Directories for backlinks
-
Hello,
I was wondering whether directories are a good source of creating quality back links?
Thanks
-
Hi! A suggestion for next time is to link to the article with the original discussion. This was formatted such that most of the people thought that you were the one who wrote this, rather than Marie.
-
Yes, KLLC is right. A good rule of thumb, when it comes to directories, is how easy is it to get into the directory? If it's easy, it's mostly likely considered spammy...
-
Well said KLLC!
Directories with NO editorial policies at all might be dodgy since everyone would be able to list his/her site their.
There are some good relevant online directories - before posting your site on directories ask whether you will benefit from traffic coming through this directory (remember that SEO is about quality traffic not just increased traffic). Also, ask yourself whether it is TOO easy to get a link from that site - if yes then you might want to be extra careful.
-
wouldnt have put it better myself. Directory submissions are still worth the effort IMO as long as they are relevant and as KLLC put it , the directory is not built for seo purposes only.
-
Hi Peter Allen,
Answer By Marie Haynes from http://www.seomoz.org/q/are-links-from-directories-good-or-bad
When I'm deciding on submitting to directories I ask myself one of the questions from the quality guidelines: would I be doing this if search engines didn't exist?
I submit my sites to local directories that make sense for the site and could drive traffic. I completely avoid directories that are made for SEO purposes.
I'm also careful not to overdo it. Anything done in excess can cause Google to look on your link building with suspicion. I also avoid using keyword anchor text and prefer to link from directories using my URL.
A recent unnatural links recovery client of mine got their warning mostly because of directory links. The quality guidelines, under "link schemes" tells us to avoid "Low-quality directory or bookmark site links". The question is, however, what is "low quality"? If you feel that you are ranking because of links from directories created just for SEO purposes I would guess that this ranking will eventually die and could even be penalized.
I have a theory that Google created the disavow tool to help them find all of the low quality pages and devalue them, or even worse, penalize sites that have used them. My thought is that if a large number of sites choose to disavow www.exampledirectory.com then Google takes a look at that site and determines whether it is a site made just to boost the PR of other sites. If so, then they likely deindex it. A few months ago Google deindexed a pile of directories, but there are LOTS of them out there that, in my opinion will soon be gone.
Personally, I wouldn't risk a client's site on this tactic unless they had full knowledge of the potential risk involved.
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
-
Can Foreign Language Backlinks Be Valuable?
I've done a lot of searching on this subject, but I keep seeing conflicting answers. Are backlinks from foreign language websites valuable? For example, a travel website in English picks up a couple backlinks in Indonesian language (and other languages) from foreign sites that have a DA of 60-70 or higher. The topic is partially related, but the language is totally different. Would those links still be valuable for the English website's DA? Has this ever been answered conclusively? Thanks
Link Building | | David56751 -
Backlink Building - is it worth it?
I've got a UK-based site with about 10,000 backlinks, according to majestic, and just 4 according to Open Site Explorer? Confusing! Rivals tend to have more - 28,000 in the case of our nearest competitors. So I'm not sure the best way to go about building backlinks? Or if it's worth actively seeking to build them? The index page of the site has a Moz PA of 45 (DA = 35) and I'm looking for any ways to increase these - need to get the DA up to 73 to compete with largest rivals. One of our main rivals has about 60 .edu links - would be great to emulate that, but I'm also not sure how you go about this? i.e. when you spot a good backlink someone else has, how would you begin the process of also getting that link?
Link Building | | abisti20 -
Best Way to Filter Backlinks
When analyzing backlinks and trying to get the same one for another site there are a ton of backlinks to go through. I know that if the DA of the link is then pages on the site might be a good choice like adding an article or something of the sort to the site but as far a the same page goes you can typically only do this with a comment on the page. My question is, given a huge list of backlinks from multiple sites, is there an easy way to analyze the links and determine which ones I can copy without manually checking hundreds of links?
Link Building | | spyke010 -
Backlinks: What are they really and how can I create them.
I am relatively new to the SEO world, and I want to build backlinks linking to our main site. My preferred way to create backlinks is by adding them in my blog comments or forum responses. I am an active participant in a large number of blogs/forums related to our field and I would like to add relevant backlinks in the comments/answers I post. I originally thought that a backlink was just a link, but none of the links that I have added to blogs like that have been recognized as backlinks. https://www.dynaread.com/ Why is this so? I know now that good backlink would be something like: Dynaread is a science based dyslexia remediation program for older struggling readers. However I have no idea how to add this types of links to blog comments or forum pages where there is no link tool. Do I have to do something with HTML? Please explain briefly what a backlink really is and most importantly how I can create them. Thank you in advance for your help! Joy P.S if you have suggestions about some resources where I can learn more about the subject please let me know. I love to learn more.
Link Building | | Dynaread0 -
Backlink Building Places
Where can I go to get follow backlinks to my site to improve my DA and PA, etc?
Link Building | | sansonj0 -
Backlinking
What's the best way to get back links and is there any tools that you would suggest to help me?
Link Building | | petewinter0 -
Backlink reports in OSE, the good and the bad!
Hi all Mozers, I have a couple of questions re the backlink reports in Open Site Explorer. In the introductory video Rand suggests that you can indentify backlinks that are a) Having a positive effect, and b) Having a negative effect on SEO campaigns. Do you identify such links using the domain/page authority of the linking page? Also, we know we have more links than OSE is reporting, does this mean that the links that are not reported are not helping our SEO campaign? Many thanks in advance, much appreciated. Lee
Link Building | | Webpresence0 -
Root domain or subdomain when submitting to directories, also pr 3 and lower, is it bad to list to these directories?
Hello all, Should I use my root domain or sub domain when adding my site to local directories? I'm very new to this, so I just want to be sure, sub domains start with the www, right? I know all my listings should have the same NAP, and it makes sense to have the same root or sub domain listed as well, but I was wondering if I should try and help one type of domain if it starts to get a bad ratio of follow & no follow links. Also, do directories with a page rank of 3 or lower, or directories with a no follow link, bad for my sites rankings?
Link Building | | allstatetransmission0