navSEO

*

Im preparing a SEO 2.0 web directory right here on my blog as you might have noticed already. What? A web directory? In SEO 2.0? It sounds like a contradiction indeed. Arent directories either dead, spammy or low quality?

Well, not all directories are wacky. Some of them thrive and are indeed expanding.

Some of the most renowned web directories arent even considered as such probably because they are part of larger projects.

So today I will outline the anatomy of an SEO 2.0 web directory of the highest quality, one that I hope to be able to provide here in the future as part of this blog or rather the upcoming SEO 2.0 empire. The SEO 2.0 directory will focus on SEO services and companies.

So this is the actual anatomy of such a directory I deem high quality:

Not standalone but part of a larger website

A web directory without context is often useless. A directory embedded into a larger concept provides additional information your users seek in contrast. Users rarely seek directory out of the blue. They need a directory to find and compare sites once they know what they are after or interested in.

Covering a very narrow niche

A high quality directory is not about technology, news or health but in a way a long tail directory targeting just one category of a topic. Nobody wants to enter a directory homepage like in 1999 and click several times until they find the sub-directory they actually need. People want to arrive already knowing that they are in the right niche and industry.

Very exclusive

A very high quality directory is the opposite of free for all links as Matt Cutts has put it in the past repeatedly. When everybody can get a link i directory or the directory is just part of a linking scheme its low quality or downright spam. A directory must be trustworthy thus only really trusted sites should be able to enter it.

User friendly deep links

Old school web directories only list homepages so basically you have to do the same work twice, once you find what you seek on Gogle you just get sent to the main page of the directory and have to search for the actual resource you are after again. Thus a modern directory has to deep link to be useful. It must provide the information you need directly. It even has to link out to third party sites like Twitter or LinkedIn if thats where the most current information is at. Also links to contact forms make more sense to users than just a generic homepage link.

User friendly anchor texts

Contact information

Some people do not want to click a link, they need the actual contact information, most notable the phone number or email address immediately. Thus a directory entry has to include contact data.

An honest third party review

Most directories to this day just let the people who submit their websites to determine the description of their own site. So yu actually get what the webmaster or website owner thinks about the website not necessarily what the site is really about as the description. A high quality SEO 2.0 directory provides an honest third party review of a website and its purpose instead of self promotional fluff.

An accountable editor

Directories rarely disclose who actually is responsible for writing the entries. Some anonymous, low paid poor soul or a volunteer who hasnt really a clue what the sites are about. The editor of a high quality directory has to be known personally and be held accountable for his choices and opinions.

All of these requirements demand of course some level of work to be done. I will do it myself of course, not an underpaid drone in India so it will be an exclusive paid directory. Im quite optimistic though that most SEO companies will be able to afford it. You pay for Yahoo directory entry as well, dont you?

Examples

Check out a paid diectory entry for the Canadian internet marketing specialists Relentless Technology. It performs quite well in the Google results, it shows up directly below the company website itself. Also take a look at a free entry for Search Engine People.

Now let me show you some very good directories in the SEO niche and beyond I respect and consider high quality. I will aim to become like them or even surpass them. I dont want to be bigger than them, I want to be better!

CrunchBase, The Free Tech Company Database

Supplier Directory | Econsultancy

SEOmoz | SEO Marketplace Internet Marketing & SEO Company Directory

Directory of SEO, Internet Marketing and Web Design Services

Want to be one of the first companies and pther SEO service providers to be featured on SEO 2.0? Write a comment here below (it wont get displayed) and I will consider your SEO services for inclusion. In case your company is already on my list to get included firms your entry might get fast tracked.

* Image by Patrick J. Lynch

SEO 0 web, high quality, high quality directory, SEO 2, web directory

Posted Wednesday 26th May 2010 by Kerry in SEO.

Today the Times announced the launch of two new websites in preparation for charging readers to access online content. Whilst this story has dominated the news with regards to the future of journalism, search engine optimisation companies and online marketing professionals are now debating how best to harness the potential available revenue through tailored advertising campaigns. An effective solution could determine the success of such publishers in returning to profit at a time when printed publications are losing popularity. The changes could mean that companies will be willing to pay more for an online marketing campaign if the audience is going to be a high quality target, which will pay the wages of high quality journalists.

Online News

There is no doubt that we are on the verge of witnessing a major change in the way we access our news, despite the doubts that are being cast over the newspapers move; it is expected that they will instantly lose 90% of their online readership. As a writer, it is evident that journalism will make an inevitable shift from print to pixel, and for too long high quality journalism has been literally given away online. The changes are set to spark a chain reaction and transform the way we consume online news content. But before that happens, other publishers will be waiting to see what mistakes the Times will make in the way they implement their new form of publishing.

The Times

The Times has opted for a paywall that will no longer let Google crawl its pages, therefore Times stories will no longer appear in SERPs. The tight restrictions of their paywall option will also only direct links that have been shared via social networks to the pre-payment sign-in page. Some online marketing professionals have already condemned this as the virtual equivalent of shooting oneself in ones own foot. It has been a growing trend to optimise for social networking sites, and it was recently announced that Facebook has outpaced Google and become the most popular search platform, so restricting the ability to share popular news stories could backfire dramatically.

Online Marketing Potential

Other online news forums that have implemented a paywall still allow Google to crawl pages and visitors to the site can read a few articles before committing to buy. However, two of the biggest newspaper publishers in the US that have an online presence have decided they can capitalise on the popularity of search engine optimisation considerably by offering advertisers SEO services that will help advertisers place highly in Google SERPs when they advertise with the newspaper.

Local Search Engine Optimisation

This has the potential to harness local search engine optimisation services offered by online marketing companies, and could potentially change the way SEO companies choose to implement online advertising campaigns. The jury is still out as to how changes in the way we consume news via a computer or mobile device will affect online marketing, but there is no denying that targeting readers with tailored adverts online will reap more favourable returns on online marketing investment.

SEO high quality, online marketing, online marketing professionals, search engine optimisation

Content is of utmost importance in search engine optimisation because it has so many benefits. High quality content can mean the difference between online success and failure and it is vital that business owners get it right.

The content within your web pages has to be of a high standard. It has to be relevant and well written because it this information which is to inform those visiting your site about what you can do. You need to provide them with useful information so they understand what you are offering and how your products can benefit them in some way. The most important reason to create content for your web pages is to communicate with your target audience and high quality content will help you to do this in the best way.

Not only will high quality content within your web pages be useful when trying to inform your visitors of relevant details pertaining to your company but will also attract the attention of the web crawlers. The search engine web crawlers explore the numerous websites available and one factor they take into consideration when indexing sites is the content within their pages. If you have relevant and appropriate content within your website, this will help to ensure your website is ranked well in the search results. A top ranking can make a huge difference to an online business and high quality content can help a business to obtain a position like this.

When running a search engine optimisation campaign, an aim is often to build awareness for a brand. It is about getting a company noticed and building trust and respect for it through the use of various SEO methods. If your website features well-written content, this will help to reflect the professionalism of your business. If your company is viewed as professional, capable and useful because of the content you provide, this will help to encourage customers to trust and respect the business you are running.

Link building is an extremely important part of many search engine optimisation campaigns and high quality content can help you with this too. If your site is of high quality because of the content which features within its pages, this will make it easier for high quality links to be established from other sites. A respectable and highly ranked site will only be happy to link to your website if they view at as a high quality site too. The content within your web pages plays a big role in this.

High quality content can be advantageous for a business in many different ways and this is why it is so important. Content of this kind must be continuously produced if an SEO campaign is to be successful.

If you are not able to create high quality content but understand its importance, we at SEO Consult can help. Our team of experienced writers can create exceptional content suitable for your website which will help you in numerous different ways.

SEO high quality, high-quality content, search engine optimisation, Web pages