Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Directory Submission
-
Is it worth of submitting our company website in directories mentioned on http://www.directorycritic.com/free-directory-list.html?sort=pr&pg=
-
NO
-
Hi Ravi,
As already echoed above, I would avoid these now. There is a bigger risk now than there was when that was first produced.
Link-building (link acquisition)now needs to be focusing on having link-worth assets and sharing these with those who would be interested.
I always use BuzzSumo as an example here, because you are able to see what is being shared in your niche, who shared it (great for outreach) and then even if it has lead to any backlinks. It's these sites that linked that you can also contact.
I would suggest looking at great content that has been shared, and try and make something better. You would be surprised what can come from this.
-Andy
-
Hi there
For my vote, I say no.
The best way to assess potential backlinks are to ask the following questions:
-
Does this link help my website?
-
Does it send quality traffic?
-
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
-
Don't be quick to discount nofollow links - nofollow's do provide value, so as long as they pass your sniff test, don't remove them simply because of this tag
If you have to question a link or if it's worth obtaining, it's probably not worth obtaining in the first link. It's hard to explain, but a good link is something you just know is valuable when you see it, or one that you know is relevant enough to your website and fits perfectly in the content that it's linking from.
Directories like those you linked to here are only built for the reason of gaming the search engines and build mass amounts of links as quickly as possible. Google, and other search engines, understand this and are actively putting a stop to it and deranking sites with backlink profiles that contain fair amounts of these links.
My vote - avoid them - and acquire links naturally, it will benefit you so much more in the long run.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
-
-
No is the short answer.
Below is a great article detailing the dangers of directories.
https://moz.com/blog/web-directory-submission-danger
If you want a great contemporary webinar on link building. This came out two days ago on the 18 June from the guys at page one power. I like to break up the reading with a webinar every now and then!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n39BPLmMiY4
Hope this helps.
-
Generally people seem to be avoiding directories as they can be spammy and thin on content. I have had problems with getting huge numbers of no follow links from them. I would say avoid.
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
-
Do You Risk A Penalty From Local Paid Directories in 2022?
Hi there, I have a client who wants to advertise in a local directory along the lines of "find your nearest plumber". The directory only has paid listings and they are follow links and they also mention your site or generated landing page may get a nice bump on google. Is there a risk that they may get a penalty for using this directory? The client wants to use it regardless of if it gives them an SEO boost but obviously wants to avoid any penalties at all costs. Thoughts on this? Thanks in advance
Link Building | | Scottlinklater0 -
Paid Directory Links
To my surprise, I couldn't find a clear answer to the questions "Do paid directory links violate Google guidelines?" I know Matt Cutt's recently had a video on paid links, but it didn't really cover paid directory links. Are well-curated directory sites that charge for inclusion violate Google's guidelines? A good example would be the business.com directory.
Link Building | | RickyShockley0 -
Does Yext Directory Listings Help with Links?
Question: Does Yext Directory Listings Help with Links? They have 53 directories and I am trying to find out if this service is going to help building our links?
Link Building | | Tim_Jacquet0 -
Paid Directory - Whitehat or Blackhat?
Dear community, Just a quick question: Would you consider a directory as this one whitehat or blackhat SEO? http://mixyellowpages.com/cncat_add.php You can add link to 50 web directories. - No reciprocal link. - 100% approved within 48 hours. - Do follow link. - Get one way link from quality sites. - Pay only $ 15 No monthly fee. Our SEO-agency is using these kinds of directories, so I just wanted to make sure, that this is a) Whitehat-SEO and b) will not harm our rankings. Thanks,
Link Building | | rmvw
David0 -
Which one - Article Directories or Web 2.0 Sites ?
I have lots of unique article and ready for spreading but want to know which one is more effecting in SERP. Currently i am adding articles to Ezine and Hubpages, please let me know your suggestion ?
Link Building | | mamuti0 -
Best Relevant Directory submission software
Hi Guys, Is there any really good relevant directory sumbission software out there?? Or am I just wishing for too much here! There must be a good sodtware tools out there where I can submit my property website to relvant property related directories with a jit of a button! Any help of poing me in the right direction would be very helpful! Thanks! G
Link Building | | GAZ090 -
Directory List -
Hi Mozzers, please write here the directories the strong directories you know please, make a fresh-list here. thanks
Link Building | | leadsprofi1 -
Pad Submission Software
Has anyone got any knowlege about software that I can use to submit PAD files? Would also love to hear about any techniques, for instance I imagine that the PAD detail should not be changed from one submission to the next, any thoughts? Thanks in advance, Justin
Link Building | | GrouchyKids0