Dating back to the early days of the web, the concept of web directories is more or less extinct among today’s web users. Human web users, that is.

Not to say that some folks don’t still find their way to Yahoo! Directory or the Open Directory and find some relevant, helpful information within-millions of people use the major league directories every month. But if you were to ask the average web user what exactly a web directory is, they’re likely to say, “Who knows!”

It’s really a shame that famous directories like Yahoo! Directory have pretty much gone by the wayside in pop culture (it’s how Yahoo! got their start, after all), but these days with the automatic use of search and the ever-increasing growth of social media, the Directories are no longer the first-stop place to visit for most human users of the web.

But this trend of declining importance simply doesn’t apply when it comes to non-human visitors to the directories. By non-human visitors, we’re talking about search engine spiders and other web crawler bots that are primarily used to find new websites to list and help determine how they should be ranked in the search listings. Spiders are frequent users of the directories-in fact, they depend on them.

For this reason in and of itself, getting listed with the directories is both advisable and worth your while if you’re looking to improve your website’s SEO factor. Directory listings are a major factor when it comes to rounding out a website’s link profile and building highly-respected backlinks.

The big directories are very important, of course. But also, you won’t want to overlook the smaller niche directories either. While they’re not likely to directly drive tons of traffic to your website themselves, they will help search engines determine your site’s focus and help significantly towards improving your all around link popularity.

It’s not always easy though. That’s why it really helps to have SEM experts like WSpider, who know the ins and outs of obtaining the best web directory listings results, to manage the listing process on your behalf. The bottom line is that the pros will generally be able to obtain better results and really expedite the process for you at the same time-saving you time and money in the long run.

The directories are still important. Why not put them to use for increasing your website’s traffic levels?