Recently, the belief that directories are outdated is gaining ground. However, possibilities are high that those who don’t know the ways to exploit the potential of directories are the propagators of this belief.

The position of directories in SEO industry took a blow due to the technological advances of Google search. Google is now able to recognize duplicate content and paid links and ignore the submissions with these. This means that the links are used less, resulting in less traffic. Another reason for their diminished status is the rise of blogs and wikis, which allow opportunities for interaction like links, comments and videos.

Directories can be still useful for SEO, if you know what to look for and how to use them. There are some dos and don’ts in this area, the most important being staying away from bad directories.

A few pointers to bad directories are

1. Bad directories have many categories, but only a few listings in each.

2. A directory is not good, if it demands reciprocal link.

3. Avoid those with spam content such as pharmacy and casino linking, especially in the sidebars of the directory.

4. A directory asking you to give your e-mail address without providing a privacy policy is not worth pursuing.

5. A directory with trash links that are not relevant to your site and its theme is best avoided.

A good directory will not accept anyone who pays them, only those who follow their submission instructions are welcomed.