A web directory is a database of websites arranged for ease of navigation. These links to web addresses are categorized according to certain criteria, such as alphabetical order. This helps users search for information specifically. Before search engines existed, web directories were the only way to find her website on the Internet.

This is how web directories work

Web directories organize websites by topic and are usually managed by people rather than software. Search engines crawl websites organized into a series of categories and menus. These link collections  are typically much smaller than a search engine's database because websites are viewed by human eyes rather than spiders. There are two ways  to list websites in a web directory. Either a site owner manually submits a site, or a directory editor finds the site and decides to list it.

Registration with search engines in SEO

Web directories were  one of the main strategies for promoting websites because they were a relatively easy way to get links to a site and strengthen its positioning. However, after the introduction of  Google algorithm changes by Panda and Penguin, indiscriminate listings in directories, if not harmful, presence in thematic directories and quality directories can have a very negative impact on SEO positioning This is a sexual act that is not recommended. Many of them are considered  link farms. That's why today, one of the first tasks  when starting an SEO project is a link audit to detect harmful links.

History of web directories

With the growth of the Internet and the proliferation of websites, we needed tools to group and organize all this information. Thus, the huge database known as the Web Directory was born, and thanks to its great utility, it quickly became popular.

It's been around since 1995, when several major web directories such as Yahoo! were launched. DMOZ was founded and began to grow. For the past five years, web directories have been the undisputed king of the Internet, but the introduction of search engines has fundamentally changed the way the Internet works.

With the advent of search engines led by Google,  the use of web directories as a method for locating web pages has declined. However, in the early days of Google, the use of directories was promoted as a positioning tool in the search engine. The result was a proliferation of large-scale link building that doubled the number of directories, eroding value for users as they no longer focused on producing quality content.

To solve this problem, Google decided to punish this kind of behavior by releasing his Google Penguin in 2012, a logarithmic powerful update  that marks the beginning of the end of web directories. did. From that moment on, these have declined and lost millions of users, and many of them are now closed  (the last DMOZ in 2017).

Web directory types

Web directories can be classified in different ways according to their typology.

It depends on the cost, but if the cost allows us to insert a link to our website for free, we are talking about free directories. On the other hand, if there is a fee to register a website, we are talking about paid directories. The latter are usually much more beneficial for search engine optimization as  they are less saturated and give more authority, while the opposite is often the case with free providers and can even lead to web spam. Within the payment directory there is a variant called the so-called bid directory, which  payment method is used to define the visibility of our website in the directory.
The correspondence states: There are many free directories, but instead of listing our website we need links to them, so-called reciprocal directories. These are usually more relevant than free, non-reciprocal directories. According to  geographical area: If we are talking about a web directory that  only contains websites from a certain geographical area, then we are talking about a local directory. If there are no geographic restrictions, it is a global directory.  By specialization: A directory that does not specialize in a particular topic is called a general directory, and a thematic directory is called a general directory. Thematic directories are as diverse as their subject areas, and you can find directories related to sports, news, health, technology, shopping, and more. Within  thematic directories, you can highlight  academic directories that focus on specific topics as support for research and teaching.

Advantages and disadvantages of web directories

• You can delegate certain powers to our website.
• Contains website description. They present confidential information.
  
• They organize their website by topic.
  
• These ensure the visibility of our website.
   
  

 The disadvantages of web directories include:

• In most cases, these do not bring much benefit in increasing traffic to our website.
• Usually updated less frequently. Their database is much smaller than  search engine databases.
• The website descriptions provided are usually very general and do not provide overly detailed information.
• Many of them are no longer used.
  
  

Major web directories

• Although many of the most notorious web directories are no longer in use, some of the most well-known web directories are worth mentioning.
  
• DMOZ: Born in 1998 as a global community project and closed in 2017, this directory is one of the most successful directories, with over 5 million links to websites and employees. There are about 100,000 people.
  
• Bleu7: Originally conceived as a web directory, this brand rapidly expanded  by opening  web portals and became the most popular
• Hotfrog: this is one of the most popular free online directories, aimed at business profiles.