Moz recommends submitting to directories?
-
In the Moz Beginners Checklist for Small Business SEO, it's recommended to "Add your client's website to industry specific directories"
That's not recommended anymore, right?
-
Thank you both. I appreciate the feedback!
-
I expect some won't agree Donna. Trouble is, we're all guessing.. and we're guessing based on today's ideas. We've seen over the last 2-3 years just how quickly and radically the rules can change. Google has made it clear (I think) what they value. Links from real people writing content about you.
-
Currently, Moz doesn't take paid links into consideration when calculating it metrics.
Our team is working on a spam algorithm. Should be released in the next few months. That said,I imagine it will be better at detecting pure spam than what Google considers non-editorial paid links.
-
I'm curious to know if Moz concurs with your BOTW assessment James Shaw. They've assigned it a domain authority of 81.
-
My 2c; I'm deleting all mine on BOTW now, even though I originally paid for a lifetime listing. It seemed such a good idea at the time.
Why am I deleting? Because Link Detox (for one) is now classifying BOTW as 'highly toxic'. I've come to agree with them. They are, at the end of the day, paid links.
Remember we were all told (and believed) that EzineArticles was the jewel in the crown of Article Directories. It hurt having to remove thousands of $$$ of articles from there last year. My tolerance for SEO BS has lowered in recent years - and I no longer do anything that isn't 'real' (and by that I mean a real person on the other end of the link)
-
Yes, to all the above.
Like most things in life:
(1) The answer is "it all depends."
(2) Context is everything.
I have used a targeted and focused "directory" strategy with great success in certain niches....
...but only in conjunction with other techniques: guest blogging, social media, frequent updates, etc...
Also: Whaddaya mean by directory? Different people have different ideas.
So blanket statements like "avoid directories' are off base. It would be better to say" "avoid crappy directories/"
You should also avoid crappy guest blogging and crappy content on your own site.
-
For local SEO, it's good to get directory listings / citations. It serves to validate your business is where you say it is.
-
It's probably time to come up with a new name for worthwhile lists of sites within a target niche. "Directories" just doesn't do it any more.
-
Great points above.
Keep in mind, some directories for some niches actually drive a decent amount of traffic. These high quality directories are usually for a service that people don't commonly use, and likely don't have any in their personal offline network (such as lawyers). Without knowing what you do I can't say if that's the right path for you, but if your industry has high quality directories that are specific to your niche, go ahead with it.
-
I agree with Peter 100%. On the other hand, most people abuse directories and Google has devalued 95% of them.
For the minority that do it right, it's not such a problem. But we should probably take that off the list.
Thx!
-
Hi,
Directories of themselves are not bad.
I would say that provided the directory shows a clear track record for your industry and is not just lots of pages of links with no supporting content, then that still holds good.
I hope that helps,
Peter
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
-
Is Yahoo! Directory still a beneficial SEO tactic
For obvious reasons, we have submitted our clients to high authority directories such as Yahoo! Directory and Business.com. However, with all of the algorithm updates lately, we've tried to cut back on the paid directories that we submit our clients to. Having said that, my question is, is Yahoo! Directory still a beneficial SEO tactic? Or are paid directories, with the exception of BBB.com, a bad SEO tactic?
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | MountainMedia0 -
Have just submitted Disavow file to Google: Shall I wait until after they have removed bad links to start new content lead SEO campaign?
Hi guys, I am currently conducting some SEO work for a client. Their previous SEO company had built a lot of low quality/spam links to their site and as a result their rankings and traffic have dropped dramatically. I have analysed their current link profile, and have submitted the spammiest domains to Google via the Disavow tool. The question I had was.. Do I wait until Google removes the spam links that I have submitted, and then start the new content based SEO campaign. Or would it be okay to start the content based SEO campaign now, even though the current spam links havent been removed yet.. Look forward to your replies on this...
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | sanj50500 -
Help figuring out if certain paid directories are worth it
The person in my position previously had quite a few paid directories our site was listed on. What is the best resources you guys have used or know of to figure out which ones are good to keep? For instance one that is up for renewal this week is site-sift.com. I know the person previous to me did some not so ethical stuff and I'm trying to clean up messes. Any advice on directories would be much appreciated.
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | inhouseninja0 -
UK SEO Agency Recommendations
Hi, I am currently looking for a new SEO agency to manage strategies on 3 websites, budget of about £15k pm in total. Any recommendations would be really appreciated as trying to navigate through all the usual sales waffle and hollow promises of most SEO agencies is becoming rather difficult. Thanks
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | cewe0 -
Are directory listings still appropriate in 2013? Aren't they old-style SEO and Penguin-worthy?
We have been reviewing our off-page SEO strategy for clients and as part of that process, we are looking at a number of superb info-graphics on the subject. I see that some of current ones still list "Directories" as being part of their off-page strategy. Aren't these directories mainly there for link-building purposes and provide Users no real benefit? I don't think I've ever seen a directory that I would use, apart for SEO research. Surely Google's Penguin algorithm would see directories in the same way and give them less value, or even penalise websites that use them to try to boost page rank? If I were to list my websites on directories it wouldn't be to share my lovely content with people that use directories to find great sites, it would be to sneakily build page rank. Am I missing the point? Thanks
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | Crumpled_Dog
Scott0 -
Check For Bad Directory Backlinks For Free
I used http://deletebacklinks.com/ yesterday to search 7 of the directories they have access to for searching bad links. I found one of my sites had links on these directories and I was able to remove them for fairly reasonable price. Thought this is a good tool to do a free quick check for any bad linkbacks on deindexed directories. I know this may be a small portion but every little bit helps.
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | TheSEODR0 -
Any e-commerce users recommend an SEO company for link building?
I manage an e-commerce site. I wanted to know if anyone has worked with an SEO company for link-building that they would recommend. I DO NOT want articled directories, bookmarks, etc.. I want real link-building from credible/related sites. If you would give me an idea of the results or the general process they use I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance.
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | inhouseseo0 -
Anyone else get this in their Moz Account inbox?
I'm assuming it wasn't targeted at just me... I certainly hope not anyway lol: ................................................................................................ RE: sarahudah@yahoo.com Message sent by sarah4u on Yesterday, 04:25 Hello i am sarah udah, i saw your profile to day at (seomoz.org) and became in trested in you,i will also like to know you more and i want you to send an email to my email address so i can give you my picture for you to know whom i am my email address is (sarahudah@yahoo.com) (Remeber the distance or colour does not matter but love matters alot in life) please contact me here sarahudah@yahoo.com .................................................................................................... It appears inbox spam knows no bounds, even on this sacred of grounds 😜
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | SteveOllington2