As an operator of a web directory, I often field the question, Can I expect traffic from your web directory?

My answer is always, it depends.

Users Do Not Browse By Category, They Search Web Directories

And as such, when you submit, it would do you well to understand that web directories do not index your pages. We can only show results based on the keywords you used in your submission title, description and keywords field.

A typical submission to the V7N Directory looks like this:

Title: Internet Marketing Blog
Description: Online marketing and SEO blog.
Keywords: Internet Marketing Blog

And you wonder why you do not get referrals?

Try this:

Title: Internet Marketing Blog
Description: Online marketing and SEO blog. Topics include link building, copywriting, keyword discovery, branding, pay per click and usability.
Keywords: Internet Marketing Blog, search engine optimization, SEO, SEM, Pay Per Click, PPC, keyword, keywords, keyword research, link building, advertising, promotion, dmoz, Google, Blogs, Blogging

I know of some sites that get 50+ referrals per month from V7N Directory, with just one listing each. It depends almost entirely on two things – the keywords you use, and the topic of your site. If you site deals with porn, it’ll get referrals. If it deals with the mating habits of domesticated koala bears, I doubt keywords will help.