That’s a big question, especially when you consider the number of directories that exist on the French web. It’s 2024, and it’s an understatement to say that website directories are no longer popular. Yet incorporating your site’s submission to a handful of directories into your SEO strategy can be beneficial, but not under just any conditions. Here are three points to check in order to identify the best directories and achieve quality SEO.
The directory must be active and selective
There are many web directories on the Internet, but there are immediately fewer active directories that validate new sites on a regular basis. However, frequent updating is a criterion much appreciated by search engines, and guarantees you backlinks quickly. And since time is money, you’re bound to win.
To check this, you can perform a search using the command site: domain.com in the Google search bar, then restrict it to the last 7 days, for example. If the command doesn’t return anything, beware!
If you check these 3 criteria before each submission, you’re sure to find quality directories offering backlinks that will help you develop your site’s popularity and link building.
Registration must take time
It’s essential to spend time filling in the form and, above all, the description. Quite simply, because if you manage to fill in the form in 30 seconds, all the other webmasters will have done the same, either by putting in anything or by copying and pasting.
In either case, the probability of a serious search engine attaching importance to this directory is virtually nil. So, yes, listing in a serious directory must take time for every webmaster, otherwise your listing may be useless.
Duplicate descriptions must be rare
The higher the percentage of duplicate descriptions, the greater the risk of the directory appearing to search engines as yet another copy of another directory. The risk is that the directory will lose all credibility in the eyes of the search engines. It is therefore essential to check that the directory you have chosen verifies Duplicate Content.
There are two ways of doing this:
- If the directory displays its stats, check the number of rejected sites. If this figure represents less than a quarter of validated sites, beware.
- Check for yourself whether the most recently submitted descriptions already exist in Google by searching for a phrase surrounded by quotation marks (search for the exact expression).
List of the best web directories 2024
No need to embark on a time-consuming search for web directories. Here is a recent list of the highest quality ones to date:
- About Us
- Yelp
- Jasmine
- Directory
- Hotfrog
- Best of the Web (BOTW)
- Blogarama
- Foursquare
It’s up to you to make your choice and check if they match your needs. Happy hunting!