Directories have been around the internet forever. Free directories that cover every single website on the net, some you pay for placement or for a featured listing and, in recent years, there has been a push for niche directories. Niche directories are covering websites and blogs that cover ONE topic.
Blog directories help you get your websites or blogs exposure and with some, it can be free exposure. Obviously, with FREE exposure comes a ton of competition and usually a bunch of spammy websites that are added to the directory by someones script or program. Some blog directories that allow you to pay for a top spot or featured post, will get you more traffic than other normal listings.
What you have to keep an eye out for is whether the directory has a page rank higher than 1. If so, the links to your site are seen as a bit more popular to Google search than if it were a PR 0. Now, the higher the PR the better for you, but then again, the more you will be paying to get into the directory.
Most listings are permanent, which can be worth a couple of bucks or $20. Some listings are paid by the year, but these can also be well worth the money, depending on the amount. When you choose a directory, be picky, make sure you want your site or blog associated. As I said before, some directories can be filled with sites that were added by a bot or script of some sort.
Directories like http://www.totalblogdirectory.com/, seem a bit amaturish, but you never know what you are going to get. Most likely anyone clicking on the link will be clicking out of the site within seconds.
BlogCatalog.com is a nice directory to be a part of. For the most part it’s free and has plenty of features to keep you happy. They also offer paid listings or advertisements so that you can advertise your blog or website on the top of category pages.
Then you have sites like Best of the Web. Now this directory is charging a one-time fee of $49.95! Right away you can tell you are going to see quality sites, because people have to open the pocket book just to get in. When you are at the site you can see a very simple design with categories that are easy to read. This makes it much easier for a user to find your site within all the ones listed.
Bloggeries Directory is another directory 
that is on the up and up. The regular link price on that directory is only $29.99 or you can pay for a featured listing for $49.99 per year, which still isn’t all that bad for a directory that is tied to a large forum and will send you visitors! The forum is active and the directory allows you to see and vote for your favorite sites. Just another option in a directory that allows people to see the higher rated sites instead of filtering through all the junk.
There are plenty of different types of directories so make sure that you find that one that is going to give you the most for your money. Check features like RSS feeds, ratings, “latest blog post”, full details and things of that nature. At least if you have to spend money you can get what you pay for. Good luck!
