Is it worth to get links from startup directorys?

[RafeTLouis]

Hi,

I have a startup that connects people with lawyers.

There are a lot of directories of startups.  These are legitimate directories and not like the spammy directories.

Is it worth getting links from these types of directories?

Let me know.

[AlanMosley]

There is one more and very important point here. Can almost anyone get a link here? if so, then I would say no.

[Daniel_Morgan]

In a word - definitely.

Certainly don't go crazy and focus all your efforts on building startup directory links as it's always best to have a varied and natural-looking link profile. I would say to just focus on the top directories such as CrunchBase which are highly authoritative as well as relevant. It's also particularly important for startups to be listed in these kinds of directories as it will give a certain level of credibility and perhaps even provide potential investors with key information that would otherwise not be on your main website.

Things to stay away from:

• paid directories
• any directories which are not "human-edited" ie, there is a no editorial control of which sites go into the directories
• general web directories except for the likes of dmoz.org

Additionally, it's relatively straightforward to get some results in terms of link building from PR coverage; startups can be particularly news-worthy,  especially if the startup is disruptive.

[RafeTLouis]

Internet points to Patrick Delehanty!

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

Of course! But do a bit of manual research. For instance, ask yourself...

• Does this link help my website?

• Is this link relevant to my website?

• Would I trust this site (that's linking to me) if I landed on it?

• Is the website or content in which I am being linked from topically relevant to my website?

• If you check metrics - does anything about the metrics (domain authority, page authority,Majestic, SEMRush traffic/ranking data, etc) make me feel uneasy?

• Are the links from directory templates? (example)

• Inspect URLs with blatant spam words

• Free

• Porn

• XXX

• Submit

• Directory

• Paid

• Links

• URL

• Sex

• etc.

• Check for multiple domains and URLs on the same IPs

• This can usually show link farms or spam

As long as your bases are covered, there are no issues with be listed in directories that are relevant to your site. Here are some great resources for startup SEO:
SEO Checklist For Startup Websites (SEL)
Startup SEO: How to Get the Ball Rolling on a Limited Budget (Huffington Post)
14 Steps To Successful SEO For Startups (TechCrunch)
SEO for Startups & New Businesses: An 11 Step Plan (SEW)

I would also pay attention to some of the articles and tips that GrowthHackers.com posts - some really neat stuff happens there and gives you a TON of great ideas to try out.

Hope this all helps! Good luck!