There are two kinds of internet based directory – General and Niche.General directories include that run by Yahoo which is vast but powerful in terms of SEO (or is it?). The reason I ask is that Google which used to take enormous interest in who was in the Yahoo directory, has now decided to give zero value for links which are paid for. The trouble is that despite what they say, Google still seems to give big brownie marks to websites listed in Yahoo! All I can say, dear reader, is that at $299 just to be considered for the directory, you better discount the Google SEO value and just look at the traffic it can drive as a listing. Also, Google only has half the searches and so it does have value to Google competitors which by the way include Yahoo itself!For the record, my own SEO Services Company, does have a Yahoo directory listing.Niche directories, as the name says, focus on much smaller market segments and can have a better SEO value because of it. Why, because links back to your website from another are always useful but links back from a website within the same market sector are very valuable indeed because of the relevancy to your own website.SEO through directories has got a bit of a bad name recently, simply because so many directories have sprung up for this purpose alone. Having stated that, I have customers who have benefited greatly from this relatively inexpensive SEO tactic.Remember not to sign up to directories in bulk on day one. Spread the work over four to six months and get the best long term return for your actions. Better still, why not get a specialist firm to do this for you?What you are looking for is a manual submission to the directories. If not then you will automatically default to the ‘top level’ category rather than the specific category you should be in.Not all directories have ‘do follow’ links and not all directories are recognised by the search engines. Some are seen as ‘spammy’ and discounted. Regardless of this, you should plow ahead and get registered with as many as possible is my advice.