Directories have been good sources of one-way links for a long time. It is a one of the easiest link building method especially for newer sites. But quality is still the name of the game. Some pointers in selecting the directories to submit to:
High PR - indication that Google sees some value in the directory.
Well maintained - listed sites are in the proper category
High Traffic - getting traffic could be minimal from directories, but majority are targeted
Kewords ranking high in SERP - Well optimized, shows that the directory is well-marketed and SEO'ed.
Which to avoid:
Link farms that pose as directories
Directories that require reciprocal links
Crappy ones with crappy sites listed
What are your thoughts? Care to add more pointers?
Link farms that pose as directories
What is a link farm? How can I tell if a directory is a link farm?
What is a link farm? How can I tell if a directory is a link farm?
From what I understand a link farm is a group of sites that link to each other to do nothing more than build their search engine ranking. One way (it is a lot of work) to identify them is to check their back links with Google.
A link farm is also where unrelated websites are listed - usually no categories, sections. FFA's (free for all) can also be considered as one...
Oh, I see. I've seen those kind of sites before but I didn't know that they had an official terminology.
Like so many things, this is not a black and white affair, but rather one that comes in many shades of gray. In fact, even within a directory you might find that all the "health" pages are indexed by Google and Yahoo, but only the very top business pages (and certainly not your subcategory) are indexed.
but only the very top business pages (and certainly not your subcategory) are indexed.
Wow, I have never noticed that.
All these developments and all the SEO techniques arises because of the desire to rank high on Google search by finding a backdoor entry. It is quite disgusting to see so much resources wasted to just rank high through manipulative means rather than improving the contents through the honest way. A very sad reflection of business ethics!
It is quite ing to see so much resources wasted to just rank high through manipulative means rather than improving the contents through the honest way. A very sad reflection of business ethics!
Yes, marketing is unethical. Why is it that we can't just be good and earn money being good? Why do we have to let people know we are good? Why do we have to get our name in front of people? If we are good, they should [/quote].
Why is it that we can't just be good and earn money being good? Why do we have to let people know we are good? Why do we have to get our name in front of people?
Because they won't have an idea that we (our business whatever that is) exist if we don't promote ourselves and show testimonials.
I agree that it is unethical in some cases though.
I am just curious; my post above (post #8 in this thread) originally contain the word "disgusting" and now it has been replaced by a icon.
Is "disgusting" a taboo word?
I give up!
I am just curious; my post above (post #8 in this thread) originally contain the word "disgusting" and now it has been replaced by a icon.
Is "disgusting" a taboo word?
I give up!
That is interesting. I had to hit the reply button to see what the word you typed was but its not a bad word.
Yeah, I checked it too and it's not a bad word. Perhaps Phiber should fix this. Maybe I'll send him a PM to let him know about this bug/glitch.
I am just curious; my post above (post #8 in this thread) originally contain the word "disgusting" and now it has been replaced by a icon.
Is "disgusting" a taboo word?
I give up!
Sorry guys. Looks like it was a problem with the smilies pack I imported. It has been fixed.
Great to see a lot of replies on this thread
Its been a while since I last checked on it.