Silver Crosshair

Almost everyone is confident with using search engines in 2009, as they allow us to discover things so quickly. This is fundamental, but search engine results aren’t moderated by people, instead it’s done by an algorithm. Why is that important? Imagine you’re browsing for a hotel in Milton Keynes as an example. You would type this keyphrase into Google (for example), then a list of results would be presented. How do you know if these results are trusted if they’ve never been vetted by a human editor? Here’s the solution: search engines use human-administered online directories as a basic filter.

Directories still play a part on the internet, and the cleanest directories are unavoidably human edited. A person may discover that (for example) : “that hotel has been awarded a michelin star, that’s a rather encouraging signal”. A reputable online directory will receive a number of submissions on a daily basis. An editor will look into these submissions, and if the editor is content that the quality of the entry is of a particular standard, it is appended to the internet directory. And this is why search engines still love internet directories. Both dmoz.org and the Yahoo! directory are looked up by search engines as filters to find out the veracity of a website - whether it’s listed in dmoz.org / Yahoo! directory or not, since they’re edited by people and have strict guidelines.

So do not downplay the significance of website directories just because almost everyone uses search engines to discover websites. A human-edited directory can act as a great yardstick as to how reliable a website is. If you own a website, also look to get your site added in a niche directory, like a construction directory, a bed and breakfast directory, or a nutrition directory.

While mankind is needing signs of trust, the internet will always need humans to give their seal of commendation, and therefore directories will forever play a part.