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Listing In A Charity Directory -
Plus Other Directories

Having your website listed in a charity directory as well as other directories is a very important step for your organisation.

Even if you aren’t a charity, it is still important for you to list your site in at least a few directories.

And it Helps in Two ways!

A charity directory or a broader directory will not only provide more visitors... It will more importantly help with the ranking of your site at the Search Engines by providing a quality in-pointing link.

This is more important because of two reasons...

The Search Engines are more important to your marketing than the Directories are. This is because you will always receive many more visitors from an SE than from a directory!
Just think it through; which do you use more often to find info and websites on the internet, a directory, or an SE like Google? I know which the majority of the world use... The SE’s!
So, because of this, it is very important for your website to rank highly at the SE’s. And this is where having your site listed in a charity directory is very helpful.
By listing your site, the directories are effectively giving your site the “big thumbs up”. Which of course the SE’s see and suddenly your fundraising site gains a whole lot of ranking points!

This has all got to do with your off-page SE ranking criteria, which is explained on the SEO page.

The Costs Involved:

The cost for listing your site in a directory will vary greatly depending on the directory...

Some directories will be free, some will ask for a recipricol link, some will charge a small amount, and of course some directories will charge a lot!

Your marketing budget will of course dictate what directories you do list your site in...

But always make sure that the directories that you do list in are of decent quality.

BE WARNED! Never ever, ever list your site on a link farm!!! A link farm is a website which just has thousands of links to different websites without any categorization or qualification... Meaning it’s just a jumbled mess of links and will only have a negative effect on your SE ranking!

A tip... Only list your site in directories that have a review system.

Here are some pointers when listing in a charity directory or a broader directory:

Read the submission requirements of each directory to make sure you aren’t wasting your time. If you don’t meet the requirements... You won’t be listed!

Make sure, from a visitors perspective, that your site seems complete and full, ie. not in the construction stage. Humans decide whether a site is suitable to be accepted into a directory and if your site seems incomplete your request will be rejected. A good guideline is to have at least 20 pages up before you apply, but this will obviously vary depending on your website.

And of course make sure you apply in the right category.

So, once your fundraising site is up and “FULL”, have a look around and find some decent directories to list it in.

These could be the major ones like yahoo!, or they could be more niche specific directories like a charity directory. List in as many of them as you can

And what about local directories... they’ll work too! Especially a local charity directory. Do a simple Google search to find directories:

If you can’t find a charity directory yourself, then have a look at these:

http://www.throwplace.com/ - International and US http://www.charitysa.co.za/ - South Africa

For a list of directories visit Strongestlinks.com.

Other Recommended Resources:

Affiliate Masters Guide - Excellent FREE eBook on building a successful website through a 10 step process including how to use directories effectively!

Finishing Off:

Excellent, you’re doing really well! You now have some brilliant knowledge on how to market your fundraising site, as well as understanding why Search Engines and directories are so important.

It’s now time to learn some great ideas on how to keep your visitors coming back to your site again and again.

Let’s get warmed up and head off to the visitor retention page!