Welcome to the Q&A Forum

"4 letter words are appropriate at certain times, in certain situations..... Much like directories....."

LOL. Love it!

You're right: it is weird.

But even if there was a problem with your code -- as long as the code of the linking sites were OK -- then OSE will pick them up.

Internal links are obviously another story. I recommend checking some of your pages in GWT (use "Fetch as Googlebot")? It if comes back OK then your site is OK with big G (which is more important than anyone else).

There are a few besides DMOZ. But maybe (literally) 3-5.

Sure thing. Good luck.

It depends on the directory. 99% aren't worth even submitting for free.

But there are a few that can send some trust and authority onto your site, such as:

Yahoo
Business.com
FamilyFriendlySites (one of my favorites)
BOTW
JoeAnt
CannyLink

...and some niche-specific directories.

Hey Tom,

SEOMoz only updates the OSE index once or twice a month. So new links won't show up until they do a refresh.

As long as Google sees them you're good.

As long as you're not getting any messages in Google Webmaster Tools, your code is probably in tip top shape.

I'm all about performance.

That being said, I don't own or work for Google.

Anyone that claims to make guarantees is usually an SEO you want to avoid...especially when it comes to promising a rank for a specific keyword.

Like some other people said, they may be the cat's meow. But if you don't see what links they're building for you, your site may get nailed the next time Google busts out another update (which may be very soon).

It can take time for Google to find your Google+ page and add it to the index, Don.

(yes, even though it's on their domain).

I'd wait a few days and check back. If it's not sorted out, then I'd start worrying.

My pleasure, Sylvana.

When you say wedding related links, do you mean wedding sites you can get links from?

If so, there are a lot of search strings to help you find them.

For example, if you wanted to do some guest posting, you'd use something like:

"weddings" + "write for us"

Or if you wanted to find resource pages that might add a link to your site (one of my personal favorite link building strategies), you might use:

"weddings" + inurl:links.

Hope that helps.

It usually is spammy. But it certainly doesn't have to be.

Matt hit the nail on the head: link building software isn't worth the trouble.

However, you CAN do white hat tiered link building.

For example, let's say that you published a guest post here at SEOMoz.

Now, the next time you publish a guest post somewhere else they probably won't hook you up with a contextual link. Your link is usually confined to the dreaded author bio area.

However, they'll usually allow you to link to helpful resources. Instead of linking to a random article, link to your guest post.

Another example:

Let's say that you were doing some broken link building. You found a page with lots of dead links pointing to SEO related content.

While you could suggest that they link to you, they'd be much more likely to link out to an authority site like SEOMoz.

When you email the site owner about their broken links, suggest that they link to your guest post.

The list goes on and on.

Tiered link building can definitely make your links more powerful. But like most black hat techniques, you can do it white hat style and get better results.

It depends on the directory. 99% aren't worth even submitting for free.

But there are a few that can send some trust and authority onto your site, such as:

Yahoo
Business.com
FamilyFriendlySites (one of my favorites)
BOTW
JoeAnt
CannyLink

...and some niche-specific directories.

You definitely want to be proactive...but not overreactive.

The disavow tool should only be used for a penalized site.

If you have a clean link profile you probably don't have to worry.

I once had a competitor hit me with 250,000 spammy blog comments...and nothing happened.

If you're really concerned you can always 404 the page and repost the content on another URL.

You're right: it is weird.

But even if there was a problem with your code -- as long as the code of the linking sites were OK -- then OSE will pick them up.

Internal links are obviously another story. I recommend checking some of your pages in GWT (use "Fetch as Googlebot")? It if comes back OK then your site is OK with big G (which is more important than anyone else).

Actually, domains that "no longer have a site up" don't have PR because they get deindexed.

If you're talking about buying expired domains, that's a viable strategy for getting a bit of a head start with a new site's SEO or building a blog network. But it takes a lot of work and a bit of cash.

One of the best places to find expired domains is at GoDaddy Auctions. Because the site's content recently dropped they usually hang onto their PR after you buy them.

I agree with Andy that content should be your focus.

However, with a budget like that, the last thing you should be doing is creating "buckets of content".

Volume isn't going to get you a single link: you need to create outstanding, mind-blowing stuff.

Just look at this guide by QuickSprout...this is the type of stuff that naturally generates links:

http://www.quicksprout.com/

Did this take a lot of effort and money? Sure did.

But that ONE piece of incredible content is worth so much more than hundreds of "good" articles.

Think animated videos, stunning infographics and definitive guides. That's the type of stuff that will drive links and social signals.

It can take time for Google to find your Google+ page and add it to the index, Don.

(yes, even though it's on their domain).

I'd wait a few days and check back. If it's not sorted out, then I'd start worrying.

My pleasure, Sylvana.

When you say wedding related links, do you mean wedding sites you can get links from?

If so, there are a lot of search strings to help you find them.

For example, if you wanted to do some guest posting, you'd use something like:

"weddings" + "write for us"

Or if you wanted to find resource pages that might add a link to your site (one of my personal favorite link building strategies), you might use:

"weddings" + inurl:links.

Hope that helps.

Sure thing Jeff.

They can help in a few ways:

1. They add content to your pages (without you having to pay anything)

2. As you suggested, they can also send you some long tail traffic

3.Google can display the star rating of whatever it is you're reviewing via rich snippets:

http://www.dannyvince.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/engraved-gift-ideas-rich-snippets.jpg

However, they're a double-edged sword. If you're careful about keyword density and other on-page metrics (like I am), letting a bunch of people write the content of your site isn't the best idea.

I'm actually KILLING a competitor's site right now in the SERPs who have mostly UGC/reviews. A lot of this is because my on-page is leagues and bounds above theirs.

I know you meant good stuff, Andy : )

I think we have a tiny difference in approach...and I can definitely see your side.

I agree that putting all your eggs in one basket is a potentially HUGE waste of money.

However, I do think you should only have a few baskets. It's simply not possible to create hundreds of amazing articles without a 6-figure budget.

In my experience you get a better ROI from 10 mind-blowing pieces of content vs. 100s of very good articles.

And while Google has likely decreased link value coming from syndicated infographics...they still very much value links pointing TO infographics on your own site.