The majority of art directories lists arts organizations, local artists, facilities, and instructors with an interest in the arts together. This helps a web surfer to easily make searches by keywords or category and vast number of websites can be sorted to locate what he/she is looking for.
Websites are included either by submission by the webmaster or by the directory editors when they come across the sites. Well, now let us look on how the arts can help use of web directories to promote themselves.
Web directories are mainly of two types - general directories and selected directories.
General directories are those which are automated indexes of pages not vetted by any reviewer or editor. General directories are a collection of websites and various other online documents which are indexed under various categories. Each of these listings comprises of a brief summary of the content included in it. Some of the popular general directories are Google and Excite.
Selected directories, on the other hand, comprise of websites and pages which have been vetted. Selected directories provide links to other websites and documents relating to a specific theme or subject. These directories help you to find out documents or materials provided by experts in each field. Some of the popular selected directories include About.com and Virtual Library.
Art directories can be any of these types. If your website is included in a popular web directory, then people or art buffs can type queries into the directory and the directory will look for relevant matches. A web surfer can also look in the indexed categories of the art directory. Some main categories can also include sub categories which pertain to various aspects of the primary category.
In most cases, links in an art directory can be paid, free, or sometimes free but need a reciprocal link. Links are included on web pages with similar or related content.
Some of the main advantages of listing art websites in an art directory include:
• Increase click through traffic
• Can obtain high page rankings for targeted keywords
• The website will be indexed by search engines
• The website will be indexed by spiders
In simple words, by including your art related website in an art directory, you can increase the traffic to your website and if the website is having targeted keywords, the site will be listed in the top pages by search engines.
To ensure that your website is fitted for an art directory, you need to make your website unique, comprehensive, and content rich. Try to include new content or update existing contents in a regular manner.
While selecting an art directory for your website, make sure that you selected a search engine friendly art directory rather than one with numerous out links.
Sample arts directories include:
http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/ Dmoz: Arts
http://dir.yahoo.com/arts/ Yahoo! Arts
http://www.art-lists.com Art Lists
Brian Turner is the admin of <a href="http://www.art-lists.com">Art Lists</a>, an online directory that provides free listings for arts and art-focused websites
