General high quality directories like DMOZ and Yahoo Directory still pass value to websites. Yahoo costs $299, but it's still a good buy.
DMOZ
Yahoo Directory
Librarians Internet Index
Business.com
GoGuides
JoeAnt
Skaffe
DMOZ Directory
The Open Directory project is a free directory run by volunteers and enthusiasts. No editor is obliged to submit or review your website. DMOZ is one of the highest quality directories on the web, so make sure you build up your site a little before submitting, because it will go easier for you if you do.
Though DMOZ is free, there are some editors who accept "bribes" and may list a site for a fee. The danger is that the site may be removed by other, more authoritative members, so several hundred bucks can go to waste. If you intend to do this, watch out for quality flags.
Become an editor
You can also become a DMOZ editor. Make sure to state that you're interested in helping and have no commercial relations in the industry, nor SEO (this last point is very important).
DMOZ is valued by all search engines.
Trust Rank and DMOZ
Google's Trust Rank is an algorithm that helps Google fix some PR holes. Seed pages are high quality pages with links to other websites. A link from a seed page passes a trust score to the linked page, and then that trust score follows a pattern similar pattern to page rank. DMOZ is considered to be one of the seed pages (or more precisely a seed site), hence their link is valuable. Do not get upset, though, if you cannot get a link from there. There are many sites that rank high without DMOZ.
Yahoo Directory
The Yahoo Directory costs $299 per year. You don't need to submit to it to show up in Yahoo search results, but your ranking will go up on Yahoo if you do. Google also trusts the Yahoo Directory.
Some websites may get accepted for free, but those have to be non-commercial.
Yahoo sorts its listings by link popularity instead of alphabetically. If a category has 200 sites, then the ones with the most links will show up at the top. If you have few links, it will take some time before your site shows up at the top.
Yahoo Directory editors have a reputation for being picky as to whom they submit, but with recent Yahoo financial troubles they may loosen up and accept anyone who pays. Also keep in mind that Yahoo may still end up being purchased by Microsoft, despite all the drama over the past year and more, so a link from the Yahoo Directory is worth the price.
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