Does Google Still Care about Directories in 2011?
Everybody is comfortable with browsing the internet with search engines these days, as they allow us to discover things so rapidly. This is crucial, nonetheless search engine results aren’t filtered by actual people, but by an algorithm. Why is that remarkable? Well, imagine you’re browsing for a pub in Liverpool for example. One would type these keywords into Google (for example), then a list of search results would be presented. How can one know if these results are reliable if they’ve never been filtered by people? Here’s the solution: search engines utilize human-administered online directories as a primary filter.
Directories still play a part on the web, and the most discriminating directories are unavoidably human edited. A person may recognize that (for example) : “that restaurant has a michelin star, that’s a rather secure signal”. A good directory will receive a number of entries daily. An official will look into these entries, and if the administrator is satisfied that the level of the entry is good enough, it is added to the online directory. This is why Google still loves website directories. Both dmoz.org and the Yahoo! directory are looked up by search engines as filters to find out the veracity of a website – whether it’s listed in dmoz.org / Yahoo! directory or not, since they are human-edited and have stern rules-for-entry.
And So don’t minimise the implication of internet directories now that most individuals use search engines to discover websites. A directory with rigorous guidelines can act as a crucial yardstick as to how authentic a website is. If you own a website, try and get your site included in a niche directory, like a home and garden directory, a bed and breakfast directory, or a lingerie directory.
While humanity is needing signs of trust, the web will always require people to present their seal of approval, and so directories will always play a part.