An article about how Web directories such as DirectoryFire are out-advantaging search engines by returning to the classic roots of looking things up that have a human touch to them similar to going to a library and searching through an encyclopedia.

In 2006 Sarah launched her Web directory, DirectoryFire.com, in an age where search engines were respected and used to co-exist with Web directories. This was achieved in such a way that search engines, such as Google in particular, would work together with Web directories, by respecting them as something useful to search engines in terms of helping the search engine rank Web sites.

In 2015 that started to change, when search engines began to lose interest in respecting Web directories, despite all their potential to help the search engines rank Web sites in a useful manner.

Now in 2025, people are beginning to get tired of search engines and their uselessness in ranking Web sites in a useful manner. Increasingly people have began turning to Web directories for their more-useful human system for digging up Web sites via a manual manner. The manual manner of ranking websites in this day and age cannot be understated. For example, Why Web Directories Are Making a Comeback — Zebralove Web Solutions writes about all the reasons why Web directories are making a comeback.

Also, we are seeing an age where Google is increasingly slowly losing market-share even amongst fellow search engines, with its market-share falling below 90% for the first time since it’s launch starting in 2024. Google’s global search engine market share dipped below 90% for the first time since 2015, consistently staying below that mark in the last three months of 2024, according to Statcounter.

In a day in age where children and adults are now used to using their phones to find information immediately, society has lost a lot of meaning as a result. For example, the idea of using a library to find information via an encyclopedia is now lost and with that loss comes the loss of a certain human touch. However, a well-edited Web directory offers a combination of the convenience of an instant mobile search for information together with the human touch similar to an encyclopedia created by humans.

Steven Fran | Founder
DirectoryFire.com