Moz recommends submitting to directories?
-
In the Moz Beginners Checklist for Small Business SEO, it's recommended to "Add your client's website to industry specific directories"
That's not recommended anymore, right?
-
Thank you both. I appreciate the feedback!
-
I expect some won't agree Donna. Trouble is, we're all guessing.. and we're guessing based on today's ideas. We've seen over the last 2-3 years just how quickly and radically the rules can change. Google has made it clear (I think) what they value. Links from real people writing content about you.
-
Currently, Moz doesn't take paid links into consideration when calculating it metrics.
Our team is working on a spam algorithm. Should be released in the next few months. That said,I imagine it will be better at detecting pure spam than what Google considers non-editorial paid links.
-
I'm curious to know if Moz concurs with your BOTW assessment James Shaw. They've assigned it a domain authority of 81.
-
My 2c; I'm deleting all mine on BOTW now, even though I originally paid for a lifetime listing. It seemed such a good idea at the time.
Why am I deleting? Because Link Detox (for one) is now classifying BOTW as 'highly toxic'. I've come to agree with them. They are, at the end of the day, paid links.
Remember we were all told (and believed) that EzineArticles was the jewel in the crown of Article Directories. It hurt having to remove thousands of $$$ of articles from there last year. My tolerance for SEO BS has lowered in recent years - and I no longer do anything that isn't 'real' (and by that I mean a real person on the other end of the link)
-
Yes, to all the above.
Like most things in life:
(1) The answer is "it all depends."
(2) Context is everything.
I have used a targeted and focused "directory" strategy with great success in certain niches....
...but only in conjunction with other techniques: guest blogging, social media, frequent updates, etc...
Also: Whaddaya mean by directory? Different people have different ideas.
So blanket statements like "avoid directories' are off base. It would be better to say" "avoid crappy directories/"
You should also avoid crappy guest blogging and crappy content on your own site.
-
For local SEO, it's good to get directory listings / citations. It serves to validate your business is where you say it is.
-
It's probably time to come up with a new name for worthwhile lists of sites within a target niche. "Directories" just doesn't do it any more.
-
Great points above.
Keep in mind, some directories for some niches actually drive a decent amount of traffic. These high quality directories are usually for a service that people don't commonly use, and likely don't have any in their personal offline network (such as lawyers). Without knowing what you do I can't say if that's the right path for you, but if your industry has high quality directories that are specific to your niche, go ahead with it.
-
I agree with Peter 100%. On the other hand, most people abuse directories and Google has devalued 95% of them.
For the minority that do it right, it's not such a problem. But we should probably take that off the list.
Thx!
-
Hi,
Directories of themselves are not bad.
I would say that provided the directory shows a clear track record for your industry and is not just lots of pages of links with no supporting content, then that still holds good.
I hope that helps,
Peter
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
-
Does same description in the directories of all affect SEO or not? - But unique on the website
Hi, I would like to do some directories. When I checked with a person for his recent work, he has given the same description in 50 directories he has done for a client. Does this affect SEO or not?
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | AnuManish0 -
SEO Template Recommendations - example provided but would welcome any advice
Hi there, I'm trying to improve the templates used on our website for SEO pages aimed at popular search terms. An example of our current page template is as follows: http://www.eteach.com/teaching-jobs Our designers have come up with the following new template: http://www.eteach.com/justindaviesnovemeber I know that changing successful pages can be risky. One concern is putting links behind JQuery, where the 'More on Surrey' link is. Does anyone had any strong suggestions or observations around our new template? Especially through the eyes of Google! Thanks in advance Justin
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | Eteach_Marketing0 -
Why isn't Moz recognizing meta description tags using SLIM?
Hey All, I keep getting reports from Moz that many of my pages are missing meta description tags. We use SLIM for our website, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same issue getting Moz to recognize that the meta descriptions exist. We have a default layout that we incorporate into every page on our site. In the head of that layout, we've included our meta description parameters: meta description ='#{current_page.data.description}' Then each page has its own description, which is recognized by the source code http://fast.customer.io/s/viewsourcelocalhost4567_20140519_154013_20140519_154149.png Any ideas why Moz still isn't recognizing that we have meta descriptions? -Nora, Customer.io
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | sudonim0 -
Niche Directories
Hello, I like the concept that a directory is good only if you would still want the link if it passed no link juice. DMOZ and Best of the Web fall into that category. And so do some niche directories. How do you determine whether to go with a niche directory or not? Also, what's the ratio of how many niche directory links you'd want compared to other types of links (being very safe) 3:1? 4:1? 5:1? Does it matter what your other links are? Thanks.
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | BobGW1 -
Are directory listings still appropriate in 2013? Aren't they old-style SEO and Penguin-worthy?
We have been reviewing our off-page SEO strategy for clients and as part of that process, we are looking at a number of superb info-graphics on the subject. I see that some of current ones still list "Directories" as being part of their off-page strategy. Aren't these directories mainly there for link-building purposes and provide Users no real benefit? I don't think I've ever seen a directory that I would use, apart for SEO research. Surely Google's Penguin algorithm would see directories in the same way and give them less value, or even penalise websites that use them to try to boost page rank? If I were to list my websites on directories it wouldn't be to share my lovely content with people that use directories to find great sites, it would be to sneakily build page rank. Am I missing the point? Thanks
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | Crumpled_Dog
Scott0 -
A Straight Answer to Outsourcing Backlinking, Directory Submission and Social Bookmarking
Hey SEOmoz Community! I've spent a bit of time now reading about SEO in books as well as online here within the SEOmoz community. However, I've still struggled to find a straight answer to whether or not directory submissions to non-penalized websites is acceptable.I suspect the reason I haven't found a straight YES or NO answer is because it isn't so straightforward and I respect that. My dilemma is as follows: I want to raise the domain authority for a few websites that I optimize for. I've submitted and gotten listed a bunch of excellent backlinks, however it still is a painfully slow process. My clients understandably want to see results faster, and because they have virtually no past outsourced link-building campaigns, I am beginning to think that I can invest some money for outsourcing directory submissions. I see more and more people talking about the latest Penguin updates, and how many of these sites are now penalized. BUT, is there any harm to submitting to directories such as the ones on SEOmoz's spreadsheet that aren't penalized? My concern is that in the future these will be penalized anyways, and is there a chance then that my site will also be de-listed from Google? At what point does Google completely 'blacklist' your site from its engine? Furthermore, I don't understand how Google can penalize a website to the point of de-listing it, because what would prevent other competitors from sending mass spammy back-links to another? What it all comes down to: At this point, are verified mass directory submissions through outsourcing still much more beneficial than detrimental to the ranking of a website? Thanks SEOmoz community, Sheldon
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | swzhai0 -
Suggestion for Link Directory Script?
I own a subscription to PHP Link Directory but was wondering if anyone could suggest an alternative link directory script/software/service to PHPLD. Thanks!
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | fergusonconsulting0 -
French (Canadian) Directories? Know of any?
There's never any love for Quebec and the horrible french we speak! However, I obviously still need to rank in French SERPs. Anyone know of any good directories or possible backlinks for are Quebec/Montreal/French/Canadian ish? Thanks folks!
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | deuce1s0