There are many opinions going round over which type of directory is generally better to submit to a Bidding Directory which allows webmasters to effectively “choose” where their link will appear or a General Web Directory which are more commonly known and allow you to gain a valuable link back to your website which in turn can increase your website traffic and visibility in search engines such as google and yahoo etc.
First off we will take a look at the value and benefits or negatives of a Bidding Directory. These type of directories have been around quite a long time, but have only become more popular in the last 18 months or so. They offer webmasters much more control than in the past over where their listing will appear, but in general can also work out more expensive than a general directory. The main benefits of a Bidding Directory is that they allow webmasters to choose where they want their listing to appear. This can even include listings on the homepage which is very different from a general directory which do not usually offer homepage listings. The benefit of this is that you can obtain much more visibility and alot more traffic than you would get if your listing was hidden away 3 or 4 categories deep in a general directory. With a bidding directory you generally also get the opportunity to add deep links which allow you to target internal pages of your website and increase the visibility of these too. Overall, if your budget allows it then a bidding directory should be considered a great way to promote your website. You will have to spend more than you would on a general directory in most cases if you wish to get on the homepage and achieve maximum exposure and traffic but the benefits should prove to be worthwhile.
Now we will look at the value or benefits and negatives of a general directory. A general web directory should be considered a great promotion idea if you are looking for mainly a better position in search engine rankings. Overall a general directory will not provide you with alot of traffic to your website as your listing will be buried quite deep down in the category structure. There are however many good reasons to choose a general directory. Submissions to many general web directories are free which will allow even sites with a low budget or no budget at all to help promote and increase the rankings of their site without any cost. General Directories also allow you to build links to your website, and may provide you with a small amount of traffic, but in general not as much as a bidding directory, general directory submissions also help you boost your website up the rankings in search engine results which will in turn get you the traffic and increased visibility than maybe you would get sooner from submitting to bidding directories.
In summary, If you are looking for a qucik promotion method that will bring you traffic to your website then choose a Bidding Directory as a promotion method for your website, if you are looking for mainly increasing your position in search engines rankings and taking a longer term approach to building up links and mainly traffic to your website then a General Web Directory is probably the best option for you.