With more than 6.5 billion users worldwide, there is no doubt that the Internet is experiencing phenomenal growth. The total number of webpages online is in the tens of billions. Using a single directory to find what you need used to be sufficient. Now, with the enormous size and complexity of the World Wide Web we need directories for all those directories!

Exactly what is a directory of directories? It is simply a website that lists directories by their content. If you are looking for a personal injury lawyer in San Diego, you could just google "personal injury lawyer San Diego" or you could use a directory of directories to locate the best lawyer directories to start your search. While I usually use Google to find what I need, in some circumstances, directory directories are more efficient.

Instead of displaying the best pages that match your search (as Google does), you can quickly scan through a listing of website homepages along with their descriptions. This can be less time consuming as you can browse through more different sites quickly. Google is still unmatched in its speed, coverage, and quality of results. However, there are sometimes more efficient ways to find things online.

For the website promoter, directory directories can be an excellent way to increase traffic to your site. Many of these directories allow you to submit your link for free. The more of these directories you submit to, the more links you have pointing to your site. Obviously, this will increase your traffic as well as improve your ranking in the search engines results.

There are thousands of directories online so it is important to pick the best ones to submit to. If you have the time then you can just submit to all of them. But some directories are more valuable than others. You can start by doing a Google search for "directory of directories", then visit some of these sites. Look for well laid-out directories with high PageRank that accept free one-way links. Also, some of the better sites have statistics such as Google PageRank and Alexa ranking to help you choose the best directories.

Although there are thousands of different directories out there, you need not submit to all of them. Many directories are topical and only accept sites within a certain niche. A growing number of directories no longer accept free submissions and you must pay a monthly or one time submission fee. This is why it is beneficial to have a directory of directories that will sort out the niche from the general and the paid from the free inclusion directories.

So the directory of directories isn't as amusing as you first thought it was. These are another vital internet marketing tool at the disposal of the website promoter. Since you are getting free advertising, you should expect to wait awhile before your link is accepted into the directory. If you want guaranteed speedy inclusion in a directory you will usually have to pay for it. But if you are willing to sacrifice your time, you will be amazed at the traffic you can bring in without spending a single dollar on advertising.