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A web directory is a directory on the World Wide Web. It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links. Web directories often allow site owners to directly submit their site for inclusion, and have editors review submissions for fitness. A web directory is not a search engine, and does not display lists of web pages based on keywords, instead it lists web sites by category and subcategory. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site, rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only one or two categories.
General Some directories are very general in scope and list websites across a wide range of categories, regions and languages. But there is a wide range of and many focus on restricted regions and single languages. Some are restricted to specialist fields. Examples of well known, general, web directories are Yahoo! Directory and the Open Directory Project (ODP). ODP is significant due to its extensive categorization and large number of listings and its free availability for use by other directories and search engines (many sites violate its terms of use by using its content without acknowledgement). A debate over the quality of directories and databases continues, as search engines use ODP's content without real integration, and some experiment using clustering. There have been many attempts to make directory development easier, whether using a "links for all" type link submission site using a script, or any number of available PHP portals and programs. Recently, social software techniques have spawned new efforts of categorization, with Amazon.com adding tagging to their product pages. Directories have various types of listings, often dependant upon the price paid for inclusion: Human-edited directories A human-edited directory is created and maintained by editors who add links based on the policies particular to that directory. Human-edited directories are often targeted by SEOs on the basis that links from reputable sources will improve rankings in the major search engines. Some directories may prevent search engines from rating a displayed link by using redirects, nofollow attributes, or other techniques. Many human-edited directories, including dmoz.org and the World Wide Web Virtual Library, are edited by volunteers, who are often experts in particular categories. These directories are sometimes criticized due to long delays in approving submissions, or for rigid organizational structures and disputes among volunteer editors. In response to these criticisms, some volunteer-edited directories such as wikidweb and chainki have adopted wiki technology, to allow broader community participation in editing the directory (at the risk of introducing lower-quality, less objective entries). See also | ||||||||
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