Anyone know what makes a directory get served up?
-
Hi All, as most know, directories are taking over the SERPS as of late, and my question is: What "tells" Google that it is a directory? What does Google look for that gets these directories showing? I understand the big ones probably have back-room deals with Google, but I am seeing some smaller ones showing. Any ideas?
-
Are you talking about local results, and having Yelp and Yellow Pages show up in search results for local searches, or are you talking about searching for things like book reviews and directories are in the results?
-
A typical directory has categorization and outbound links to many websites. Based on these characteristics Google can understand if a website is a directory or not. However, Google's goal is to deliver relevant, valuable and unique content. If they perceive (through mostly their algo) that the content fits this criteria, and adheres to their guidelines, they may get high organic rankings.
Why do you say that directories are taking over the serps? Also, what do you mean by backroom deals?
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
-
How do I get an answer box for branded search?
How do I get an answer box for branded search? If you Google "Sagefrog Marketing group, the ansewr box in the right hand rail no longer appears. Not sure what happened. What kind of markup do I need?
Local Listings | | Matthew.E0 -
[Local Search] Do you get penalized by using a Google Voice number for each seperate business location?
My client is expanding and opening up separate locations and I will be getting all their online business listings up and running. The client wants to use a single 1-888 number for all locations, however, it was my assumption that they would need a local number for each location to improve their ranking. Could I suggest using free Google voice numbers that get forwarded to their 1-888 number or will Google discredit us for this?
Local Listings | | aedesignco0 -
Preferred URL structure for directory pages?
Hi Moz-Mind, We've got a bunch of duplicate content issues in our directory of trucking-related businesses, caused by search terms that can appear in any order, (classic mistake). We're taking advantage of this our work on URLs to try to improve our URL structure, and I'm not sure which way I want to go. These are the options we're considering. What does the Moz-mind think of each of them? example.com/location-name/service-name example.com/service-name/location-name example.com/service-name-near-location-name For the moment location-name would be a city & state abbreviation, like atlanta-ga, (unless it's better to use something else). Since these are search URLs, it's also possible to add a distance restriction, and a keyword, to the search criteria. How do you suggest adding the distance restriction? example.com/service-name/location-name/50-miles example.com/service-name/within-50-miles/location-name example.com/service-name-within-50-miles-of-location-name And the keyword? example.com/service-name/location-name/keyword example.com/service-name/location-name/keyword/{actual-keyword} example.com/service-name-near-location-name/keyword Something else? I was leaning toward example.com/service-name/location-name/within-50-miles, but I thought of the /service-name-near-location-name/ and /service-name/within-50-miles-of/location-name options today and really like how they make sense both to computers and to people, not unlike example.com/GA/atlanta/service-name/50 I'm looking forward to hearing what the community thinks. There must be an established best practice for directories, but if it's kind of ugly I'd like to find an even better way, if possible. Thanks, John
Local Listings | | 4RS_John0 -
How to make same places listings show up for variations of brand term?
My client's brand name is a similar case to "Dolce & Gabbana" in terms of two names with an ampersand in between. There is also a high number of searches for a spelled out 'and' in between, i.e. "Dolce and Gabbana" using this example. In fact, if you perform a search for both variations, you will notice that only the first version with the "&" shows a places listing in the results. The same is happening when people search for my client. Is there a way to ensure that different variations of my clients' brand searches display with places listings in SERPs? Thanks.
Local Listings | | DinaDiligent0 -
Is eLocal a scam or legitimate directory for local SEO?
I just got an email from eLocal with information that is way farther off than any other email I have received from directories I know. I ran a search on them, and it definitely seems fishy. Plus, it's not showing up as a problem in my Moz Local account. However, I don't want an inconsistent listing if this is a legitimate site I should correct. Anyone have experience with them? What should I do? Thanks for the assistance, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
Getting Google To Correct Your Citation
Over the last few months, I have done everything other than drive out to California and bring google flowers to get them to edit the stupid zipcode for our downtown Tampa office. Does anyone have any experience getting these types of situations corrected? I'm at a total loss, and I do not know what else I can do. Extremely frustrated...but always grateful, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
Adding multiple locations business to directories
We have multiple locations business.
Local Listings | | VicMark
Adding each location business info to directories. There are same services and everything for each location. Should we keep the same description for all listings or different for each location?
Should we indicate Home Page URL (with 800 number, no address in footer) or location URL?0 -
How do you get listed on Yahoo?
Where is yahoo's "add your business" link? I cannot find it. All I can find is their "yahoo local works" product, which I do not want to buy. I just want to add my listing like I can do with hotfrog, bing, infogroup...pretty much everyone else...except yahoo. Please save me from this frustration, so I can get back to enjoying my Friday. Thanks, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0