Forum Moderators: martinibuster
You really have to do your homework on these things. The general mood at the moment is that, with a few exceptions, directories aren't worth it anymore.
Here's another question - you said earlier that manipulating the algo is frowned upon - isn't using keywords in anchor text manipulating the algo - and if so a bad policy for an above board webmaster to pursue?
Do you condone the use of keywords in anchor text for optimization purposes?
Manipulations through keywords in the anchor text is being battled in many ways, much of it through dampening the relevance of a page, and as some have suggested by looking at things like the title tag that's on the page giving out the link, to as far as graphing what is and is not normal activity in terms of anchor text.
If you ever see Matt Cutts talk, everything he usually says boils down to: Make your site spiderable, create content that is useful to users, use your keywords on the page and in the meta tags, let other webmasters know you are there so that they can link to you from their authoritative sites then create more content.
Pretty much anything else you do is going to be perceived as an attempt to manipulate the search engine.
Hope that makes sense.
Really, the whole SEO thing is full of paranoia and nitwitery. Google tells you in their own guidelines to submit to relevant directories. But you hear people spouting "no, directories are bad and may be perceived as algo manipulation.
Hey, ANYTHING you might do to promote your site could be perceived as algo manipulation, including:
1. legitimate advertising on other sites via text links.
2. legitimate advertising on other sites via banner graphics that use favorable alt text.
3. soliciting links from other sites.
4. submitting to directories (hmmm, isn't dmoz one of those directories that the admission to which will guarantee you hundreds of spammyass clone links---ergo, by other people's reasoning, then, a submission to dmoz would be "A-L-G-O MANIPULATION", right?)
5. using title tags that match h1 tags
6. yadda
7. yadda
Build your site the way you want to. And promote your site the way you want to. As long as you're not engaging in link farms and obvious link schemes, you shouldn't have a problem. If google penalized every site that simply tried to promote itself...well, then, I guess their search results would be as crappy as yahoo's.
To be honest there should be nothing wrong with linking to your homepage with the words Business - product.
However, in light of how the search engines are dropping sites and penalizing (or better yet as martini said - dampening) sites and pages, you are best off linking to your home page on your site with what is natural - home.
For sites linking to you, vary the keyword as much as possible, as well as the description use for your business.
So, using this logic, if a person has a site about dogs and has an article about dog training, they shouldn't create too many internal links to this article page with the phrase "dog training" because this could be perceived as algo manipulation...despite the fact that said article is about dog training
and the link anchor text is wholly valid.
Paranoia and nonsense.
If this was not the case, you could harm your competitor by joining your compeitor to a thousand directories.
Before making a statement about if an SEO technique may hurt you, first ask the question, can I use the same technique to hurt my competition. If the answer is 'yes', then you are safe to use it.
with a few exceptions, directories aren't worth it anymore
It's just a matter of finding the right ones, and then the results can be great. I built a new site recently and have added it to 4 different directories. The results have been quite good. The directories that I chose are not general, they are specific to the industry that my new site covers.
Of the 4 directories, I paid a 1-time fee for submission into one, the others were free. One of the 4 directories is one that I run, so it was free to me, but others, who want the kind of coverage that I gave myself, would have to pay.
The traffic from the paid submission one is off to a good start, but since it's only been a few days, it's a bit early in the game.
Traffic from my own directory to my new site has been strong from the start and got my new site instant visits from the major search engines.
I use many directories on a regular basis, and looking through them some of the most authoritative sites have "sponsored" listings (you know, the ones you pay for) on many of these directories. These are sites that, as long as I have know, have enjoyed top search engine rankings.
I'm a strong believer in the content is king principle, but the simple fact is it takes more than that to get anywhere.
Anyway, all i wanted to really say is that yes, I believe all legitimate directories are worth it. Peace out.
I believe all legitimate directories are worth it.
what do you feel are the attributes of a legitimate directory?
So, using this logic, if a person has a site about dogs and has an article about dog training, they shouldn't create too many internal links to this article page with the phrase "dog training" because this could be perceived as algo manipulation...despite the fact that said article is about dog training
and the link anchor text is wholly valid.
When done in the presence of spreading articles around the net for both traffic and for links, you couldn't be so wrong.
Try creating 1000 articles and send them around the net with the exact same anchor pointed at your index page and see for yourself.
Im not talking internal links.
what do you feel are the attributes of a legitimate directory?
I say that legitimate means that a site delivers what it promises to. It does not engage in fraud.
A directory is a form of advertising, and when it works what more could you ask for? The only way to know if a form of advertising will work for your business is to try it.
If you have good reasons to believe that your chances of success with a directory are too low, or the risks too high, then don't do it. It's a medium of advertising, that's all. Some ads work and some don't.
You might try asking what sort of results others in a particular directory have gotten, but it's hard to know whether the answers you get will be honest or not. If someone finds a great way to advertise, they may not want to announce that fact to their competitors.
what do you feel are the attributes of a legitimate directory?
I believe that by looking into the directory itself you could easily see the type of directory it is. A good directory is one where the owner has taken the time to properly structure the site, has made changes to the script so that it is unique and continues to develop categories for the purpose of relevancy.
The focus of the directory I believe should be to serve the consumers while providing what is necessary for webmasters. How does a directory serve consumers? The directory serves consumers by providing relevant listings within very specific categories and by listing good sites. As for webmasters the first goal for the directory should be to provide traffic to the sites listed, give it ample space for description, SE friendly pages and anything else that webmasters look for in a directory.
and anything else that webmasters look for in a directory.
unfortunately, often times that conflicts with providing users with the highest quality.
some webmasters get so focused on receiving their keyword-stuffed title and description, that they forget that those types of listings hurt the directory. other webmasters are obsessed with having their site placed in a category that is higher up in the directory structure, albeit less relevant.
directory owners that cater to whims of webasters are short-sighted. the key is to strike a balance between keeping the webmasters happy, while not sacrificing on the quality of the user experience.
Small directories are especially my favorite. They list you almost immediately if your website is worth it.
I have heard many people saying that their 15%-25% traffic comes from directories. It may not be much, but its always very targetted. This genuine traffic is a considerable amount and I guess worth the effort.
Ricky
