- Are inbound links still important?
I've found inbound links are still very important as well as good anchor text which describes different services/products you offer.
- Do I still link out to quality sites that don't link back or should I delete their links?
Linking to quality sites is also very important, besides the
SEO importance, your users sometimes base the credibility of your site on the partners and websites you send them to
- Do I use any "no follow" rules on outbound links?
I don't use any "no follow" commands on any outbound links, if the site is not worth following, I don't include a link on the page, although it can be useful it certain situations, esp blog entries.
- Will having target = _blank on outbound links be regarded as bad by google?
I'm not sure if this will be looked down on by Google, but some surfers find it aggrevating when all pages open into new browser, esp when you have multiple outgoing links. Most people include this in code to ensure user will not click off their site and not have at least one open browser including their web.
- Are directory links worth having?
I wonder if directory links have any real impact on SERP these days, look forward to additional insight into this questions. For now, I do not link from any paid directories and only post on free relevant local directories to my specific niche.