Everybody is comfortable with using search engines nowadays, as they allow us to discover things so speedily. This is crucial, nonetheless search engine results aren’t calculated by people, but by an algorithm. So why would that be important? Imagine you’re browsing for a restaurant in London as an example. One would type this keyphrase into Yahoo! (for example), then a number of search results would be shown. How do you know if these results are trusted if they’ve never been filtered by people? Here’s how: search engines use human-edited website directories as a primary filter.
Directories still play a part on the web, and the top-quality directories will be necessarily edited by people. A person may recognize that (for example) : “that hotel has been awarded a michelin star, that’s a really secure sign”. A reputable directory will receive many entries on a daily basis. An editor will investigate these submissions, and if the administrator is satisfied that the level of the submission is good enough, it is included in to the website directory. This is why search engines still love online directories. Both the Yahoo! directory and dmoz.org are looked up by search engines as filters to find out the trustworthiness of a website – whether it’s included in these directories or not, as they are human-edited and have stringent guidelines.
So do not minimize the implication of online directories because most people use search engines to discover things. A directory with hard to please guidelines can act as a great yardstick as to how trustworthy a website is. If you are a website owner, also look to get your site included in a niche directory, like a home improvement directory, a jewellery directory, or a beauty directory.
