nPresence Resources - Don't Be Confused With Web Directories And Search Engines

Internet resources speak a lot about web directories and the search engines. For savvy marketers, this can be an obvious topic. But for novice site owners and web marketers, web directories and search engines can still be confusing. So what is a web directory and what is a search engine? What is the difference between the two?

The Web Directories

Web directories are web pages that contain a list of websites arranged according to categories. There are different types of web directories. Some are general directories catering to all websites irregardless of topic or theme. These websites are set based on their categories.

Web directories are easy to browse since the listings usually include some site description and link to the website. There are web directories that cater to a specific industry or market. There are web directories exclusive for web marketing, education, real estate and many more. This makes looking for a particular website easy.

The Search Engines

Search engines are used by online users when looking for a particular topic. The search engines use keywords or key phrases to determine the search results. When a keyword is entered as a search term, the search engine will display result containing all possible websites related to the keyword entered. The results are ranked according to importance.

Like web directories, some search engines cater to the general market while others serve a particular industry. There are the so called major search engines consisting of Google, Yahoo and MSN. These are three giants among the many search engines.

Web Directories Versus Search Engines

What are the differences between a web directory and a search engine? Here are some of them:

Web Directory	Search Engine
Most of the web directories are run by people.	Search engines are run by computer programs.
Navigating a web directory is through the use of the categories.	To look for specific information using the search engines, users need to input keywords or keyword phrases.
Listings in web directories are manually	Search engines use crawlers and spiders to get
checked and approved. Websites submit their listing for possible inclusion.	information from the web. The information that the spiders get and indexed becomes the basis of the search result.
Some web directories require payment for inclusion. The fee depends on the rank of the web directory and its popularity.	Websites need not pay to be included in the search engine results pages or SERPs. There is also no need to submit the website since the search engine spiders will still find the website.
The web directories can drive traffic to a website. The competition among the website isn’t too tough.	The search engines can drive traffic to a website but the website needs to be on the top of the search results.
Web directories can be part of a search engines like in the case of Yahoo and Google.	Search engines can have web directories. Some search engines give the users the option whether to search using the search engine or the web directory.

Both the search engines and the web directories have the ability to drive traffic to a website. Need to market your website on the search engines and the web directories? Please see our Web Marketing Services or you can apply for a Free Website Analysis. For more information, please contact our Web Marketing Experts.

Don't Be Confused With Web Directories And Search Engines

The Web Directories

The Search Engines

Web Directories Versus Search Engines

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