Millions and millions of people use the World Wide Web day in and day out for almost anything we can think of. We use the web to chat, and meet new friends. Some of these internet friendships even lead to a deep relationship. We use the World Wide Web to shop, to look for things we can't even find in our local stores, we even use it to find long lost relatives. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the flexibility of the World Wide Web. But this flexibility requires an enormous amount of data to process each and every inquiry we make on the web. With all this data, how do we find the things we are looking for? How are these data being handled in such a way that when we need to find something, the data we are looking for is itemized for our picking based on the relevancy of the data? It is thru the web directories.

So what are Web Directories? A web directory is a directory on the worldwide web. It is a listing of websites arranged in hierarchy or interconnected list of categories. The special function of web directories is to link websites in the World Wide Web and categorize them. Unlike a search engine, a web directory does not display lists of web pages based on keywords. What the web directory does is to list the websites based on category and subcategories.

Web directories drive traffic to your site through direct referrals. They provide one-way inbound links to your site. This in turn boosts your link popularity which results to improved search rankings. Web directory listing creates a practical approach to alternative link buying.

The number of web directories nowadays continues to increase. Web directories vary from general directory to human-edited directories. General directories are those directories which have a very general scope. This covers a wide range of categories, regions and languages. A human-edited directory on the other hand is created and maintained by editors. These editors are the ones who add the links based on the policies particular to that directory.

Some directories are free of charge while others charge inclusion of fees. Some are free only if you provide a reciprocal link in return. Many feature both free and paid listings. So what's the difference of a web directory that is free of charge from one that has a fee? With a paid listing, the main advantage is that your site will be listed quickly above everyone else's. You'll be at the top of the food chain so to speak. While for free web directories, your submissions may take weeks before they get reviewed. These paid web directories may charge inclusion fees which are too high for the listing to be cost effective. It may not be even worth it. If you do not have enough budget then a good advice would be to submit to a handful of paid directories and a few hundred free ones.