Everybody is comfortable with using search engines in 2009, as they allow us to locate websites so quickly. This is fundamental, however search engine results aren’t filtered by humans, instead it’s done by an algorithmic rule. Why is that important? Well, imagine you are looking for a restaurant in Leeds for example. One would type this keyphrase into Yahoo! (for example), then a number of results would appear. How can one know whether these results are trusted if they’ve never been filtered by a human editor? Here’s how: search engines employ human-edited website directories as a rudamentary filter.

Directories still play a part on the internet, and the cleanest directories will be unavoidably human edited. A person may realise that (e.g.) : “that restaurant has been awarded a michelin star, that’s a very encouraging signal”. A well-known website directory will receive a number of submissions on a daily basis. An editor will investigate these entries, and if the official is satisfied that the level of the entry is of a particular standard, it is appended to the website directory. This is the reason why Google still loves online directories. Both the Yahoo! directory and dmoz.org are utilized by search engines as filters to determine the trustworthiness of a website – whether it’s listed in these directories or not, since they’re edited by humans and have demanding guidelines.

Thus don’t minimize the implication of internet directories because almost everyone uses search engines to find things. A human-edited directory can be a crucial yardstick as to how trusted a website is. If you own a website, also look to get your website listed in a niche directory, like a home furniture directory, a self-catering directory, or a pub and restaurant directory.

While humans are needing to act upon signals of trustiworthiness, the web will invariably require humans to present their stamp of commendation, and therefore directories will always play a part.