Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Directory Submission
-
Is it worth of submitting our company website in directories mentioned on http://www.directorycritic.com/free-directory-list.html?sort=pr&pg=
-
NO
-
Hi Ravi,
As already echoed above, I would avoid these now. There is a bigger risk now than there was when that was first produced.
Link-building (link acquisition)now needs to be focusing on having link-worth assets and sharing these with those who would be interested.
I always use BuzzSumo as an example here, because you are able to see what is being shared in your niche, who shared it (great for outreach) and then even if it has lead to any backlinks. It's these sites that linked that you can also contact.
I would suggest looking at great content that has been shared, and try and make something better. You would be surprised what can come from this.
-Andy
-
Hi there
For my vote, I say no.
The best way to assess potential backlinks are to ask the following questions:
-
Does this link help my website?
-
Does it send quality traffic?
-
Is this link relevant to my website?
-
Would I trust this site (that's linking to me) if I landed on it?
-
Is the website or content in which I am being linked from topically relevant to my website?
-
If you check metrics - does anything about the metrics (domain authority, page authority,Majestic, SEMRush traffic/ranking data, etc) make me feel uneasy?
-
Are the links from directory templates? (example)
-
Inspect URLs with blatant spam words
-
Free
-
Porn
-
XXX
-
Submit
-
Directory
-
Paid
-
Links
-
URL
-
Sex
-
etc.
-
Check for multiple domains and URLs on the same IPs
-
This can usually show link farms or spam
-
Don't be quick to discount nofollow links - nofollow's do provide value, so as long as they pass your sniff test, don't remove them simply because of this tag
If you have to question a link or if it's worth obtaining, it's probably not worth obtaining in the first link. It's hard to explain, but a good link is something you just know is valuable when you see it, or one that you know is relevant enough to your website and fits perfectly in the content that it's linking from.
Directories like those you linked to here are only built for the reason of gaming the search engines and build mass amounts of links as quickly as possible. Google, and other search engines, understand this and are actively putting a stop to it and deranking sites with backlink profiles that contain fair amounts of these links.
My vote - avoid them - and acquire links naturally, it will benefit you so much more in the long run.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
-
-
No is the short answer.
Below is a great article detailing the dangers of directories.
https://moz.com/blog/web-directory-submission-danger
If you want a great contemporary webinar on link building. This came out two days ago on the 18 June from the guys at page one power. I like to break up the reading with a webinar every now and then!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n39BPLmMiY4
Hope this helps.
-
Generally people seem to be avoiding directories as they can be spammy and thin on content. I have had problems with getting huge numbers of no follow links from them. I would say avoid.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Do You Risk A Penalty From Local Paid Directories in 2022?
Hi there, I have a client who wants to advertise in a local directory along the lines of "find your nearest plumber". The directory only has paid listings and they are follow links and they also mention your site or generated landing page may get a nice bump on google. Is there a risk that they may get a penalty for using this directory? The client wants to use it regardless of if it gives them an SEO boost but obviously wants to avoid any penalties at all costs. Thoughts on this? Thanks in advance
Link Building | | Scottlinklater0 -
Central Index Directories
Hi all, I'm based in the UK and i'm looking to submit to a several directories under the central index umbrella, for example to these directories: http://findit.chad.co.uk/ http://directory.nottinghampost.com http://directory.burtonmail.co.uk/ I've filled my profile out and have submitted to one of the above directories, however when I sign in to one of the other directories it asks me to re-fill out all my details. Is there not a way i can submit to several of these directories by signing in without confirming my telephone number for each one ? Many Thanks in advance Paco
Link Building | | paco87230 -
DMOZ Directory Impact on Rankings
For about 5-10 years ago many SEOers said that it is in particular important to be in Dmoz. What about nowadays?
Link Building | | kitoks
Moreover is it still working and accepting new projects. I suggested several of my projects but no news from them0 -
Are directories still a valid practice? If so what are some of your favorite and most authoritative directories?
After combing over several competitor sites I have found many if not the majority of their links are from directories. I am curious to know if individuals/companies/seos etc. still use directories, if so what are some of the favorites?
Link Building | | Firestarter-SEO1 -
Paid Directory - Whitehat or Blackhat?
Dear community, Just a quick question: Would you consider a directory as this one whitehat or blackhat SEO? http://mixyellowpages.com/cncat_add.php You can add link to 50 web directories. - No reciprocal link. - 100% approved within 48 hours. - Do follow link. - Get one way link from quality sites. - Pay only $ 15 No monthly fee. Our SEO-agency is using these kinds of directories, so I just wanted to make sure, that this is a) Whitehat-SEO and b) will not harm our rankings. Thanks,
Link Building | | rmvw
David0 -
Mass article submission
I'm quite new to SEO and initially I was learning from the wrong sources who suggested to submit content to as many article directories as possible and the same with website submission to other web directories. Most of the directories they had suggested were low quality, with the only quality ones being made for a niche, which was not my websites niche. They also recommended other bad on-page techniques such as spinning/scraping other websites content - not that I followed this method anyway. Anyway, after educating myself more on how SEO and the search engines themselves work, I know that this is not the best practice. My website initially benefited from having all of these links but now has dropped off ranking for the keyword entirely. It still ranks on the front page for other long tail keywords and the actual domain name, but not the primary keywords. I'm worried that Google has in some way blacklisted my website for the main keywords, which were also used in all of these articles, but not the others if that's possible. At the moment I'm restructuring my website by increasing the amount of content and especially the quality of content so that I can submit it to better directories such as DMOZ and other niche specific directories and websites. Will Google look past the links from the low quality directories if my website is included in DMOZ and other high quality, niche specific directories? Is it better to just abandon my current website and start fresh? Thanks for any answers and/or advice in advance.
Link Building | | Max_powers0 -
DMOZ submission
Has anyone had any experience submitting to DMOZ and waiting times. The category i've submitted to has only a few links (http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/London/Westminster/Arts_and_Entertainment/) Yet I submitted the site (www.capitalalist.com) over a month ago! Can anyone give examples of waiting times, or a way to perhaps get some feedback from DMOZ? Thanks in advance as always...
Link Building | | AdenBrands0 -
Which Directory Sites to Choose?
Hi All I am a newbie to SEO and have a quick Q. Assuming that appropriate steps would be to; a) Ensure all onsite matters are are correct, title tags, meta descriptions, redirects, canonical issues. b) Submit to Directories c) Build Links I am approaching step b) Which Directories are worth submitting to? For those which require payment, how can I decide which are value for money or should I just use SEOMOZ list of links and assume that theyre worth the $50 - $100 if my higher ranking competitors have links from these directories. Also, can this be looked opon as grey/black hat 'buying of links'? Thank you Sean www.pretavoir.co.uk
Link Building | | seanmccauley0