THE ADVANTAGES OF BLOG DIRECTORIES

Okay, so we all know about blog directories. The question is, "What are the advantages to having your site listed?". I asked myself this question when I started my own blog. It's difficult to understand the real value of these directories when your blog is listing among thousands of others.
However, if you can get in early - before a blog directory is fully populated, you stand a good chance of getting a really good position. The result can be very positive, giving you an edge in search results. The other thing to keep in mind is that many individuals who use the directory to find blogs are doing a general search or looking by category - if your blog is listed towards the top, you have a better chance of being noticed by the blog seeker. This can generate a good deal of traffic to your blog.
There are a number of reasons why submitting your blog to blog directories is a good idea. In addition to increasing exposure for your blog, there are a miriad of benefits. Here are just a few.
1. Blog Directories are often crawled by Search Engines. Blog directories are easily crawled by major search engines such as Yahoo!, MSN, and Google. The structure of these directories is perfect for search engines and search engine optimiation. As with many popular blog sites, search engines may not be able to crawl the entire site and therefore your blog may take some time to appear in search results.
2. Most blog directories see a lot of traffic. In addition to ranking high on search engine results, individuals like to see who else is listed in their category. This can create clicks and exposure that you otherwise wouldn't get. Don't underestimate the power of curiosity.
3. Blog Directories have a large number of incoming links. Many directories give you the option of providing a reciprocal link or small subscription fee. As a result, a number of links are generated regularly - helping popularity and placement on search engine results lists.
4. Many directories offer RSS feed upates. In addition to posting your blog on a Blog Directory, you may also have the opportunity to post your feed. This makes it easy for individuals to subscribe to your blog feed. Additionally, the blog directory receives your blog updates on a regular basis.
5. Blog directories are here to stay. Just like the phone book has been around for ages, so have online directories. Eventhough information is exchanged in a variety of ways, blog directories make it simple for individuals to find what their looking for. It also makes it easy for search engines to keep an eye on the blog world.
6. Submitting to directories can be a snap. There are some software packages out there which allow you to submit your blog to blog directories in an easy manner. Howerver, many of these software packages cost a pretty penny. You can also submit your blog manually (which is what I recommend). To do so, simply do a Google search for the blog directories relevant to your blog. For example, to get my blog listed, I did a search on "marketing blogs". I went through the first 100 listings to see which blog directories were appropriate and decide where I would like my blog.
If you want to increase exposure for your blog, begin submitting to blog directories. I personally recommend the Marketing Blog Directory but there are many to choose from. Search out blog directories - this is time well spent and your blog readers will appreciate the added popularity of your blog!