Links from Directory Websites with NoFollow Tag
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In reviewing our root domain links, I noticed that many of the directories (like Yellow Pages, Insider Pages, Merchant Circle, etc) that there are no follow codes included in the link to our website. Is this a common practice for these directories? Also, I wanted to confirm that this would not help in our link building strategies with any relevant "link juice."
Below is a copy and pasted (with some extra characters that shouldn't have copy and pasted), but the key note here is the no follow tag that was included in this link to our site.
Thanks as always MOZ Community - cheers!
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First, it's crucial to know that 99% of directory websites out there at best will not help you and at worst will hurt you. The directory is good only if the answer to all three of these questions is yes:
**1. Would I want this link if Google did not exist? **In other words, do a lot of real people visit this website? Would a link send you valuable referral traffic of people who are interested in your website's topic -- or, are you trying only to get a link to boost your search rankings.
2. Is this directory curated by a human who is an expert in the field and who does not accept each and every submission? In other words, would Google view the site's owner as an authority on the topic? For example, a list of recommended Seattle restaurants compiled by a local newspaper food critic is much better than a generic list of each and every restaurant in Seattle on some random website.
3. If this link is being paid for, does it not pass PageRank (i.e., is it a no-follow link that adheres to Google's guidelines as such)? Paying for any link to try to manipulate rankings could get you hit by Penguin.
For this reason, Google is not a big fan of directories. And that's why more and more of them are adding no-follow tags -- they don't want to get hit by Google themselves. Yes, no-follow tags do not pass "link juice."
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