We built Realzi from the ground up with the specific intention of it being able to work straight out-of-the-box.  It’s a turnkey solution in that regard.  However, just because Realzi sites are on-page optimized from the get-go doesn’t mean they don’t benefit from some off-site promotion.

Over the next few blog posts, we’ll discuss the value of several different things you can do to off-site to help boost your Realzi site’s rankings across search engines.  The first tip we’re going to go over is an oldie but a goodie: directory submission.

Directories are basically sites where collections of links are organized by content.  The Google Directory is an example of one.  As you can see, the site is basically a list of links that have been organized for perusal.  Submitting your site (and getting it listed) is a great way of getting links pointing back to your site.  And getting links pointing to your site is fantastic, because Google’s approach to ranking sites is heavily based upon how many (and what kind of) inbound links a site has.  A common phrase used to describe this is “links are votes,” and link-building methods are a way to cast several votes for your site.  Directory submission is one such method, and there are literally thousands of them to submit your site to.

Submitting to a directory is simple.  Simply navigate around it until you find the category that will best fit your site, then find a link somewhere on the page that says something like “Submit a Link” or “Add Site” or something along those lines.  You’ll be taken to a submission form, which usually should look something like this (clickable screenshot time!):

Let’s say we’re an Austin-based catering company called Awesome Austin Appetizers.  (Corny, I know, but the best I could come up with!)  Our supposed website is http://www.awesome-austin-appetizers.com/.  What follows is a description of what each field/area means, and what we’d fill out (follow the numbers for reference):

1. You might have heard that paid links are a major no-no.  You know what?  You heard right!  They are.  These particular paid options may or may not be considered out-and-out paid links, because the payment here seems to be based on the turnaround time and the placement of the link, not the link itself.  But why tempt Google’s wrath?  We’re going to go ahead and wait those three to four weeks and pick the free option.  (More on that third option, the “reciprocal” one, in step 7.)
2. This is the title you’d want for your link.  Some people would choose the name of their company and put that here.  We’re going to go ahead and recommend against that.  Why?  Get ready for a seriously in-depth explanation.  This field will determine what is basically the “anchor text” of your link, which is what the link reads, not where it goes.  For example, for the link real estate websites, the anchor text is “real estate websites,” but the link itself goes to http://www.realzi.com.  Having good anchor text is important, because Google associates it with the link.  The more links Google sees with a certain anchor text going to a certain site, the more likely it will be to associate the two.  Therefore, for your Realzi site, you’ll want your anchor text to be a keyphrase you want to rank for.  Do you specialize in selling South Austin Condos?  Make your anchor text “South Austin Condos.”  Chicago rentals more your thing?  Choose “Chicago Rentals” as your anchor text!  You’re probably getting the idea by now.  If we put “Awesome Austin Appetizers,” our official business name, in here, we’d associate the site with that name.  But here’s the thing: We’d rather associate the site with something people who don’t already know about our business are searching for.  Something like “Austin Catering,” which is what we’ll opt for instead.
3. This one’s simple.   We’re going to put our URL, http://www.awesome-austin-appetizers.com/, here.
4. A brief description of our site.  We’re going to start this off with the keyphrase that we used for step 2, just to further emphasize to Google that we want our site to be associated with that phrase.  We’re also going to avoid being too self-promotional, since we don’t want to annoy the directory editors with bizarre, bombastic pronouncements like, “THE GREATEST CROQUETTES ON THE PLANET!!!!!!!!!!!!”  So we’ll stick with something businesslike and accurate, like “Austin catering company specializes in hors d’oeuvres and lighter fare.  We’re the premier local option for catering parties, conventions, conferences, and more.”
5. This one’s pretty simple.  If you’re wary of getting spammed, you might want to consider using an alternative email address.  Be sure it’s one you check, though, because sometimes you’ll need to verify the listing by clicking on a link emailed to you by the directory editors.
6. Verify that this category is the category you want to be in.  If it’s not, here’s your opportunity to change that.
7. This “Reciprocal Link URL” thing is a sort of link exchange.  Directories will often submit your listing under more favorable terms if you agree to link back to them.  Since this can sometimes look spammy on your site and might, perhaps, be frowned on by some search engines, we recommend you don’t add this html to your site and don’t agree to any sort of reciprocal link exchange with any directory.
8. Here’s the CAPTCHA.  This is your big chance to prove, once and for all, that you’re not a robot!
9. Click this nifty button here and you’re done!

As you can see, this process is pretty simple.  It might seem like a hassle, but it’s really not too bad, and it’s definitely worth the effort when you consider you’ll be getting inbound links with quality anchor text to your site, which is one of the most effective ways to boost your ranking across search engines.

One last thing!  You’re probably wondering, after nearly 1000 words of explanation, just where exactly you find directories.  Simple!  You can easily find dozens of them through a simple Google search.  There are also sites that are “directories of directories” that make finding bunches of them much easier.  Just to get you started, though, here is a list of some good, high-ranking directories that we’ve been historically fond of:

FullCG
SVGUIA Directory (Gives great deep links for cheap)
SudaNow
Ceidis Directory
ABC Directory
Pravana Bid Directory (Again, more good deep links for a low price)
DMOZ (Open Directory Project) (Low approval rate and strict submission guidelines but free and one of the single best links your site can get; actually technically the same as the Google Directory, so don’t bother submitting to both)

That’s all there is to it!  Happy, er, submitting!