Submitting your blog to blog directories and search engines is a very important offline SEO strategy.
Now, what are blog directories?
A blog directory is a website that lists blogs and their descriptions under different categories that can be easily found by a visitor. You can add your blogs too for free and for a price. Most blog directories request you to register first.
What is the benefit of submitting to blog directories?
When you submit your blog to blog directories and when your submission is approved by the webmaster, your blog will be listed in the category in which you submitted.
Visitors browsing through blog directories for information are likely to visit your blog.
Blog directories are visited by advertisers to choose a blog in which they want to promote their products/services.
You also get a quality one-way backlink (inbound link) to your blog which is considered very important to get Google search results rank. The more inbound links your blog shows, the higher ranking your blog will be awarded.
Points to note while submitting to blog directories.
- Submitting to blog directories and blog search engines is time-consuming, monotonous.
- You should also ensure to submit in the appropriate category, else, your submission won’t be approved.
- While starting to submit your blog to blog directories, you should maintain a log of your submission activities to avoid duplication.
- Since you will be joining hundreds of blog directories, it is expected of you to be organized by saving your joining details and submission log details. In a word document, you should record the following details first:
Title of blog:
URL:
Description:
(Since blog directories will ask description with varying number of words, you should have prepared the description of your blog in 100, 200, 250 and 400 words. If you have the same description on every page across different directory websites, then, many of these will be seen as duplicate content by the search engines and your links will get devalued. Therefore, compose different worded descriptions for the purpose of submission.)
Keywords:
Your email:
Your Blog Feed Title:
Your blog Feed URL:
If you keep this information in a text document on your computer, then you can copy and paste the content on the submission page quickly
Some directories will ask you to place their link first on your blog before you hit the submit button. This is the reciprocal link.
Some directories will ask you to register first before submitting. So, in another word file, you should keep recording the blog directories you have joined and the relevant login details. This will come in handy when you have more blogs to submit to the same directories.
Warning: Do not submit to paid blog directories.
Outsourcing:
Since directory submission is not an exciting task, may webmasters will outsource the submission work from various marketplaces found in forums and other places.
Feed Directories
A directory of RSS feeds organized under various categories. This serves the same purpose as blog directories. Both are places to get one-way Backlinks which is very important to get Google rank.
Blog Search Engines
A blog search engine is a search engine that displays results related to blogs only. Such a search engine normally will index only blogs and make them searchable through search form and/or directory-like browsing.
In most cases, directories and social networking are integrated into a blog search engine to make it more lively and interesting enough for visitors and registered users to stay on.
Example: Blog Catalog
Examples of Blog Search Engines:
http://www.blogsearchengine.org/
https://www.twingly.com/search
I am compiling a list of places where you can submit your blog. Once I complete my list and verify them manually, I will post the list in this blog. Stay tuned.
