Are Directory links relevant?
-
What are everyone's thoughts on directory links now a days? I'm talking about the old tried and true ones, like Yahoo directory and DMOZ?
We had previously been on a couple and removed the links, thinking it was hurting us. But we've been falling in rankings for a while now, and I'm trying to think of some ways to bring us back up (even if they're small). Do you think it would be worth it to be added back in?
Anyone's thoughts on this would be appreciated.
-
I would approach directory link building, as with any other form of linking, as a way to attract new traffic to your site. Pursue a link opportunity, not because it will provide link juice to your site, but rather, drive an engaged consumer who will ultimately convert. The goal is all about getting more traffic to your site, not to rank on Google/Bing, right?
I manage 5 national brands with over 900 locations across the US. Our link profile is heavily weighted on directories that are both popular and industry specific. This helps drive a very large amount of visitors to our pages that ultimately become a lead. We don't go after a directory listing unless it will deliver a visitor who will fill out a form or call. otherwise, what's the point?
-
Contrary to popular belief, I find that _some _directories are still worthwhile. Not the cookie cutter scraped sites, but relevant industry directories that have editorial control and are highly ranked can be excellent sources of links. It may cost you some money,, but they can be worth it. You just need to do your research and use the tools here.
-
Apart from reaching retirement age before your link is live in DMOZ and spending a fortune for Yahoo I wouldn't bother. I would only consider doing these as 'an also' activity.
I would focus on reaching out to high authority, highly relevant sites and seeing if there are ways you can work with each other to get great content on their sites with a natural link back to your domain.
If your rankings are still faltering you may need to go through your link profile with a fine tooth comb and remove anything that is not good quality or spammy. Also ensure all your content is unique and you don't have multiple pages with thin content.
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
-
Link Building
I'm having difficulty creating a solid link base. I would prefer to only have links that are on relevant sites that are likely to drive traffic rather then just adding my company page to site directories. I've checked out the whiteboard Friday edition of link building and have also used the new Moz analytics that helps recommend sites to link to, but all the recommendations were directories. So, could anyone hold my hand and guide me through the world of Link building? Your help, as always, is much appreciated. Thanks everyone Dave
Link Building | | david.smith.segarra0 -
Local SEO - Directory Submissions Not Counting Towards External Links
I'm trying to raise the authority of a clients website. It's a local business so I'm submitting it to various applicable high authority business directories to earn more external links. I've submitted it to about 15 directories so far; however when I run Moz's Open Site Explorer, it doesn't state that any of these directories are linking. It's been about 3 weeks now so I assume that's enough time for the directory submissions to be indexed by Google. Has anyone else run into this problem, and if so how did you solve this so these links are counted?
Link Building | | reidsteven750 -
No Follow Links
On my campaign report from SEOmoz I have noticed that all my 3 competitors have 99% followed links versus 1% no-followed links. Should I do the same? How can I check were are the no-follow links on my site? I have found some tool online but it shows me that there are only 2 no-follow links on my website which are both www.cloudflare.com while SEOmoz report shows me that I have 1031...where can i view this links?
Link Building | | VillasDiani0 -
Google Link Disavow and sites with extremely heavy but poor link metrics
Need help/opinions from the SEO's out there. I am working with a site that in the past hired an SEO company out of India. Over the course of their time together, this company submitted the clients url to tens of thousands of link exchanges and directories. Around the time of Penguin, the owners told me their inquiries dried up. Literally that same week they had a new website launched (designed by a local competitor) that really butchered the site. They were convinced the reduction in traffic/inquiries was due to the new site but I am convinced otherwise (suspect Penguin). Not only does the site need to be re-structured but their link portfolio needs to be diversified. Now on the plus side, the company caters and sponsors a number of events that earns them organic, relevant links. These are overshadowed by the tons of poor, irrelevant ones though. I read a few posts recently on the Google Link Disavow tool and to proceed slowly due to the unknown nature surrounding it. I have a good idea of what links are problematic and which ones are well served. However, the number of problematic links in my estimation is quite high (thousands). I am very hesitant to dive into Google Disavow and submit such a large number of requests. What are your thoughts? How would you proceed?
Link Building | | mattylac1 -
Does the ratio of external nofollow links to external "do follow" links matter in terms of SERPs ranking?
My site has an external link nofollow:dofollow ratio of approximately 1:1 That is, there are about as many nofollow external links as "do follow" external links. I have an impression that the ratio of no-follow to "do follow" links is a factor in the way that our website shows up in SERPs. I have the impression from reading a variety of sources, and from looking at Seomoz, that calculate "trust" factors as if they mattered (in SERPs), that seem to value a relatively low nofollow:dofollow ratio. Am I correct about that? Thanks,
Link Building | | tcolling
Tim PS - I don't know whether or not this matters, but our website is at: www.trustworthycare.com - Tim0 -
Link exchanges
I have quite a few legal clients and 90% of my clients top competitors are doing 1:1 link exchanges and they have been doing it for years. Other industries Dont seem as prevalent. I am just boggled every time someone says link exchanges don't work, will get penalized, or value is not passed. Its been working for my competitors....Legal SEO's seem to focus heavily on link exchanges. I have yet to do link exchanges, but am about to get started with a resourceful directory of local businesses on my clients site. Some will be linking back, but not all. Fear of penalization is lurking in my mind. Does anyone have any real data on this? Does anyone have an example of doing this properly and an example of how not to do it? I appreciate any feedback you can give. Thank you,
Link Building | | waqid0 -
Value of Inbound Links to Pages With a lot of Outbound Links
Suppose you have a resource page of the Top 50 Awesome Sites in your niche. Since there are about 50 outbound links, then I would think there will be less Page Rank being passed to internal pages from internal links on the resource page. Since you are getting less PR passed to internal pages, are there other ways the inbound links can be beneficial, such as increasing the diversity of links of your domain? Sites like SEO Optimise seem to create a lot of Top 30 Resources lists and I have read that they think it is a strong tactic.
Link Building | | SparkplugDigital0