A specialized directory, or a general directory with a specialized category is one of the fastest, most effective ways to get a back link to your site. While today's Page Rank 0 site may be tomorrows Page Rank 7, there are just a few things to look for before you submit your site to a directory.

First and foremost, does this directory look like a site that you yourself would browse or search? One of the things that Google proved was that a clean, uncluttered interface is far and away more popular than an ad-laden site that is hard to navigate. If you would not spend any time on a site, chances are good that others would not. And without traffic, that directory site will not be able to do your site any good.

Second, is this directory edited by a human, or is it completely automated? A site that is human edited is usually preferable, because it will serve to keep spam submissions from appearing in the index. Any directory that is completely automated will eventually become clogged up with spam and junk sites. As long as people are smarter than machines, purveyors of garbage will get around the automated screening process put in place by software-managed directories.

Third, make sure you choose a directory that will let you use your own title, keywords and description. Because the anchor text in links to your site is important to your search engine rankings.

How does this affect you? Over the long term, any directory that becomes filled up with junk sites will lose any Page Rank that it may have had. This will negate any positive impact of a direct link to your site.

Search engines do not penalize your site because an undesirable site links to you. However, it makes sense not to waste your time cultivating links from a site that you would not link to yourself.

Now that you have a solid set of criteria by which to judge a potential directory site, you should prepare your site's bio for submission. Create a description that sells the most desirable features of your site. Try to sum up in a sentence or two what your site is all about, what I should expect to find there, and how it will benefit me.

Essentially, you are developing a Unique Selling Proposition. Even if your site is a zero cost resource, you still need to sell your visitor on the value of giving you their time. In his book "The Irresistible Offer" Mark Joyner refers to a touchstone. That is a phrase which packages up your offer, your Unique Selling Proposition, and it's value to the potential customer all in one. The most often used example of this is from FedEx, remember "When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight."

In one single sentence they communicated their offer, their promise, and their value statement. So too with your site. Take the time to provide your reason for existence, your offer, and your value to the customer all in one. Use this phrase exclusively to brand your site whenever you can.

Now that you have your touchstone, submit your site to every directory that meets your quality criteria using your touchstone as the description. For the rest of your submission, the only thing that should vary is the anchor text you use to link back to your site. Vary it slightly from one directory to another so that it will appear more natural.

Submit your sites to 10-20 directories per day and you'll see your traffic stats begin to climb faster and faster.