Each quarter, WebDirectoryReviews.Org evaluates web directories objectively according to standard criteria and rates the top ten. Web directories categorize and link to websites on the Internet. A directory is not a search engine, although many have search features.
The key function of a web directory is to categorize resources according to either content or the location.
As an example, a website for a manufacturer in Santa Cruz, California might be in a manufacturing category or a specific subcategory or a category for Santa Cruz, California. Some website directories may list websites both topically and regionally.
Web directories have two main purposes:
- Their original purpose was to assist Internet users in finding what they wanted.
- The secondary purpose, now primary, was as a source of back links to assist websites in gaining favorable positions on search engine result pages. Search engines have improved to the point that not many users turn to web directories to find something on the Internet. Most simply enter keywords into search engines; however, when search engines change their algorithms search results can be less than helpful. At such times, a reliable website directory can help, especially when users look for something in a particular geographical location.
Directory listings are advantageous in search engine placement. Listed and appropriately categorized in one of the top directories, a website may gain credibility, and keywords or phrases in its title or directory description may lead the search engine to report results placing the website highly on searches using the same keywords and phrases.
The Web Directory Reviews Org review criteria for Third Quarter of 2013 are:
- Aesthetics
- Content
- Intuitiveness
- Quality
- Usefulness
Quarterly reviews look at directory submission policies, submission costs, and anything else that may be important or of interest to submitters, but they apply the five criteria from the perspective of a directory user. By these criteria, the top ten web directories for July, August, and September 2013 are:
- Aviva Directory
- Best of the Web
- Yahoo! Directory
- Jasmine Directory
- Directory Journal
- World Site Index
- R-TT Web Directory
- JoeAnt
- Authority Directory
- Open Directory Project
1. Aviva Directory
Aviva Directory scored 83 percent overall according to the third quarter criteria. Strongest scores were aesthetics, where it scored nine out of ten possible points, and intuitiveness, where it scored 18 out of 20. Weakest was usefulness, 19 out of 25. Aviva’s in-site search feature was the main debit to bring it down for usefulness. Aviva Directory was number one in the second quarter as well, and it has been in the top ten all year.
2. Best Of The Web
Best of the Web rated 83 percent, tying Aviva Directory. The directory’s usefulness score broke the tie. Best of the Web has been in the top ten each quarter this year and was number two in 2012 as well. Strongest in intuitiveness, where it scored a perfect 20 out of 20 possible points, its weakest scores were in the criteria of quality and usefulness, where it scored 15 out of 20 and 18 out of 25 points respectively. Use of sentence fragments and lack of category descriptions dragged these scores down.
3. Yahoo Directory
Advancing from number two to number three, Yahoo! Directory for the third time is in the top ten. Rated at 81 percent, the Yahoo! Directory’s strong points were in the criterion of content, where it scored 23 out of 25 possible points, and its weakest was in aesthetics, where it scored six out of a possible ten.
4. Jasmine Directory
Jasmine Directory rated 75 percent due largely if not entirely to rating criteria changes. Jasmine Directory’s was strongest in the aesthetics criterion, rating eight out of a possible ten points, and weakest in content, scoring 16 out of 25 due mostly to the low number of websites on its regional tree, which they fixed afterwords.
5. Dir Journal
Directory Journal held the number five spot in the second quarter too after moving up from ninth place in the first quarter of 2013. During the third quarter, Directory Journal scored 75 percent overall, tying Jasmine Directory in points, but its low score on the usefulness criterion broke the tie. Directory Journal’s strongest showing was in intuitiveness, where it scored all 20 possible points, while its weakest was in aesthetics, where it scored six out of ten.
6. Web World Index
Scoring 74 percent overall, World Site Index moved from number ten to number six in the third quarter of 2013. This directory’s strongest criterion was quality, where it scored 15 out of 20 possible points, followed by aesthetics with seven out of ten points thanks to its new design, which went online during the review. World Site Index was weakest in usefulness, where it scored 16 out of a possible 25 for its lack of category descriptions.
7. R-tools Web Directory
The R-TT Web Directory is in the number seven spot again in the third quarter of 2013, rated at 72 percent, its third time among the top ten. R-TT Web Directory’s strongest criterion was quality, where it scored 19 out of 20 possible points with its long category and website descriptions. It was weak in content with fewer website listings than in comparable directories.
8. JoeAnt
In eighth place for the second quarter in a row, JoeAnt has been a top-ten directory in all three 2013 quarters. The JoeAnt directory scored 72 percent, tying the R-TT Web Directory in total points. As per the rating process, scores on the usefulness criterion broke the tie. JoeAnt’s strongest score was in intuitiveness, 17 out of a possible 20, its weakest in quality, where it scored 12 out of 20 for frequent use of domain names for website titles and of sentence fragments in website descriptions.
9. Authority Directory
As a new contender, Authority Directory occupied ninth place by scoring 71 percent overall. Quality was this directory’s strongest area with 17 out of a possible 20 points. Its lowest scores were in aesthetics, where it scored six out of ten, and usefulness, 15 out of 25. Authority Directory might improve its content score by adding more websites, particularly within its regional tree, and more category descriptions.
10. DMOZ
The Open Directory Project retained tenth place during the third quarter of 2013, tying the Authority Directory with 71 points. Scores on the usefulness criterion broke this tie. The strongest Open Directory Project score was on the intuitiveness criterion, 20 out of a possible 20 points, while its weakest score was in quality, 10 out of a possible 20, due to empty subcategories and the use of sentence fragments in website descriptions.
NOTE: The reviewers note that this list represents not necessarily the top-ten best website directories on the Internet but rather the ten directories that scored the most points on the assessment criteria for the third quarter of 2013, according to Web Directory Reviews dot Org.
