 2: 07/14/05: PageRank™ increased from 3 to 4
Update 3: 08/13/05: Aerik Sylvan, the directory's owner, has implemented some improvements to assist submitters with categorization. You no longer need to edit the wikicode to do this. He has also added some filters to that attempt to limit the self promoting tone of your descriptions. I really like this directory, it gets crawled regularly and deeply. Links from this site show up fairly quick in MSN (and sometimes in Google and Yahoo! too). I have had to limit my editing time due to work considerations, but I really suggest you volunteer to be an editor, you will learn a lot about how to write submissions.
Update 4: 04/18/08: Page rank steady at 4
Update 5: 09/13/08: No page rank showing. Probably a temporary thing.
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | 4 | Optional | Instant | Y | M |
Jayde B2B Search Engine - is a business to business searchable directory. Human editors review your site for inclusion. They notify you on your approval. You can edit your description once your site is approved. A subscription to WebProNews is required (automatic subscription with site submission). They utilize an 302 redirect script from their directory listing to a "More Information" page with does contain static links to various interior pages.
Update: 08/13/05: Jayde B2B was moved to "Duds" due to 302 redirect usage. It has not produced any traffic for me.
Update 2: 06/04/05: This directory has added a direct static link (URL only) below their listing, so I have returned them to the regular listings. Still no noticeable traffic and the link doesn't contain anchor text, but it is a link.
Update 3: 09/28/06: Their interior pages are now showing PageRank
Update 4: 04/18/08: Page Rank ( - ) from 6 to 4. I submitted a site 12-6-07 and received confirmation on 12-10-07.
Update 5: 09-13-08: Page Rank (-) from 6 to 4
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | 4 | Yes | 4 days |
CANLinks: Canadian and worldwide directory - A well established directory mainly aimed at Canadian sites, but they accept submissions from other regions. They do not list a submission time frame on their site, but they now appear to accept listings instantly (see updates below for history) and they email you with an acceptance email. This site was originally submitted on 03/21/05 and was not listed until I resubmitted on 10/22/05
Update: Since I have not seen any response from this directory, I submitted a client's site to see what happens.
Update 2: 09/24/05: Moved to "Duds" because this directory does not appear to be accepting submissions. I have tried to submit 2 sites (this site + a client's quality site) and it's been 6 months since my first submission. I also checked for evidence of new listings and found their "Weekly Hot Sites" list which shows the most recent entry from 12/08/04.
Update 3: 10/22/05: This directory is now showing recently added links in the "Today's Links" list. I just instantly submitted my site (deep link) and a client's site. They have a strange way of listing sites though, they mostly rely on their site search engine, but they list you in up to 6 categories. I moved this directory back from Duds.
Update 4: 01/22/06: Although this directory has excellent PR down one level, there isn't any on the actual listing pages.
Update 5: 04/18/08: Page Rank is ( - ) from 6 to 5. Free and immediate listing. Page rank one level down.
Update 6: 09-13-08: Page Rank steady
| Link Required | Static Link | PR™ | Register | Time Frame | DL | IBL Shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | 5 | Yes | Instant | Y |
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.
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