One of the fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) steps for any website is directory submissions. While First Page Fitness has a private list of hundreds of reputable free and paid directories, we realize this is a task that some people want to do in-house, especially during intern season.

Therefore, we have decided to provide you with a few basic - but extremely important - instructions, and a pretty good resource for directories to get you started.

First, here is a list of directories. It is not nearly as comprehensive as the list we keep at FPF, but is more than enough to get your started, and includes most of the highly respected directories out there.

Directory Submissions 101
Some Very Important Things to Remember

1. Read the submission guidelines! As editor at a few directories myself, I see a constant influx of what I consider to be directory spam. Most of it, however, is just a submitter who failed to read the guidelines. You may think you know what the guidelines are because “they’re all the same” but I assure you they are not. Some websites want you to write the description in first-person, but most require third-person submissions. Some directories want you to describe what the company does, and others want you to describe what the website does (i.e. This website provides information about This Company, which specializes in This Industry).
2. The Title is your Company or your Website - NOT your keywords! If you want keywords in your directory titles (and trust us, it helps!) then you should name your website or company after those keywords. There is a reason our business is listed as “First Page Fitness Marketing Group, LLC” on many directories, and that is because nobody searches for “First Page Fitness”. They search for “Fitness Marketing” which is a keyword phrase that is located in many of our directory titles. However, had we just submitted “Fitness Marketing” as a title, most of the submissions would have been rejected. Rejected, they were not. Ranking on the first page for that term, we are.
3. Create a special submission email. Unless you really like spam, we strongly suggest you create a special email account for directory submissions. This can always be deleted later, but for now you will need an email (from your own domain) in order to submit and confirm submissions at most reputable directories.
4. Never Use Auto Submitters. If you read ”Click here to submit your website to 1,000 of search engines and directories” please, please do not “Click there”. Every reputable (By reputable, we mean those that are going to help your search engine rankings) directory requires that you submit by hand and most use some sort of test to prove that you are a human, such as CAPTCHA word verification and email confirmations.
5. Develop your own list of directories. Only someone who knows what your website is about can determine what type of directory is best for you. There are plenty of “Directory Lists” out there, but none of them are going to tell you about all of the wonderful websites that you can submit to that specialize in your industry, or your city/state. So, in addition to the list of the usual respected directories, do your homework and find some in your neck of the woods. Here’s a tip for searching. Go to Google and type the following without quotes “allintitle:links your industry” of course replacing your industry with… your industry. No try “allintitle:directory your industry” or “inurl:directory intitle:yourcity” or yourstate, or yourindustry. Now mix and match, and dig through the results until you come up with a pretty good list of places in your niche that might want to link to you. THIS is how you outrank your competition! If your industry is the least bit competitive, some meta tags and generic directory listings just isn’t going to cut it.
6. Don’t forget the paid directories. Most webmasters, especially those just getting started on a low budget, tend to stick to the free directories. There is nothing wrong with free directories, but running a “reputable” directory takes time and resources. There are plenty of good directories out there that only ask for a few bucks, simply to cover their time in going over your listing and enforcing their editorial guidelines. Don’t be cheap! Pay the $5 review fee and be happy that there are webmasters out there who care about the quality of their directory - otherwise, search engines would discount directory links alltogether. But they don’t.

The First Page Fitness link-building experts have been doing manual directory submissions for a long time. We have guidelines memorized for hundreds of directories. We are on a first-name basis with many editors. We have an extensive list of general, niche and geotarged directories - especially those that have to do with healthcare, health and fitness. Put your directory link-building campaign in our hands and rest easy knowing that professionals who take link building seriously are promoting your business and building your page rank with experience and knowledge. Click here to learn more!