February 7, 2008 Comments (27)
Once upon a time directories provided value to webmasters who were either looking to get new sites indexed or increase their site's link popularity or both. Now I am seeing a trend where directories are not
as helpful in these two areas as they once were. Add to that the rising costs of submission fees and it is easy to see why the small business owner should approach directory submissions very carefully.
I have always been a fan of directories and have used directory inclusion as a strategy to help build link popularity, especially for new sites. However, in the last eight months or so, I have seen many
directory pages in which we have listings on become all but useless. They don't pass any link popularity and they drive zero traffic. If inclusion in the directory is free that is one thing, but if you are paying a fee, you better make sure that you are going to get some value out of your investment.
We did this most recently when our Business.com listing came up for renewal.
My initial thinking was that we really didn't need the listing to help our site's link popularity as we have plenty of links coming in
from all over the place. The link resides on a page that has a Google PageRank of 4 which is decent. However, there are 202 outbound links we are sharing that "link juice" with. What did make us decide to renew
the listing at a cost of $149 annually was the fact that Business.com was actually sending us traffic from that page - not a huge amount of traffic, but traffic all the same.
Reasons Why Directories Hold No Value
Here are some of the main reasons why gaining inclusion in "certain" directories will not benefit you in any way.
Finding Value in Directories
Now, I am not saying that all directories are useless. What I am saying is that one should do due diligence to make sure they are getting some kind of value by listing their site in a directory, especially if they are
paying for it. Here are some things to look for when deciding on whether to list your site in a specific directory or not.
1. Are Category Pages Indexed?
To be more specific, is the category page you wish to be listed in indexed in Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask? There is a neat little tool that we use to check as to whether an interior
category page is indexed in Google. It is called Link Exchange Tool and is part of a set of SEO tools in a piece of software called
SEO Administrator. Besides showing whether a page is indexed in Google or not, it also reveals the following - whether the link is present, the anchor text that is
used in the link, the PageRank of the page, whether they are using the nofollow attribute or not and whether the page is being excluded via the robots.txt file.
If the category page that you wish to be listed in is not indexed in Google or other search engines, then the page has no power to improve your site's link popularity. Because Google does not know about it, it
cannot recognize that it is linking to you.
2. How Many Sites Are You Sharing the Link Juice Wealth With?
In most cases, an interior directory category page will contain ten listings - maybe twenty at the most. In our Business.com example above, there are 203 links which means all the "link juice wealth"
is
being divided among all those sites. This is likened to one person winning a million dollar lottery as opposed to several people going in on a ticket. The one keeps all the winnings whereas in the second
example, they have to divide the winnings up among themselves. Our decision to keep the Business.com link active was not based on the page's ability to help our link popularity but rather because we were
getting some traffic.
3. Does the Directory Add the NOFOLLOW Attribute To Its Listings?
If you are submitting to a directory to help improve your site's link popularity and they are adding the nofollow attribute to outgoing links, it is not going to help you. Unless you are expecting to get some
traffic from the directory, avoid it.
There is a Firefox extension called
SearchStatus that will allow you to see whether links on a page are nofollowed or not. When activated, the "highlight nofollow links" option will do just that -
highlight nofollowed links with a colored outline on the pages you are viewing.
4. Will the Directory Send You Any Traffic?
In my experience, most directories that are of a general nature do not send any significant amount of traffic. This is due to the fact that very few people actually use them. A couple of exceptions might be
Business.com and Yahoo! Directory.
Now, I have seen niche directories send traffic. A couple examples of niche directories are The Arizona Builders' Zone whose niche is the Arizona construction and home improvement industry and
AnthemLocal whose niche is businesses and resources in the community of Anthem, Arizona. Directories such as these can send decent amounts of traffic simply due to the
fact that their category pages have such good visibility in the results pages of search engines. People search for a specific company or type of business, find a category page from a niche directory, and then
visit the sites that are listed within that category. So, if you can find a directory that caters to your specific niche, by all means include it in your submission strategy.
The trick is trying to pre-determine if a directory is going to send you any traffic. Many times it is difficult to gauge prior to actually getting listed and then watching your log files for activity from
that directory. You might look at the Alexa and Compete rankings for the directory to get some idea of how popular they are, but even
then these two ranking systems are not completely accurate. They only provide a
small indication of how popular a site is or not. The cases where you would really want to evaluate the value of a directory's ability to send you traffic is with those that require annual fees such as Business.com,
Yahoo Directory, Best of the Web and others.
In summary, it is best to look before you leap. Mass submitting to directories adds little value these days to a search marketing campaign. Directory submission strategies have become more like mining for gold.
Yes, there are some nuggets out there but you have to look hard for them. By applying the principles mentioned above, you'll have a better chance of getting value out of the directories you submit to.
I think directory submissions are one of the biggest rip-offs in SEO.
I don't know if I'd go as far as to call them rip offs. Directory fees to help to compensate the time of the editors who have to review and approve submissions. I would just say that some directory inclusions aren't that valuable and one should conduct some research to ensure they will get some value out of it.
I'm not sure anyone really thinks directories have any great relevance these days. They have been far surpassed by link baiting and social media as effective link building tactics.
Directory submissions would be my last traffic/link building tactic. I might do it if I have time, but onyl if I;ve exhausted other options.
I hit some of the more obvious ones when I launch a new site, but it's really more habit than anything else now. I haven't even seen them mentioned in ages. I wouldn't pay, but so long as they are free, it's certainly worth a shot.
Thanks for these well put points.
I think the real basis of the whole article can be summed up simply by saying: "Look for quality links."
As you said before, it's not a case of gaining link popularity all the time, sometimes you can actually gain traffic from the link - which is what Google keep punting - if it is a good quality link, it's well worth it.
As you have listed above, there is no point in submitting to directories that aren't indexed, that don't send traffic or that have the NOFOLLOW on everything. The point is that you need to have a strategy and work with that. Sometimes you want the "link juice" other times the traffic.
I am a big fan of using directories with new sites, often you can link to specific deep pages and this helps index the whole site that much quicker.
One thing you must bear in mind is that one of the biggest stories of 2007 was Google's mission to crack down on paid links. Directory sites are going to be among the first to take a hit.
Nonetheless, there's still some value here and there--in the short run--and this is a good site which presumably uses a lot of the same judgment criteria mentioned above:
Very nice article David! I think webmasters are going to find that long established directories are still offering value in most of their topics and are continually working to get more and deeper topics cached.
One directory I am affiliated with has 1.9 million cached pages in Google and over 6 million in Yahoo but it has taken years of work to get it to this point.
The advice you gave regarding what to look for in a directory is very sound advice and basically what I have recommended for quite some time.
There are also a lot of scams and fraud related to directories and directory submission services roving the internet that inexperienced webmasters need to be aware of and watch out for.
Interesting post. It seems that a lot of directories are just paid directories and don't hold any merit. I'm going to just stick with the old DMOZ and Yahoo.
I continue to use directories as long as the directory provides a good quality link or traffic. I don't believe they should be dismissed completely as a reaction to Google's devaluation of pages with paid links. There good directories available for link building as well as for traffic.
I think there are good and bad directories out just like anything else. It takes time to find reputable ones.
And also for the purpose you're using them for traffic or seo.
I remember when directories actually made a good impact on SEO results... but I do agree with everything you said in this post. Now, they are of little value, unless they are niche directories. Most of my colleagues like DMOZ and Yahoo as well.
Great job on linkbaiting your Arizona directories.
I don't agree to the fact that Directory Submission has come to an end.
Not all directories are being slammed by Google and not all directories are of poor quality. There are directories which still hold good reputation and do not charge annually making the submitter think whether to renew or not.
So, there are still directories which help in SEO.
I couldn't agree more that mass submission is a complete waste of time as at least 98% of them do nothing except stroke the ego of their respective owners. But this shouldn't be seen as universal, as there are indeed a few diamonds in the rough out there that will if not now then later provide v.f.m. (Value for money).
The one good thing about the self implosion of the directory scene as it stands is it made companies like mine stand up and take stock of what is needed, and without linkbaiting we've decided the only way to win back SEO experts approval and confidence is to basically rebuild from the ground up learning on others mistakes.
Directories aren't dead, they are just in a cocoon period where only the strongest will come through this rebirth.
Thanks for the great info!
I've been wavering about paying for directory listings...and the dmoz is a tough nut to crack (I know people who've waited for years and still no listing on open directory...multiple attempts apparently get you black listed).
I was worried that a lack of major directory listings would hurt seo...I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone in questioning the current value of the directories.
I run a directory site which is doing the exact opposite for many of the issues raised in the article and in the comments.
Businesses subscribing have gone from page 15 in Google to page 1 for their key words in 3 weeks
In a majority of cases their directory link is higher than their own site
We offer more than just a listing in a directory ... they can promote their products/services in three ways in our associated sites which is also emailed out to our site members (including our directory members)
The thing to remember is that we are a directory mentioned in 4. in a very tight niche which would be a sub/sub category of a Yahoo et al directory.
So don't discount directories per se ... just get into a niche directory
I believe web marketing as such is changing from being SEO driven to new concepts like social networking, local search, video marketing, and so on. To that extent, the usefulness of directories has certainly diminished because it was thought as more necessary as part of classic SEO methods.
By giving the examples of Arizona directories, David has clearly put the focus on localized niche directories, which is what is going to be the future. Search engines’ increasing thrust on local search, mobile search, GIS based information, etc are all indicative of that trend.
One can take the cue from search engines, because it is they who know the best. They have the constant stream of search data, and the way they are changing clearly indicates that the search patterns are also changing.
Thanks, for the useful information. I have suspected this for a long time.
This was very helpful information. We are a relatively new company, and we've been debating whether it's worth the money to get listed in directories. Thanks for your thoughts, they have definitely helped us in our decision making process!
Business.com used to be a valuable directory for SEO purposes not only because it was well regarded by the search engines due to strict editorial standards subject to human review, but also because it allowed multiple links deeper into your site.
Now every paid directory listing is marked "paid" and the links may as well be "nofollows" as they are redirected through an app on business.com's servers.
Yea I've been wondering this myself as I look at the high prices for business.com and best of the web.
Some the pages that you're paying to get onto aren't even indexed....
Good article. Thanks.
Definitely....Directory submission have a large importance in SEO....It is a informative article !!!
They are a rip off. You are much better off using social news sites like www.digg.com, www.reddit.com or www.subbmitt.com to post comments and promote yourself when you can. Obviously don't spam, but there are plenty of ways to promote legitimately like writing your own articles.
Reddit & Subbmitt allow you to post full articles directly on their site or you can just link from your website or blog.
Thanks for your thoughts, they have definitely helped us in our decision making process! good ideas
Great article though probably too much information. To summarize:
Don't buy links, use only what's free. The main reason is not the money but the fact that Google 'punished' sites that have paid links since it's like trying to cheat the bots. Any worthwhile directory would list your site for free and the few months delay is not an issue since too many new links to your site is also considered bad by Google... Enjoy :)
I would have to disagree solely because I have a few very niche sites that rely only on the links from these free directories. They're ranking quite well for their niche and I feel if directory submissions are done properly targeting a small niche, you can still be successful. I use a submission service like Directory Maximizer to have the site submitted for me and while it would not make sense to display my url so as to attract attention in the niche, one could try it out for themselves to see if it works. Having said that, directories dont work for high competing terms or they may but you'll need a lot of other links as well.
Content management systems were initially developed internally at organizations which were doing a lot of content publishing. In 1995, CNET spun out its internal development offerings into a separate company called Vignette. The company started offering the software as a web-based content management system, allowing sites to create templates of the presentation of their content on the web. In 1998 , Pencom Web Works, a consulting company, introduced the Metaphoria Data Transformation Server, allowing Java developers to write applications that would be tied with content and target the content output to different channels. The product failed but the concepts that were introduced by it made their way into most modern systems. The term Content Management System (CMS) was first synonymous with a UK company called Site kit, who exhibited their 'instant web publishing' (latterly CMS) at Cebit in Germany. The term was originally intended for web site publishing systems and web site management systems, however the term is now used to refer to a vast range of technologies and techniques, including portal systems, wiki systems and web based groupware.
There are several recognized types of content management systems:
* Web content management systems assist in automating various aspects of web publishing, such as wikis.
* Transactional content management systems (T-CMS) assist in managing e-commerce transactions.
* Integrated content management systems (I-CMS) assist in managing enterprise documents and content.
* Publications management systems (P-CMS) assist in managing the publications (manuals, books, help, guidelines, references) content life cycle.
* Learning management systems (L-CMS) assist in managing the web-based learning content life cycle. See also managed learning environment.
* Document imaging systems are also generally considered under the family of general content management.
* Enterprise content management systems (E-CMS) vary in their functionality. Some support both the web and publications content life cycle, while others support the web content life cycle and either transactional content or customer relationship management content. The definition of AIIM for ECM includes methods and tools that "capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver" content across an enterprise. "Manage" contains components like document management, collaboration, business process management, records management, email management, workflow and web content management. The ECM concept is not restricted to web based technologies but includes client/server and hosted/ On-demand solutions. - web designer, web design company
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 David Wallace is CEO and founder of SearchRank, an original search engine optimization and marketing firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is experienced in search engine optimization and marketing, pay per click and pay for inclusion management, directory submissions and web site design usability. David is a frequent contributor to various search engine related forums, an active editor of popular directories such as GoGuides.org, Joe Ant and Zeal and has had several articles published on industry related sites. Since 1997, David along with his company have helped hundreds of businesses both large and small increase their search engine visibility and customer acquisitions. |
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