Directories work differently from search engines. While a search engine will spider and index your page, analyzing it on different things such as keyword density and link popularity, a directory does none of this. Instead sites need to be submitting manually to them, and then also edited manually by an editor, who is either a volunteer or an employee. Once you are accepted into the directory it doesn't always mean you'll be getting good traffic right away. Instead it could take a wait of two weeks or more before the search engines that are powered by the directories update their listings.

We realize that this concept of a search engine being powered by a directory and a directory not being a search engine may be confusing to some of you so we will elaborate more on it. Search engines have taken to incorporating directory listings in order to improve the quality of their results. In some cases this means they spider sites in the directory as they would other sites but give sites that are also listed in the directory a bonus. In other cases there are search engines that also run directories, not their own directories but rather they have an arrangement to use the directory from another service. Two examples of a search engine using a directory would be directory.google.com which is a modified ODP (Open Directory Project) directory, and Alta Vista.com, which includes a version of Looksmart's directory.

To get a good directory listing you need to understand how they serve results. For people browsing a directory it is really nothing more than an alphabetical list. If your site happens to be listed in a category with many listings, and you're at the bottom, chances are you will never be found. The only way sure fire way to get ahead in directory lists is if you have a name that is ranked high alphabetically.

In highly competitive directory categories, people take alphabetical listings to extreme ends. The use of "www.AAAAbestcompany.com" does not look professional & editors may not only disallow the use of such a title in the directory, but they may actually refuse to list the site all together. Also we'd like to take this time to stress that a good ranking does not equal success. The sites at the top of the list in this category may have a high ranking but their websites are in general not professional looking so most people would probably be reluctant to do business with them.
 

The only thing not covered so far that will influence your directory ranking is what we like to call special ranks. Most directories have a feature by which sites are given a ranking based on quality, this can be represented by a special icon and a top placement, or a simple numerical rating to the side of the listing. Sites might also be ranked by popularity or some could be given higher listings as a sponsorship deal. Each directory has different features but nearly all do have at least one of the above features that will raise your ranking.

There is one more benefit to being listed in a directory, and that is link popularity. Search engines that take link popularity into account generally give high weightings to links that come from directories. Additionally directories like The Open Directory Project, which give their data to hundreds of other sites, can get you incoming links from those other sites as well.