A directory in the typical sense of the word is something that you check for information on other things. For example, a phone directory is a book that is delivered to your house by the government and it is a book that you can check if you are looking for the phone number of a particular place or person.

By the same token, a business directory is a plaque at the front of an office building that shows all of the different offices and who inhabits those offices to get things done. Finally, a web directory is something that you look at when you are looking for a particular website to visit. The average directory has links to hundreds of different websites within its virtual real estate space and because of that it is a place that you should definitely earmark if you are trying to get your link shown in many places where it matters.

When it comes to your own website, the best web directory to visit would be a web directory that deals with your particular field or niche. This means that if you are running a website that deals with training your dog, getting your link into different web directories that deal with pets, pet care and dogs would be of a high priority. Likewise, if you are running a website that helps other people with internet marketing, getting your link into a web directory or directories that deal with the subject of internet marketing in some way would be the way to go.

Most of the web directories that you will find on the internet are directories that focus on a particular niche and this is particularly why you should make sure that your first targeting point when it comes to getting your link into a web directory is the directories that deal with your specific niche. Doing this will increase the exposure your website gets from targeted and interested individuals from day one.

If and only if you find yourself floundering for things to do once you have placed your link into all of the niche-targeted web directories you can find that are related to your particular website topic, you should then go ahead and start targeting general web directories or alternatively web directories that cover a wide range of topics. These directories were very likely skipped when you last went and took a look at them and if you have the extra time in your marketing plan you can always come back to them now and get your links into them.

It is the experience of most internet marketers that general web directory websites are usually not as good as their niche counterparts when it comes to promoting websites, but they will get you a handful of visitors a month and for that reason getting your links into them is always a good idea. The web directory is a powerful tool, regardless of whether it is general or niche in nature and that is precisely why directory websites should be a big part of your marketing strategy.