Search Engine Directories are made up of listings that have been compiled by humans, instead of being automatically generated by computer programs viz. "spiders" or "web crawlers". The most famous example of a directory is the Yahoo directory. There are three major directories, two commercial and one free of charge.

Each of the Yahoo! directories allows you to write your own title and description for your site's listing, however, they can and do revise these to fit their own editorial guidelines. It's important to write a description that is accurate, concise, enticing, and keyword-friendly.

Yahoo Directory Submission

Yahoo is still the most important and effective search engine in terms of driving traffic to your site. We believe that listing in Yahoo's directory is absolutely must if you aren't currently included.

Yahoo requires that all commercial sites pay to be listed in the directory. The fee is $299.00 per year, and does not guarantee inclusion or placement. It does guarantee that a Yahoo editor will review your site with seven business days, and gives you the right to appeal the editor's decision if your site is not included.

well-written Yahoo listing can drive significant traffic to a site.

The Open Directory Project

Originally started in response to the difficulty of getting a site listed in Yahoo's directory, the Open Directory Project (ODP) is maintained entirely by volunteer editors. There is no charge for submission. Because ODP editors are unpaid volunteers, it can sometimes take a long time for a listing to be approved and included into the directory.