How do You Determine the Best Article Directories?

[JonnyWarwick]

Hi guys

I've been generating back-links by submitting articles to about 50 or 60 different directories. It takes an eternity to do the rounds with each respective article. I have a sense that most of these directories don't really attract much in the way of syndication and I would like to save time by just concentrating on the good ones.

Apart from <snip>, which are the four or five 'biggies' that I should be concentrating on?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice.

[edited by: sugarrae at 3:42 pm (utc) on April 1, 2006]
[edit reason] no specifics please [/edit]

[sugarrae]

Why not add a tracking code (if you're testing for traffic) or special page(s) (if you're testing for backlinks) to your next submissions bio line and track the results to see which sites are getting you backlinks and which aren't?

[Swebbie]

A tip that will make the time you spend submitting articles a lot more fruitful. Only submit them to the top article directories (no more than 10), and spend the rest of the time submitting them to related sites in exchange for a link back (either in the article resource box or from another page on their site).

I have a site that scored a link from the #1 site at Google for hugely popular related niche. The webmaster posted the article I wrote and gave me a link back. In just over 2 months, that one link has sent about 3000 visitors to my site.

All you have to do is send an email or call various sites and offer a page of excellent content in return for a link. I try to stick with sites that are not in the exact same niche, but one close enough to be relevant. That way you don't run into competition issues.

[edited by: martinibuster at 10:25 pm (utc) on April 1, 2006]
[edit reason] Specifics. [/edit]