Below is a short list of paid directories, although there are 1000s of paid directories online, these fall under the category of "good buys." This list includes those directories with
one time fees (not reoccurring annually), one way linkback (not reciprocal), with a high Google PageRank. Directories typically charge more the higher their PageRank. Each are human edited (meaning a better quality directory). Although free is great, sometimes you get what you pay for. This list also coincides with my anecdotal experience in checking backlinks and how the SEs rank their value from years of SEO.
Top Ten Best Website Directory Buys
Joe Ant $39.99
http://www.joeant.com
Seven Seek $40
http://www.sevenseek.com
V7N Web Directory $49.95
http://directory.v7n.com
Wow Directory $43
http://www.wowdirectory.com
Family Friendly Sites $19.95
http://www.familyfriendlysites.com
Gimpsy $49
http://www.gimpsy.com
Skaffe $49.99
http://www.skaffe.com
L10s $39
http://www.l10s.com
Romow $45
http://www.romow.com
Googee $19.99
http://www.goongee.com
Free High Powered Directories
Open Directory Project
http://www.dmoz.org
Google Directory
http://directory.google.com
High Quality Premium Directories (Annual Fee)
Yahoo! Directory $299
http://dir.yahoo.com
Business.com $299
http://www.business.com
Best of The Web $99.95
http://www.botw.org
This is my own list, but it was broken down based more on value and the fact they are only one time charges. Here is the basis for the analysis of the original list by the owner of the Aviva Directory.
"There really is a lack of objective evidence as to which directories are truly good. This list attempts to address this and provide objective directory rankings.
The good folks over at Seomoz have developed a page strength tool. It takes a holistic view of websites, and is fairly representative of how Google views websites (and directories). According to Seomoz, the page strength tool is 'a better metric to quickly assess a site / page’s relative importance and visibility.'"
See his full list of
Strongest Website Directories here
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Ten 100% Free Human Edited Website Directories 