Do Local Listings like Yellow Pages and yelp count for backlinks??
-
I am wondering if adding your company with url on a local listing like yellowpages.com, yelp.com, merchantCircle.com, etc. actually counts as a "backlink"? I'm thinking it is not considered a link because I have never seen one listing in Open site explorer, either that, or it is considered a backlink, just not one important enough for open site explorer to show it.
Does anyone know for sure??
-
Depending on how many total backlinks you have coming to your client sites, you may not see the yellow pages one if it is marked with a nofollow showing up in GWT. You may need to dig a little deeper through MajesticSEO or AHREFs to see it. I doubt whether having a free or a paid option should matter. Isn't the link the same either way? Also, have you verified that your client's yellow pages pages with the link have been recently crawled by Google to note that the link has been captured / viewed?
-
Did you yellowpages link take long to show up in your linking root domains? I have a number of clients registered with a yellowpages free listing but none appear in linking domains. Also is yours a paid listing or the free option?
-
Even if they use a nofollow attribute - They are certainly counted as a citation and verification source for local SEO while additionally. The Nofollow vs follow theory is difficult for large directory sites as they have a double edge sword. If they followed every link - then they become spam, if they follow only paid listings then they become a paid link network, so if they no follow everyone they protect Authority and Google/Bing can utilize them as an authority reference point. That being said your website is likely to be crawled more frequently just being on a local directory.
-
Okay, Thanks
-
I suggest installing a mod for your browser that will easily identify nofollowed links for you. These extensions don't necessarily catch redirected links, so you'll need to hover your mouse to see exactly where that link is pointing. If it doesn't simply say the website it's pointed at, it's probably redirected somehow.
Tools here
-
So if you have a link from Yellow Pages and Urban spoon, do you think some are followed and some are not??
-
they are no follow links but still worth having for local seo. They are also free and take little time to setup. Why wouldn't you do it?
-
Yup, they are counted. Yelp won't show up because it uses a redirect but I see merchantcircle, urbanspoon, manta, etc in my GWT links list. OSE is reporting less but i still have a urbanspoon and yellowpages backlink.
-
Many of those listings do provide a link, but it's usually nofollowed or redirected somehow, so that it doesn't pass any juice.
They're still valuable listings to have for their citation value alone. Local Search is critical for any business with a physical location.
I'd recommend using a Local Search product like Localeze, Axiom, ExpressUpdate, or UBL. It's a lot less time consuming than going out there and manually updating all of your Local listings yourself.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Spammy backlinks are working?!
Hello, fellow MOZers. I just read this article of this guy (not myself, I promise 🙂 ) I never heard before: http://stream-seo.com/churn-burn-backlinks-case-study/ According to him SUPER spam is actually helping, and, according to him again, google punguin didn't knock it down either. It looks and sounds all very shady and salesy for all those tools he is mentioning (actually, not just mentioning, but linking to). At the same it looks impressive if it's true. My thoughts are that it's falsified/buttered article, otherwise, if everything he says is true, we would see direct correlation between ranking position and number of backlinks (linking domains). I've been struggling to resist the temptation to try some spammy techniques to get backlinks to see what happens, but, at the same time, my brain says not to be an idiot.
Link Building | | seomozinator1 -
How do we identify poor backlink sites
We are often being preached to not get backlinks to dodgy or spammy sites but how do we identify these sites?
Link Building | | dynamyt1000 -
Wordpress & On-Page Optimization
Seomoz, Our current SEO provider built a squeeze page using Wordpress. http://www.buddyrents.com/rent-to-own-furniture/spring-hill-34608/ The page has minimal links and the one drop-down menu links to other pages that look exactly the same with the exception of the page name and Google map. Since the pages were built a 2 years ago there have been zero copy changes or code changes until a few weeks ago, yet the provider maintains that there is a maintenance charge to make sure the pages function correctly and are easily read by Google. This sounds like a made up charge. Wordpress pages like these should be pretty stable and search friendly. Am I missing something? Is this common to charge for SEO, On-page SEO and Maintenance for pages that have not changed and only rank if you actually enter the long-tail keywords that match the page title? They also don't create a lot of traffic, but the provider says they are essential to our online footprint. The pages have a PA of 1 and the below on-page links (the exact same links for all 120 pages) | Internal Followed Links | 23 |
Link Building | | Buddys
| Internal Nofollow Links | 0 |
| External Followed Links | 3 |
| External Nofollow Links | 0 | Thank you in advance for your insight!0 -
Why my twitter handle link is not getting counted in links, though for other sites it is counting!
My twitter handle page link is not getting counted, though it is getting counted for other sites
Link Building | | EG0CENTRIX0 -
Gaining a backlink from Webopedia?
We have a client that wants to gain a back link from Webopedia. We have found a very relevent definition entry and there is an additional resources section that contains links to their competitors. Webopedia is owned/operated by Quinn St. and I have reached out to them to see if this is a posibility, but haven't heard back. Any experience in trying to acquire a link from this property? Thanks!
Link Building | | austinvoice0 -
Is it OK to use backlink software like Backlinkx?
With all of Google's updates on backlinks, can SEO's still use backlink software like Backlinkx or others? Is there a better way?
Link Building | | JHSpecialty0 -
Looking at Page Authority of a link to our website... what Page Authority number should we use in deciding the link is junk?
What are the Page Authority ranges? 1. Excellent link 2. Moderate 3. Total junk link Of course you look at the anchor text you can use, how many links are on the site, how often it is cached. Thoughts?
Link Building | | RezStream80 -
What to do about bad backlinks hurting authority?
My site has many backlinks from 208.109.47.246/* and go.diaodou.com/* which have low authority. The 208.109.47.246 I believe is my godaddy IP and I don't know why I have the diadou links. Is there anything I can do about these links other than building other more reputable links? Could switching hosts or going to a dedicated IP solve the 208.109.47.246 issue? Here is a look at the links- http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/www.mueslifusion.com%252F/a!links Thanks,
Link Building | | iszalinski
Ian0