It seems that blog directories are back in vogue. So you may be wondering which are the best blog directories to submit to. Well, it really depends on how much time you want to spend submitting.

If you're in the mood for up to 20 submissions to the best blog directories, consider SEJ's list of the best blog directories.

But if you're looking to maximize your impact while spending less time, consider checking out SeaWaves list of the top 5 blog directories.

Or you might start with the second list and top your submissions off with a handful of additional submissions from the first list.

Search Engine Journal has published an authoritative list of the 20 Essential Blog Directories that you should submit your blog to. Directory submission can be a chore, but if you're selective, and pick the best ones, you'll see the payoff with less work.

I'm happy to report that EatonWeb is right there at the top. Woohoo!

The EatonWeb blog directory, which attempts to order blogs in each category by "importance" according to a variety of metrics, has decided to devalue the role of PageRank in its algorithm.

The basic argument is this: PageRank no longer serves as a reliable indicator of importance. If EatonWeb wants to be a reliable indicator of importance, then it needs to devalue the role of PageRank in its algorithm.

So what are your thoughts? Is this a smart move? A bad move? A reactionary move? From an objective standpoint, does it make sense to start ignoring PageRank in favor of other more reliable indicators of blog value?

One cool feature of EatonWeb that I've been playing with a lot lately is the Advanced Account historical trending data. While this is a "pay" feature, I can't help but love having historical trends in PageRank, Alexa, Technorati, Site Visibility, Linkage, etc. all in one place.

With EatonWeb's Advanced Stats feature, you get historical trending data for your blog starting the day your blog is entered into the directory. I've setup a sample of this feature using data from my car blog RideLust, which you can see by clicking here.

For an idea of what the historical trending graphs look like I've included a screenshot below:

I tried an experiment this week.

I wanted to see what could be accomplished by launching a site (Watch Guru)and then doing zero promotion outside of submitting the blog to the EatonWeb Blog Directory.

Well, I expected for Google to index the blog and to see a slight trickle of experimental searches (Google sends experimental searches to new sites to test out user behavior at the site).

What I didn't expect was for the site to immediately show up at number 3 on a search for "watch guru" - but that's exactly what has happened (as of Saturday morning, five days after launch).

So there you go. More reason to submit to EatonWeb. Very powerful. I'm sorta shocked.