Forum Moderators: martinibuster
page 5 has 12 links to several different directories...
-non-branded directory one
-non-branded directory two
-non-branded directory three...
...etc., etc...
These links have 2 urls attached to them, basically giving the site two incoming links.
Are these lame directory sites hurting my site?
[edited by: sugarrae at 10:43 pm (utc) on Nov. 8, 2006]
[edit reason] removed specifics per TOS [/edit]
1: Links that no longer reciprocate
2: Links to sites that reciprocate on PR zero pages (they're scamming you)
3: Links to sites that are irrelevant to yours
4: Links to sites that have poor content
You may find that after pulling out the weeds you will have respectable link partners, and hopefully they'll all fit on one page.
From there, if you still feel uncomfortable with having a link directory you could always link to them from within an article or create a sidebar on a relevant page and call it Related Sites but that's kind of extreme and may not be necessary.
The directories are relative to my site, which deals with Widget software, but i just dont get a good feel from them....
plus i heard there are only really 3 top notch directories that i need to worry about...
DMOZ, Google and Yahoo?
[edited by: martinibuster at 11:39 pm (utc) on Nov. 9, 2006]
[edit reason] Removed specifics. [/edit]
i see a reciprocal link on my site that is pointed towards a site that deals with Data Backups and Restoring....
its computer related, but not really accounting software related.
My link is on a PR3 page.
So what would you all do?
I know that "nakugoyal" said to dump reciprocal linking all togehter....but....
[edited by: martinibuster at 11:40 pm (utc) on Nov. 9, 2006]
[edit reason] Removed Specifics. [/edit]
Linking to irrelevant sites in high volume is considered abusive in my opinion. Avoid doing that and relevant link exchange is a beneficial method of acquiring links.
We have clients who have directories of useful links.. some of those links are reciprocated, some are not. Their rankings are fine and dandy.
I see no indicators that placing links on one page or in a categorized style directory pages has any affect one way or another. Google's guidelines do specifically state "Keep the links on a given page to a reasonable number". In light of this guideline, I see no reason why links cannot be categorized in a directory format if the categorization is relevant and benefits the end user.
If a quality site that helps your own users learn more about your product or service is willing to link to you if you will link to them, get the link! Don't worry about the PR of the page where the link is placed, or if the link is displayed on one page or in a categorized directory. GET THE LINK when it's relevant and beneficial for your end users. Ignore or politely deny irrelevant link exchange requests.
Relevant link exchange when conducted responsibly for the end user is an acceptable low cost method of generating traffic without having to worry about issues such as the cost of the link or click fraud.
I would also add that link exchange is not the only beneficial way to obtain links, its just one method.. buying links (when relevant for the end user) is also beneficial and typically cost effective.
when i took over this site...i had 6 full pages of reciprocal links.
probobly over 200 links, or so...
my first look, and i wiped out about 50 of them...becuase i could see they were crap.
then i found some that didnt even work anymore, and some that didnt have us reciprocated.
that took me down to about 100.
today i went through and removed that ones that had us on a PR0 page, or was too difficult to find.
Now im down to about 23, and of those 23 18 of them are direct resellers of our software, or business partners, and the others have us on a PR3 or higher page...
should i now start from where i am at and build a more concise, relevant list...?
am in on the right track now?
A great example of a links page, even though it's not used for recips, is seomoz's recommended providers list. Something like that is of value to you visitors.
Now if I was going to be doing something a little more gay hat I would actually link from within content pages in my website. Find places where you can link to these people on various pages of your site, max one link per page. Make them blend in with your content, or even be links from within your content. Try to find relevant pages to link to also, which is not always the homepage.
A Partners page is an oldie but goodie and in fact is a good way to view your link partners, as partners. Corporate sites rarely utilize reciprocal link strategies to promote themselves. They do however feature Partner pages, the intent of which is to validate the site by showing all the classy companies they are partners with. So if you're linking to prestigious companies as partners, or companies that reflect well on your company, you may want to keep those in a partners page.
18 of them are direct resellers of our software...
Getting back to the resellers, here is where you need to put on your strategic thinking cap. Resellers are a great way to dominate the SERPs for your important keyword phrases. It is immensely satisfying to input your keyword phrases and see one or two positions held by your company, and three or four more positions held by your allies. That's up to six positions out of ten belonging to your product. :)
In order to do that however, you may very likely have to dissasociate your site from your resellers by not linking out to them at all. They're on their own to cultivate their own backlinks, but the results,if they are successful, will be very pleasant for you.
i was skeptical from the start when i saw a link to a "trash magainze" site, similar to the Enquirer....!
so yes, i killed alot of the links just becuase they didnt seem like they were doing anything to help.
Now, to my resellers. There are some of them who have links to us, and some that dont. They just wont, becuase either a. they dont know how, b. they dont think on those terms, c. they are just out for themselves. It is corporate policy that we keep them up just becuase they are resellers...... and belive me, some of the pages are pure Garbage..! my hands are tied on that issue...
now, im sure i could go out there get these bull**** reciprocal links at a rate of 20 per day if i wanted to...but i dont, as you can see....
what is my best strategy to getting decent, proper, relative content, related sites?
again, im in the "Widget Sofware" keyword group....not an easy realm to just start throwing our name around. There are some big boys im playing with in that game.....
do i just send an email? Call....offer them something....this is still pretty new to me.
any pointers would be appreciated....
[edited by: martinibuster at 11:39 pm (utc) on Nov. 9, 2006]
[edit reason] Removed specifics for a better discussion. [/edit]
Most of your link strategy can be summarized as this:
Get your software reviewed by industry associations and online magazines and get the links. Download.com and similar sites offer links. Cultivate links wherever your clients gather.
Think of WHERE your clients are:
Think of WHO your clients are. Strategize to meet them there...
That's it in a nutshell.
