Selling Paid Directories
-
Hello Mozzers!
Like most, we have greatly reduced the number of paid directories in which we enroll our clients. We do, however, still utilize a few. For those of you still using select paid directories, what approach do you take in marketing these sites to your clients?
Thanks in advance for your input!
-
Hi Frank,
Thanks for the additional info on this and for clarifying that the business models are local and well-acquainted with the role citations play in Local Search Marketing. What follows is just my opinion, based on what I've seen over the years.
I've honestly never been a fan of any paid local directory, though some people swear by them. You shouldn't be having to pay for a BOTW listing. Unless I've totally missed something, I'm pretty sure those are still free (https://secure.botw.org/secure/Signup.aspx?type=jumpstart&directory=local). I'm not familiar with the benefits of Business.com and have never submitted a client to them, so I'm afraid I can't speak to that.
If my clients were in the hospitality industry, I'd make sure I'd covered their citations in as many of the free generic local directories as possible and then be sure they were enrolled in any industry specific directories that do drive traffic/bookings to hotels, even if these were paid ones. Beyond this, I'd devote resources to content development and social outreach rather than paid generic directories. I'd predict a better return from that kind of effort.
-
Hi Miriam,
Thanks for the response.
I sent this same reply to Wayne, but would also like your input.
Our clients are all hotels of various sizes and market segments. As such, we focus on local citation building. We also utilize all of the appropriate local citations listed on the page you referenced above. We used to do much more paid directory work, but have tried to reduce it as they have come to lose value. Currently we only enroll clients in BOTW and Business.com, as Yahoo has discontinued their directory. Could you provide your thoughts on those two examples, keeping in mind that they drive very little direct traffic, and zero revenue. We are merely using them for their statistical value.
Thanks!
Frank
-
HI Wayne,
Thanks for the response. Our clients are all hotels of various sizes and market segments. As such, we focus on local citation building. We also utilize all of the appropriate local citations listed on the page you referenced above. We used to do much more paid directory work, but have tried to reduce it as they have come to lose value. Currently we only enroll clients in BOTW and Business.com, as Yahoo has discontinued their directory. Could you provide your thoughts on those two examples, keeping in mind that they drive very little direct traffic, and zero revenue. We are merely using them for their statistical value.
Thanks!
Frank
-
Hey Frank!
As Wayne has pointed out, the use of directory listings is still alive and well in the Local SEO world. You didn't mention whether your clients have a local or national focus, but if it's the former, then this type of work (called citation building) is a core part of a local search marketing campaign.
-
Hi Frank!
That term "paid directory" can send shivers through an SEO'er. The reason? Directories were long exploited by--_TA-DA!--_SEO'ers!
That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with employing the use of a directory paid or non if it's relevant and carries authority. This is especially true with regard to niche categories and the need for citations. These citations often help with local listings and are obtained by way of directories.
A great tool you can use to illustrate same is MOZ's Top Local Citations by Category page. As you scan your client's industry and look at the results it provides, you'll quickly see that not only are there a host of directories, many of them are paid. Paid directories aren't always a bad thing, but you certainly want to be careful and selective.
Hope this helps!
Wayne
-
I would not try to sell this anymore, the times have changed and unless those directories are driving conversions I would avoid them, paid directories have no place in SEO according to Google.
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
-
Is bold text anchor link worth the higher price tag in directory listing?
Does it make a difference with Google if anchor link text is bold? The niche directory is offering regular lifetime listing for $199 (actual page pr 6) or bold for $349 (same page, same position). Also bold link has option of including email address. Does email address have any effect on SEO? Seems like a bad deal for bold, isn't it?
Link Building | | SirMax0 -
SEO directories
Recently I did a research of one of mine competitors and to my surprise his major backlinks located on seo directories like: http://alistdirectory.com/ http://www.ggfb.org/ http://www.bitterskank.com/ http://www.directorypage.net/ And .... he is showing on first page of Google by particular keyword "Dentist Dubai". Frankly speaking I am confused a little bit, because I believe that this SEO strategy has stopped working a long time ago. Could someone share with me his thought about this? Furthermore all of those websites are asking about a Reciprocal link, which I did find on his website. How he did it? Thanks, Russel
Link Building | | smokin_ace0 -
Where do I find directories for Aerospace?
My company sells aircraft parts. We are trying to find web directories for aerospace and Latin America, where do I go?
Link Building | | yntgmz0 -
Can someone give me criteria with which to judge the quality of submission directories.
The general advice is the SEOmoz community is not to bother with low quality submission directories. Makes sense to me as there existence seems solely to manipulate search rankings, which google doesn't like. So what are some clear and actionable criteria to distinguish between a directory worth spending time on and one that is not worth spending time on?
Link Building | | JesseCWalker0 -
How Long for Google Directory and Search.com to update with Current Dmoz.org Data?
So I recently had a site added to dmoz.org and I'm wondering if anyone knows when Google Directory & Search.com update their site with new Dmoz.org data? They both use dmoz.org for their directory listings. Regards,
Link Building | | qlkasdjfw0 -
Link building and directory links to a new site
I have three new sites all hosted on the same server in the same public html folder and each site is in a different folder inside the public html folder. These sites are a listing of live music venues in different cities in Texas. Should I link these sites together to increase page rank to each other and also put key search phrases in the anchor text and place these links in the text in the center of each page of each site to make the links more effective? Also, because the sites are about a year old they don't have many inlinks yet. If i submit them to about 50 directories will Google not like this because there are way more directory links than natural links? I've been told that it is trouble to have more than about 50% directory links compared to natural links. Thanks in advance for your answers! Take care,
Link Building | | Ron10
Ron0 -
Anyone have a list of paid directories?
I want to get into some good paid directories, but every list I have found out there is either just a top ten and repeats the same ones or is a list of 500 where I know most are worthless. Has anyone submitted to paid directories that has a list of good ones that are actually worth submitting to?
Link Building | | DanDeceuster0 -
Thoughts on 2 directories?
Thoughts on ScrubTheWeb.com and SearchSight.com ? would directories like these be a good idea? We are a b to b company... Thanks!
Link Building | | inhouseninja0