Directories Still Work?

[bigcat1967]

I had someone tell me the other day that directories are back in (at least for backlinking). However, I disagreed with her. Have you guys been hearing from Google anything about directories and if there is a change of attitude of placing one way links there?

I posted the same question in other forums - but pretty much were canned answers...

 

[djbaxter]

Nothing has changed recently. The majority of directories, especially the majority of paid directories, and most especially bidding directories, are nothing but paid link farms and not worth the price of submission.

There are some directories which are still beneficial but you need to look at several factors to sort out the wheat from the trash:

1. Look for evidence of quality control. No matter what the fee for listing is, the directory should have clear quality control guidelines and it should be rejecting more links than it accepts, simply because most of the sites seeking backlinks via directory submission are junk sites that shouldn't be promoted anywhere.

2. If the site charges a fee for "review", it should be a one-time only fee to cover the costs of reviewing the site, not a monthly fee or even an annual fee. In other words, covering the costs of review is fine; listing only those who pay a recurring fee is not.

3. If the site requires a reciprocal link for listing, that's also unacceptable. Either your site is worth being listed or it isn't. What does a reciprocal link have to do with anything at all?

4. Check to see how well the directory ranks for search terms relevant to your site. If those search terms turn up listing in the directory, it's probably worth while submitting. If not, look deeper.

5. Toolbar (public) PageRank isn't a very good measure of anything anymore but it does tell you something about how much PageRank you might expect to be passed along to your page if it is listed. Don't just look at the home page. Look at the page where your site would be listed. How many other links are on that page? Remember that whatever PR is available to be passed along to you is based on .85 * the PR of the listing page divided by ALL outgoing links on that page, including internal navigation links.

Bottom line: Links from directories aren't necessarily worthless but be discerning in which ones you submit to. And in general niche directories will always be more useful than general directories.

 

[Mike_MoreNiche]

As highlighted I think quality is definitely a major factor. Directories have definitely not carried as much weight as they used to (due to the over saturation of the directory industry).

As with any link building technique quality and variety are key, so if you are going to build directory backlinks, only use this method as part of your link building campaign. Focus on the niche specific directories and those with high quality and authority in their index.

Google PageRank is obviously a good indication (however this is only updated every 3 months) so I'd probably suggest seeing the sites mozRank rating is as well... the better quality and authority the stronger obtaining a link from that source will (potentially) be.

 

[ac2dc4lite]

i submit to directories only to vary my backlinks sources, i usually go for article marketing, but i cant get results only by this, so i do submit to few directories every couple of days. doesnt takes much time.

 

[Mike_MoreNiche]

Have you tried building some web2.0 micro sites, social bookmarking, relational forum contribution and blog commenting???

Also take a look at your competitors... where are THEY getting their backlinks from?

 

[SupNY]

They do help a bit, but the majority are low ranking link farms as stated above, so best bet is that if you have the time to submit to such directories then cool go ahead but don't pay for them, your burning cash away doing that for sure!

 

[bigcat1967]

Have you tried building some web2.0 micro sites, social bookmarking, relational forum contribution and blog commenting???

Also take a look at your competitors... where are THEY getting their backlinks from?

Been there done that.

Also - the following:

Nothing has changed recently. The majority of directories, especially the majority of paid directories, and most especially bidding directories, are nothing but paid link farms and not worth the price of submission.

There are some directories which are still beneficial but you need to look at several factors to sort out the wheat from the trash:

1. Look for evidence of quality control. No matter what the fee for listing is, the directory should have clear quality control guidelines and it should be rejecting more links than it accepts, simply because most of the sites seeking backlinks via directory submission are junk sites that shouldn't be promoted anywhere.

2. If the site charges a fee for "review", it should be a one-time only fee to cover the costs of reviewing the site, not a monthly fee or even an annual fee. In other words, covering the costs of review is fine; listing only those who pay a recurring fee is not.

3. If the site requires a reciprocal link for listing, that's also unacceptable. Either your site is worth being listed or it isn't. What does a reciprocal link have to do with anything at all?

4. Check to see how well the directory ranks for search terms relevant to your site. If those search terms turn up listing in the directory, it's probably worth while submitting. If not, look deeper.

5. Toolbar (public) PageRank isn't a very good measure of anything anymore but it does tell you something about how much PageRank you might expect to be passed along to your page if it is listed. Don't just look at the home page. Look at the page where your site would be listed. How many other links are on that page? Remember that whatever PR is available to be passed along to you is based on .85 * the PR of the listing page divided by ALL outgoing links on that page, including internal navigation links.

Bottom line: Links from directories aren't necessarily worthless but be discerning in which ones you submit to. And in general niche directories will always be more useful than general directories.

Minstrel - you rock man! That's why I keep coming back here - your like a wealth of information. Thank so much for your very detailed reply my friend.

 

[freight guy]

I disagree, I have a domain that brought a few months ago and submitted to over 5000 directories, and found my site on the first page of google. So I personally think it works

 

[Mike_MoreNiche]

I disagree, I have a domain that brought a few months ago and submitted to over 5000 directories, and found my site on the first page of google. So I personally think it works

For what search term though, if its an uncompetitive search term you can rank on the first page of Google with little to no backlinks.

 

[PatriciaStewart]

I see some of the top ranking site use PR directories combined with blog network to get to the top on Google even in 2011.

 

[odreyf]

I have backlinks from some web directories but it seems they do not have value for my google ranking.

 

[djbaxter]

Depending on which directories you use, such links may help a bit but you're right - they don't carry a lot of weight.