mhansen - 2:09 pm on Jul 4, 2012 (gmt 0)

This is the problem Google has created... Why do anything specifically to appease Google? If the links are beneficial to the site and visitors, why change them?

Are the directories relevant? Do they get clicks from the directory visitors? If so, I would leave them in place. That's like penalizing a B&M business for having yellow page listings!

Are the old domains relevant to the business? Are they former domains they used to operate? Why remove the 301's? What service are you doing for actual visitors who bookmarked that old .com address if you just leave them in dead-space?

On the other hand... if these links were created specifically to game search results, then the warning in WMT is probably a good reflection of the truth.

directory links are a big NO NO in recent google algo

I disagree. If the directories are relevant and moderated, they may not carry much weight, but I haven't seen them hurt either. If they are FFA (free for all) directories, that's another story. From what we see, relevance and a editorial process is what matters.