What are the best paid directories today?
-
Looking to do some paid directory submissions and was wondering if a) they were still worth the money and b) if you have $500-$1,000 what paid directories would you submit too?
I am assuming that BOTW is still on the list, but I rarely every see a BOTW link in any backlink report. Are they still relevant or are they more a sign of quality to the engines rather than an actual link?
Same with JoeAnt
-
I respectfully disagree. I know they don't necessarily pass loads of link juice but some of the paid directories don't have all the millions of spammy links to spammy sites in... because they're paid. Some are very, very cheap too. I know most are rubbish and not worth squat but there's still lots which are cheap and do pass link juice which far outweighs the cost.
Also the paid ones add you much faster... and if you want a diverse backlink profile it's worth getting a bunch of directories in there as well as your other link types... rely on the free ones and you could be waiting forever for that.
-
All y'all SEO clever men be saying that paid directories (and fo' sho unpaid ones) ain't worth diddly.So how come when I open a can of Open Site Explorer on the a** of my (breathin'-down-my-neck) rivals, their (meant to be worthless) directories be passin' them lots and lots of link love? Riddle me that, people.
-
Look for directories that have a review process and don't just let anyone in. You can tell if they have a good review process by looking at the other sites in the directory. If the directory lets crappy sites in and charges a fee for inclusion, it isn't going to be as valuable to you as a site that charges a fee for "review" and doesn't guarantee inclusion - especially if that site only includes high-quality websites. Many of the ones Wissam mentioned would fit that description and, IMHO, are worth submitting to.
I disagree that there is no benefit to SEO from paid directories as a blanket statement. Like all things in SEO, diversity, moderation and common sense will usually give you the correct answer. And correct answers aren't always, or even often, black and white.
You mentioned sports niche directories. Niche directories are another example of ones that are often worth submitting to. But all in moderation.
This tool will help you if you haven't used it already:
As will searches like this, which Wissam probably used to find you those examples:
-
I understand. In that case as I stated in my edit I don't think most of the "well known" directories of that sort have a whole lot of their link value passed through by Google. I would say the money could definitely be invested in another tactic that will provide a better ROI, but that is of course an opinion which could be incorrect.
-
Not looking to buy links Frank. Looking to add links of quality. I know that BOTW or Yahoo directory are quality links, even tough they don't always show up in backlinks. Looking for similar directories
-
Hi David,
First of all you need to keep in mind that paid directories may be able to take your money, but they can never take YOUR FREEEDOOMMMMM!!!!!
Now that I've got that out of the way (and hopefully delivered a mild chuckle at least) on to the business at hand.
There is a fundamental problem with "paid" directories. That being they have 2 options when it comes to the links they provide from their directory listings. They either need to 'nofollow' the links to not have Google penalize them as a link buying service, or they need to hide the fact that they are indeed basically just a link buying service... otherwise Google will likely penalize them.
You need to look at a paid directory from Google's point of view. If the directory is openly advertising that you can pay them for inclusion, and thus get a link from their site for the money then Google has just about no choice but to flag the directory as a link buying service.
If the directory already links to your site for free as a service to their customers, Google can consider them a legitimate service and not penalize the directory. Many directories of course do this and then offer premium type services that business can pay for and not receive any Google penalty from (yelp and even the BBB being great examples). In this case, though, you're not really receiving any extra "link juice" for the service you're buying. You're usually just receiving extra visibility or an endorsement of some sort.
So in short, if you're trying to find a paid directory for the purposes of acquiring links I would strongly suggest you rethink your strategy. If you are, however, simply looking to "buy links" then disregard this advice.
EDIT - Something I realized I need to add. You stated you do recognize that BotW rarely shows up in back link reports. Site's such as BotW and others (JoeAnt and so on) I think don't pass much link juice through to websites from Google and Bing. The search engines recognize that these sites offer paid review services, and while it's certainly not like link buying because instead there are editors supposedly quality checking the URL's submitted, I would guess the search engines still do not pass full link value on to websites.
I could be very wrong of course - I've just never seen any noticeable impact from going through directories such as those.
-
David,
I do not see the benefit of paid directories for SEO. I would rather invest that amount towards testing out the efficacy of my target keywords through PPC.
-
here is a couple with a lil research:
- http://www.business-directory-uk.co.uk/sports.htm
- http://www.mysoccerlinks.com/
- http://www.londonmmxiiolympics.com/
- http://www.golfshack.net/
Cheers
-
Thanx fo the quick response. Do you know any directories in the sports niche or uk specific?
-
there is alot of good directories, please put in mind the more relevancy of the directory to more valuale it is for you
here is a couple:
- www.dirjournal.com
- Yahoo Directory
- Canny Link
- JoeAnt.com
- Ezilon
- Jayde
- Skaffe
- BOTW
- Aviva Directory
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
-
Many of our best links are to our old domain. Problem?
Hi, around 7 years ago the organization I'm with switched their domain name. When doing link analysis some of our best links are to the old domain including a followed link from an article on the BBC news site. The old domain has been 301 redirecting to the new domain for years. Is it worth the time to contact the sites that are linking to the old domain? Or, will all or the majority of the link juice be given to the newer domain with the 301 redirect? Thanks!
Link Building | | limited70 -
Best Internal Link Checker
What is the best tool so you can type in one of your sites URLs and see what internal links are pointing to it from your own website?
Link Building | | webguru20143 -
SEOMoz directory list - some clarity needed FROM SEOMOZ STAFF
There are 455 directories (212 web, 188 social & 55 local) on the SEOMoz list.
Link Building | | Jeepster
Presumably they are there because SEOMoz recommends them. Yet common wisdom seems to be that web directories have negligible SEO benefit - see this recent SEOMoz Q&A discussion.
Matt Cutts advises against paid directories in this video (which >99% of them are)
In a private Q&A last month a member of the SEOMoz staff told me a link to my site from this directory, which appears on the list, was a "poor link". I think some better clarity in SEOMoz's guidelines on directories would be appreciated -- and I'd appreciate SEOMoz staff weighing in as promised when Private Q&As were ended -- especially as many SEOMozzers take most of what we learn here as near-gospel.1 -
My Question : why site explorer not showing yahoo directory link
why site explorer not showing yahoo directory link i have tried many different sites which listed in yahoo directory but site explorer not showing ?
Link Building | | amreen8470 -
Paying for directory inclusion
I just wanted to see what the general opinion was on paying for directory entries. How high should the PR be to justify paying for it? Or how much is justifiable for entry into a directory with a lower PR? I have recently submitted my site to Yahoo Directory but I have only seen my rankings increase in the Yahoo search engine. Are there any directories that Google like?
Link Building | | AAttias0 -
Where do I find directories for Aerospace?
My company sells aircraft parts. We are trying to find web directories for aerospace and Latin America, where do I go?
Link Building | | yntgmz0 -
301 to main page or deeper page for best 'link juice'.
I have two rafting websites. One ranks high for one set of keywords. The other ranks okay for a different set. I want to redirect the whole second site to the first to give the first more link juice and hopefully lift the first site even more in the rankings. Would it be better to link to a deeper page of the 1st site. I have a page that does well for some long tail keywords or would it be better to link to the main page. Or is it a bad idea over all.
Link Building | | tkobrien0 -
What are some of your best tips, strategies or resources for link building?
I currently work for a contract manufacturing company so when I think about building links it seems as if it's going to be a daunting task. Mainly because any kind of content that you can come up with is rather dry. When I go about searching for links I usually run into a lot of directories that charge anywhere between $25-$50 for a listing. I've had a hard time convincing marketing that we should start a blog which may be a good way to build some links if we come up with quality posts but those posts may be few and far inbetween. Does anybody have any recommendations for building links for this type of company or subject matter? Also, and I'm sure we have all heard this. When I mentioned the fact that we should be building some quality links to the site marketing first asked why and then commented "Well that shouldn't take you too long". Why is it so difficult to get management to accept the fact that managing a website is an ongoing and constantly changing process that involves research and experimentation?
Link Building | | TRICORSystems0