A web directory is a directory on the World Wide Web which specializes in linking to other websites and also categorized those links. What a web directory does is, it classifies the web sites into categories and sub categories. The classification is done based on the content of the entire website and is not based on pages or keywords.

Web merchants can submit their sites for listings on a web directory directly. The fitness of the sites is checked by editors before the listings actually take place.

Web directories can be of two types, general directory and niche directory. While the general directory is the most common type and lists web sites based on region and language, niche directories focus on specific sectors. Since listings on the web directory are free and they are easily available for use by other directories and search engine, they are commonly known as free web directory.

Free web directories have various features. Listings and review of the submitted site is free. The site is provided a reciprocal link where a link back to the directory has to added somewhere on the site. Some directories have the option of paid submissions which provides the subscriber a host of other specialized services to optimize internet presence.

Well established free web directories can take some time to review submission requests. In addition, the listing standards on these sites are quite demanding. There are many web sites that offer free web directory listings. These listings contain valuable internet marketing resources that can be used by the SEO professionals and by those who are novices in internet marketing to register impressive presence on the search engine pages.

The internet marketing resources provided in the free web directories can be used to advance online marketing strategies and efforts. However, submissions to a free web directory are a daunting task. You cannot be sure when your site will be reviewed and put up on the site. It may be weeks and even months before they are checked by editors for listing. There are some directory submission software available which claim to accelerate the process of listing on free web directory. In addition these software also boast of zooming your webpage to the top of search engine rankings in a short time. You can even keep track of submissions to multiple free web directories with the help of these software.