Directory submission as a means of search engine optimization involves submitting your website to thousands of online directories using titles and descriptions that have your relevant keywords included in them. This results in one way links back to your own site tagged as relevant to the content of your site. The more directories that you submit your website to, the more links you are going to have back to your site, and consequently the better you will likely rank in the search engines. This process can be extremely time consuming and if your time is not directed toward quality directories or highly relevant directories, the work may yield litte value. There are basically two ways to do directory submission. Manual and Automatic. Automatic submission generally involves purchasing software that will visit a long list of sites that you select and automatically fill in the directory submission request for you. First generation software has lost much of it's value due to the use of CAPTCHA images to limit automated submissions, but there are still different types of software that still provide semi-automated submissions. If you don't want to do this process yourself, there are also plenty of companies that will do this for you for a fee though the fee is often greater than the cost of the software and comes with a great risk that the work does not get done at all. The obvious advantage of automated directory submissions is the relatively little time it takes to complete each submission. The disadvantage of automated submissions is that there is less control over how your site is submitted and whether it gets submitted at all. Directories are constantly changing their submission sites and requirements and unless your software is constantly being updated, they software loses it's value over time as the software begins to fail on more and more site, leaving your website not submitted to many of the most important directories and leaving you not knowing whether the site was really submitted at all. Manual Submission is your premium alternative to automated submission services or automated submission software. Manual submission involves personally visiting each and every directory and completing the submission form manually. While it is MUCH more time consuming, you will get greater value from the links that you submit and can have greater confidence that the submission was done properly and was placed in the most relevant directory. There are also many services out there that provide manual submission for multiple directories, though my experience with these services has made me very reluctant to trust manual directory submission services again. In summary, if you want to have only the highest quality links back to your site then it is best to perform directory submission manually by yourself. Only use directory submission services if you have good confidence in the company and they have a good reputation. If you are as busy as most webmasters and can't see yourself setting aside so much time for a routine task, then automated submission is probably for you. Software does work and while you may not get the most value out of your links, you will be able to get far more links for the same amount of invested time.
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