The Google Web Directory integrates Google's search technology with OpenDirectoryProject pages to create a tool for finding information on the web. Key improvements include the following:

* Importance ranking. The Google Web Directory starts with a collection of websites selected by Open Directory volunteer editors. Google then applies its patented PageRank technology to rank the sites based on their importance. Horizontal bars, which are displayed next to each web page, indicate the importance of the page, as determined by PageRank. This distinctive approach to ranking web sites enables the highest quality pages to appear first as top results for any Google directory category.

* Smarter search within directory categories. Google uses the technology that powers its regular web search to learn more about each page listed in its directory. This capability enables users to search deeper within categories and produces more relevant results than any other directory search.

* Web search integration. Google's classification technique connects regular GoogleSearch results with information in the Google Web Directory. This technology gives users one-click access from regular Google search results to the most relevant hand-selected web pages in the Google directory.

* User interface. The Google Web Directory uses the same UserInterface design that is used in the google.com site.

'''GoogleDirectory has been shut down http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2096661/Google-Directory-Has-Been-Shut-Down'''