In 2018, there is little doubt that the Internet has changed dramatically since the early days. All you need to do is use the Wayback Machine (a website that contains archived snapshots of select sites) to see how different things looked ‘back in the day.”
The use of SEO-Friendly and Google TOS compliant website directories was long favored. In fact, if you do a “way back” on Yahoo.com, you’ll find that in its initial days Yahoo was nothing more than a rudimentary directory itself. Or let’s think of the defunct DMOZ.
In the field of search engine optimization, while some things change, some things remain the same. Back when most people accessed the Internet using desktop computers, and fewer sites were competing for the eyeballs of website visitors, smart search engine optimization tactics ruled the day! Savvy keyword selection in combination with a few ‘high power’ links from trusted directories and relevant sites was often enough to raise visibility in the major search engines.
Fast forward to present day. While the internet has evolved and user habits and preferences have changed due to advancements in technology, several of the tried and true strategies to gain high-rankings still contribute to the overall success of your SEO campaigns. The need to get higher visibility on major search engines hasn’t changed.
Need to find web directories that can help your online marketing strategy and provide reliable references back to your website? If so, we have good news for our readers: we are going to evaluate the top 5 web directories (according to SEO/webmaster’s related notable online publications and niche influencers) using a set of criteria.
All of the directories we are going to evaluate during the next months months have been online for a long time and have evolved their platforms to help meet the needs of their clients over their years of service.
In today’s post, Jasmine Directory will be analyzed
Jasmine Directory is a 9-year-old web directory which has grown in popularity over the last decade. It has 13 topical categories which include everything from arts to science as well as business and e-commerce related ones.
They also have a regional category with mainly manually selected listings although by browsing it we found quite a few paid listings as well. To submit your website, you just choose the category of your company and then click “Submit” in the header. You will be brought to a page where you can purchase an Express listing or Standard listing.
Features include a list of the last twenty sites added to the index and the ability to add additional deep links to essential parts of your website. At the time of this writing, the one-time cost for an Express Listing is USD 115. The other listing option is a Standard listing that costs a $59 recurring annual fee.
Most people choose the Express listing as it is an affordable way to get a permanent listing in their directory.
Using the Wayback Machine, we discovered that in January the directory increased their review fees (Standard listing was $59/one time fee and now it’s still $59 however it’s an annual fee and the Express listing used to cost $79 and now costs $115). We couldn’t find nowhere on the website the reason for it.
The directory indeed has exceptionally high editorial standards. Its editors go as far as hand-picking sites that they deem to be most credible and we did a test submission to check if they really modify a listing prior to acceptance if it sounds like an advertisement. Yes, they did.
The site separates the submitted listings from the editor-chosen ones by using a green Editors’ Pick badge. Having good content on your site might see the editors list your site among the hand-picked resources which will raise your credibility. Many educational or governmental resources don’t have that badge.
In an interview (2013), Robert Gombos, (co-owner of Jasmine Directory) questioned about their editorial staff stated that they are “paid according to the number of listings they add to the directory”. As for feature plans, Gombos continued “we would like to create some specific tools for each main category. For example, in the Arts category, we could have some feeds that will automatically detect the user’s IP address and offer, in the form of feeds, theater plays, movies, book releases, etc.”
Here are the metrics for Jasmine Directory February 19 2018:
Domain Authority: 57
Page Authority: 63
Trust Flow: 60
Citation Flow: 62
Alexa Rank: 16.345
TrustScore by Trustpilot: 9.3 out of 10
For its brand name, “Jasmine Directory” ranks #1 in all major three search engines: Google, Bing and Yahoo! – which is a good sign.
Our verdict:
Pros: popular according to its Alexa rank, lists quality resources, indeed they apply a high editorial discretion (tested), Google compliant, decent SEO metrics.
Cons: It might be pricey to charge $115 to review a website.
Final Words
If you are reading this review, the chances are good that you have already spent a significant amount of time and money to develop out your website and other digital assets. Jasmine Directory being compliant with Google’s guidelines as explained in Matt Cutt’s popular web directory related video, so it makes smart business sense to consider the benefits of getting your sites reviewed for possible inclusion.
