Has anyone ever used a specific page (instead of home page) when building links in directories?
-
Instead of the home page, have you ever done (domain)/page-1 for the URL in directories? I figured this would be a good way to build some page authority up for deeper pages for small businesses that can't seem to garner any attention with content / links.
BTW, these directories are not considered spam directories.
Thanks,
Cole
-
Max,
Let me try to clear up this "deep linking" question for you. First, I do not use the term deep linking and am not sure the entire goal of it. If you are going out trying to set up links in some way and direct them to specific pages, IMO you are going to a lot more trouble than it is likely worth today.
Your content should be able to get you links. If your "deep" pages have good content they will get links, Period. Here is an example and it is one that for us was really irrelevant content.
One of our people did a post and included something on 3-D printing. We do not own a 3-D printer, I would not know how to use one, etc. Yet, we got people linking to that. Another was about 18 months ago or so, we did it a post on responsive design. The post was done just to talk about responsive design. We did not send it out to people to get links, we did not submit it to article directories, etc. Yet, it is one of our most linked-to pages on our site. The reason seems to be due to the image and people wanting to use it. BUT, we did not set out to get links.I would worry a lot more about ensuring you are creating content regularly and that it is not just content for content's sake. Make it readable, interesting, engaging. If you are "deeplinking" whatever that practice is, you are trying to create links to specific pages and I just think that is a waste of time 99% of the time.
Best
-
I understand you point and it's also my main doubt, is it natural or not? And... Will google algorithm find it “natural” or not? Which is not necessarily the same thing.
I fact, from my personal perspective if I write an article which talks about a specific product, I find a link to that product page with additional info quite natural, linking to the home and expecting the reader to search for the product to read the additional info doesn't sound natural.
But so far these deeplinks didn't move the needle in term of ranking for those product pages, so I assume google algorithm doesn't find them “natural”.
Has anyone a similar experience to report?
-
It was more in reference to directories & deeplinking. You also have to look at it from a what looks natural point of view, its pretty common when you link to a website that you link to the homepage so if you have a site that has an equal amount of links throughout the site, does it still look normal? Generally though wouldn't say it was bad it was more in regards to deep linking with directories etc.
Might want to be careful with articles aka "gust posts" as there was some trouble around them not so long ago.
-
I had already read Robert answer.
I was not referring to directories submission.
I was wondering why is a tricky line to deep link in general. We have back link campaign in place, but doesn't involve directories. We publish a guest post a week on blogs and sites with at least Page Rank 2 and Domain Authority 25, we always post 500/1500 words articles related to our business and we diversify the backlinks using deeplinking to product pages, category pages, according to the article content.
And I was wondering if there some cons about deep linking that way, or in general, or in which specific cases.
-
It's a tricky line to walk - I mean that really you can go either side of Google's favor and whilst you might end up with the desired small boost you might also end up with a penalty. I recommend you check out Robert's answer below its very helpful.
-
Could you articulate some more the "its a tricky like to walk"?
This kind of deep linking is something I have still not understood, and your answer intrigued me. Can you explain better?
-
Thanks so much to all who responded.
Robert, your post was very insightful in how I approach businesses.
-
Cole,
I see a couple of red flags here that you may want to be aware of. You state: "I figured this would be a good way to build some page authority up for deeper pages for small businesses that can't seem to garner any attention with content / links."
From this and from your profile showing you working with an agency, this work appears to be client work. First suggestion is this: For any business you are doing SEO for, start with "While we would all like overnight results, SEO will not provide that. You must be patient or risk having your entire site disappear from the search engine results because you/we did things to expedite the process that the search engines consider negative. We understand that some of your competitors may do these "negative" things and they may get away with it for a while; but, as your agency of record we cannot put you in harm's way for the sake of having you rank quicker."
Can't seem to garner... with content/links. This is where you derail the issue in that you are trying to gain attention and I would assume that means rank improvement. You are wanting a directory to provide this "attention," and if the small business is a restaurant in Lafayette and the directory is Yelp, then you are probably going to be OK, and I would want a link to the menu page specifically.
While there is no list of bad directories per se, there are really only a few that are truly relevant to a given business IMO. The problem will arise in the number of "directories" you are using for this practice. The biggest negative will be around the link velocity for a given business. So, if your business has no links (attention) and two weeks from now you have put them on 30 directories no matter how great they are, you are creating a potential problem for them.
So, instead of "directories" I would suggest for your purposes you use some specific sources (I am only suggesting these as a substitute to what I fear may be less obvious directories.): BBB, Angie's List, YP, Yelp, CitySearch, etc.
Be very careful as well with any directories that you maintain some sense of control over the listing. There are directories that will put you in a sidebar, etc. in a paid listing and it generates a link from thousands of pages; you do not want this to happen to a client and it does.
I hope this helps you out, good luck,
Robert
-
There is no giant naughty list I'm afraid but the best advice i can give is as follows:
Will a user, find & use the directory?
if you think a user is going to find you through the directory (like yell.com etc.) then its a good link if you're just putting a link there for back link sake it's probably not as safe as you could be.
e.g. So if there is a local directory of all the best named companies called Pixel! and users are regularly using the listto find their favorite pixel company this would be good because the user is finding this link helpful but
if its a directory of all of the company on the internet - It's not so safe. Local directories (or very niche) tend to be a bit safer than most others too.
Hope that helps a bit more.
I think I found your site by accident the other day, small world!
-
Hi Cole
Yes, we use content page specifc URLs for any links we feel appropriate. Directories are not a highly thought of any more as a good SEO practice, as this became repositories for links links etc. This adds no real value to the user of potential user of a directory.
If the directory is something like Yel, we would want only parts of our site to link to their category heading where we are listed under. So we would not want our generic home page linking to a specific heading in Yel, as this is not useful to the end user, who would click the link and then have to start to search for what they really wanted.
Specific links at this level are liked by Google, because the link is 100% relevent to the user
Hope this helps
Bruce
-
Hey Pixel,
Nice name (I work for a company called Pixelbrush).
Are there documented articles or information out there on specific directories that Google does think is spammy?
Have you ever used directories to link to deep pages? For example, I would already use these directories to link to the home page.
Thanks,
-
What you are referring to is deep linking its normal as it helps build authority over a whole domain rather than just the homepage however its a tricky line to walk., Same for directories it can be a fine line, its not Whether you think they are spam directories its Whether Google thinks that and Whether you are willing to bet a penalty on it (or a competitors reporting you for having directories and again getting a penalty)
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
-
What city to use for citations?
Hey everyone, I have a question about what city to use for citations in this case. My client is a service-area business in the Seattle area. The business is home-based, in Everett, WA, which if you’re not familiar is in the northern part of the Seattle metro area. They only serve clients outside the home. For their GBP that’s no problem, as of course their address isn’t shown. For all the citations we’ll be building though, I’m not entirely sure what we should do. The client does not want their street address anywhere online. So, since their city won't be listed on their GBP, should we still use Everett as the city for all the citations, or should we use Seattle? I'm unsure here because with some citations you have to list a full address, and then you're able to hide the street address later. And since they don't technically have a Seattle address, I'm not if that would be the way to go. But I’m wondering because no one will be searching for “[service] in Everett”, they would search for “[service] in Seattle”. What do you think?
Local Listings | | SamB470 -
Which directories are relevant for UK
Hi there, I was referred to this community by Moz staff, as I was just wondering if all of the suggested listings in the online presence checker are relevant if you are based in the Uk? Many of them seem to be very much set up for companies based in the states and companies like Foursquare seem almost impossible to list on successfully, with no way to actually contact them. What I have ascertained is that the incorrect information that is revealed by the online checker is not necessarily incorrect it is just the order that Google lists the information over here is different. Lastly I just wondered if there are any drawbacks to using Brightlocal as a citation service, over and above other similar companies? They seem by far the most economical option... Thanks in advance. 🙂
Local Listings | | Frog-Marketing0 -
Google My Business: Company listing is showing in search instead of division address - similar names/same city
Hi! I have a client whose company name is very similar to one if their company divisions. This division has multiple locations but its main location is in the same city as the parent company. The problem is that when you search for the division, the parent company shows up. The parent company has a physical address, but most users searching need to be going to the division address which takes customers. They are having problems with customers coming to the parent company address instead. I have made the Google My Business parent company page to show service areas instead of their business address. Yet, their listing still comes up first when searching for the division location. This is because of part of the parent company name is in the division name. My client wants users to be able to find the division more so than the parent company. Anyone had this issue before? Any tips would be great!
Local Listings | | agrier0 -
Has anyone tried using AMP links in Google Business Listings?
We have a client with multiple locations, and Google Business listings for each location. We've also created AMP pages for each of those location landing pages, and they're ranking on page one of their main queries, just below the local pack. We're wondering if anyone has tried pointing a GMB website listing at an AMP page, or if there are considerations to keep in mind before testing it out. So far, we've discussed whether to use the AMP url (amp.domain.com) or the Google viewer url (google.com/amp/s/amp.domain.com), and potential concerns for desktop users.
Local Listings | | WompM0 -
Citations or Links
My I just verified 2 new locations via "Google My Business" (G+) for a client. - the purpose is to get visibility and rank in the google maps for those 2 new areas. These locations are not storefronts but are verified in G+ as branches of the business. The G+ listings are set to display zip codes and not show the address to the public - this is akin to showing a service area radius. Normally I'd just do citation building. But I dont want the address to show up to the public. Most listing websites need the address and don't really allow for service area radiuses. Since they are not storefronts, I do not want to display their addresses online. My question is can I see traction to just get links other than business listing citations pointed to the G+ pages? I think that since Google trusts it's own web pages above all else so pointing links to those G+ pages should work. Who's got an expert opinion?
Local Listings | | Rich_Coffman0 -
Is eLocal a scam or legitimate directory for local SEO?
I just got an email from eLocal with information that is way farther off than any other email I have received from directories I know. I ran a search on them, and it definitely seems fishy. Plus, it's not showing up as a problem in my Moz Local account. However, I don't want an inconsistent listing if this is a legitimate site I should correct. Anyone have experience with them? What should I do? Thanks for the assistance, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
Connecting a google business page to my website
How do i connect a Google business page to my website? I have followed googles instructions but don't see the link to my website as advised here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4569085?hl=en Can anybody shed any light please.
Local Listings | | mari-rose0 -
How do I get impressions with specific search queries on Google places?
My local Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/104228491449315888832/about?hl=en
Local Listings | | CommercePundit
Business name: Lily Ann Cabinets
Business location: 1630 Coining Drive, Toledo, Ohio, USA
Business telephone: (800) 551-1438
Business category: Cabinet Store
Website: http://www.lilyanncabinets.com I have claimed one business on Google places associated to Kitchen Cabinets. According to my opinion, We're no.1 kitchen cabinet seller in Toledo, Ohio location. And, I am quite excited to gather impressions with Kitchen Cabinets keywords when people search from Toledo, Ohio location. I have checked Google search result for Kitchen Cabinets keywords from Toledo, Ohio location. And, I am not able to see my website name in Google places search listing. You can find out attachment to know more about it. Can anyone guide me to get impressions with Kitchen Cabinets search query with Toledo, Ohio location? Kitchen-Cabinets-Google-Search.png?part=2&view=1&vt=ANaJVrFeEcjJlJHKq5yo0kuWtQJabJJDCi7YqGRINUizw8vf78eRwdqcP8byqWpWC02n28jEsXu7qU2SebzymrZ-NJB5Kam_qtZcC75iQIj_G6zr-Mzejyw0