Referencing your site on directories is a fairly old technique. Indeed, it was during the democratization of the internet in homes and the emergence of search engines that this technique appeared, which SEO experts call backlinking or netlinking in the broadest sense. Backlinking is the art of obtaining quality incoming links in order to optimize its positioning in the SERPs (search engine results pages). You have understood it well, submitting your site to directories makes it possible to obtain incoming links quite easily and at a lower cost if you look carefully, it is still necessary that these directories be of good quality and respect the rules of conduct Google’s essentials in order not to be decriminalised.

But is it really necessary and effective in 2018?

Necessary not, insofar as there are other methods of netlinking which make it possible to obtain links pointing towards a site . The time when it was necessary to register on a maximum of directories to gain visibility is over.

Effective yes, because referencing a site on directories in 2018 can bring positive results in the positioning of a site on search engines . Let’s take a closer look at the benefits that directories can bring you.

What benefits can directories bring?

Directories have some significant advantages for promoting your website:

They make it easy and quick to add a link pointing to your site

They generally require no consideration on your part. Otherwise, some ask for a return link, others for a sum of money.

They publish information about your site that might be useful to visitors

They allow you to start a netlinking strategy even if you are not an expert in the field

Web directories also have disadvantages that you should consider:

They very often have poor quality back links

Before submitting your site to a directory, find out about its quality by using Google and some SEO tools (eg Majestic). Write your description in a file (for example Open Office or Word) taking care with the presentation and the spelling… and above all do not duplicate text content. Check the theme of the directory which must correspond to that of your site. In the case of general directories, categories are proposed in order to associate one with your site. If the directory offers dubious services like automatic submission to thousands of directories, avoid it. Do not always put the same link that points to your site.

Conclusion

Directories still have a place in 2018. Only you shouldn’t dwell on them too much, because there are other methods that have their place in a netlinking strategy. The diversification of methods is an important rule in SEO and especially in net linking.