Directories are Paid links right ?
-
How are directories ok for buying links ? How can the funds be claimed to be used to review your submission when everyone knows you are basically buying a link ?
What experiences have you had god and bad with directories ?
Is it a free for all any directory will do or should you be more selective in your approach. If so what are the signs to look out for on a top quality directory.
-
I'd do 5-10
-
It just seems a real grey area.
I think you may have hit the nail on the head there...;)
-
exactly the reason I bring this up is recently on open site explorer in the industries I am working its time and time again directories. They are passing on good authority also so its a difficult situation.
Why should my clients not get the listings and their rivals benefit from them. Its just seems like an injustice.
-
Google clearly understands this deal was primarily designed to bypass their policy and views these directories as paid links. Use of these sites can lead to penalties.
This may be an often asked question, however here goes; If Google penalises sites for paid links, paid directories, etc what is there to stop competitors buying links to a site to get you penalised. How can Google tell the difference? Or is more likely that they will stop any linkjuice passing from these sites which is not quite the same as a penalty. You would still have the linkjuice of your legitimate links**. Indeed as effect from these paid directories is little in any case, loss of their linkjuice might have little or no effect.**
-
thanks Gareth I will take a look. When you say moderation are you saying 10 - 20 top quality directories .
-
BOTW is is good one I agree it just seems Ryan there is a constant walking on egg shells with Google. It reaches a point where you feel like you can't add your site to anything ?
The thing that gets me is all the sites we research all have directory listings that would be classed as outright paid links. So it reaches a point where I think if its ok for those guys so why should we do it ?
So you can't buy directory links because of them being against the guidelines and you can't pay for site reviews as this is seen as a way around the guidelines ? So what sort of directories can you do ? It just seems a real grey area.
-
Everything in moderation I say. I would only get a few of the top ones. I created a list and looked at the domain authorities if you are interested:
-
I've had bad experiences using directory submission where it actually caused the website to get its rank lowered. However, as mentioned, Yahoo, BOTW, and DMOZ directories are known to be good.
-
Some directories offer a clear deal: pay us and we will list you. That deal is a violation of Google's terms. Google offers a site so users can report any violations: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/paidlinks?hl=en
Some directories offer a less-clear deal: pay us to review your site. If we approve your site you are listed, and if we don't approve your site then your money is refunded. Google clearly understands this deal was primarily designed to bypass their policy and views these directories as paid links. Use of these sites can lead to penalties.
There are a few high-quality directories which have legitimate standards and charge a fee for a site review. If you pass, you are listed and if you do not pass, you are not listed. The fee is gone either way as it was for a review of your site, not a listing. Sites such as Yahoo Directory and BOTW are the two most prominent directories of this nature that come to mind. There are many niche directories that offer a similar process.
In short, paying for directory links is a bad idea. If a client has funds and is starting a site then I can see the value of listings in Yahoo and BOTW initially. Niche directories can offer value. Otherwise, the only way I would suggest paying money to be in a directory is if you felt the actual traffic you would receive from the link was worthwhile. If your client sells wines and you were gaining a listing in a wine directory that was actually used by people interested in purchasing wines, then that listing could pay for itself.
Another point would be certain groups such as the BBB may offer a value for being a member. The BBB badge on a site is a trust symbol which has been proven effective to increase conversions.
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
-
Thoughts on creating a resource/recommend links page in order to attain links?
Hey guys, Just wondering, how does Google view reciprocal link building nowadays? I've heard in the past that it's something that Google isn't particularly keen on. However, more recently, I've also read that - as long as the links are decent (and in moderation) - link exchanging is by no means a bad thing. The reason I ask is that I'm thinking of creating a "resource/recommended links page" for a client of mine. Because of their industry, it's really apparent that attaining links is often only possible if there is the opportunity of a reciprocal link in return. Therefore, I'd need to have a resource/recommend links page of my own. Is this something I should go ahead with to make it much easier to attain links? Or should I try to avoid reciprocal links and attempt to pinpoint one-way linking opportunities - even if they're thin on the ground? Any help much as appreciated as always. Cheers.
Link Building | | Webrevolve0 -
Do footer links pass less link juice?
One of my best inbound links for PA and DA happens to be a footer link, curious if it's less valuable or has any value at all.
Link Building | | Theskimonster0 -
Directories and Bookmarking
Our company has a wide range of linking strategies. Currently, our SEO team members are linking to directories more than anything else. Are there any advantage to this or should they put there effort elsewhere? My views on directories: these links are easy to acquire and offer little push to our SEO efforts. It appears that Google is no longer taking directories in consideration and essentially they could be hurting our rankings. What should our company do; should we stop linking to directories all together or keep it to a minimum. Also isn't bookmarking on the same lines as directories? What is the best way to handle this?
Link Building | | WebRiverGroup0 -
Links or Redirect?
My client's company has just acquired another company in the same industry and with that acquisition came two websites; companyname.com and companyname.co.uk. companyname.com has PA13 and DA10, companyname.co.uk has PA15 and DA10. At the moment, the two companies are to be run as separate companies but will become fully merged in time. My client's own website is brand new (PA1 and DA) and I'm wondering what is the best way to use these other two sites to improve my client's search ranking. Should I use the two sites to link to my client (these would be logical and natural links e.g. explaining the acquisition, under new management) or would it simply be better to redirect the domains to the new site? Many thanks
Link Building | | mikecartmel0 -
JavaScript is crawled by search engines, isn’t it? Does it mean that links embedded in JavaScript pass link juice?
I wonder If links embedded in JavaScript from an external Website pass link juice to the linked page and thus have a positive effect on google rankings. I read that JavaScipt is craweld. Does it mean that also the link juice is passed? I'm looking forward to your answers.
Link Building | | Tabea0 -
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 -
RSS links vs. contextual links
Which has more value? Passes more "link juice"? Auto generated rss links or contextual links?
Link Building | | nicole.healthline0 -
What are the best paid web directories?
I'm not sure if it's worth the money, so first I don't want to try with Yahoo dir, but something a bit cheaper. I have a foreign site, but everything is translated ti english as well. I stucked at te second page for my keyword, so I tought I give this method a try. What do You think?
Link Building | | joo1