How many Directory Links Do You Need?

[Joelt]

We all know the importance of getting quality links.
I just spent the day adding one of my sites to free directories with a decent Page Rank. Does each directory link add value to your link campaign? Do search engines count directories as quality links. Is it necessary to get as many links to directories as you can?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Joelt

[DVDsPlusMore]

We all know the importance of getting quality links.
I just spent the day adding one of my sites to free directories with a decent Page Rank. Does each directory link add value to your link campaign? Do search engines count directories as quality links. Is it necessary to get as many links to directories as you can?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Joelt

Great question. I just went through a similar exercise a few weeks ago and can share my experience. From what I have seen and learned, not all directories are of equal value (by a long stretch).

First, some will take your listing and yet never list you or provide feedback. A black hole of effort, if you will, or perhaps a mechanism for collecting email addresses? (Hint: create a dedicated email address for this effort).

Others will list you, but veil your link behind a script that does not share any ranking. You might get some traffic, but it doesn't help your ranking within Google. Others will use tags to discourage search engines from following links (like yours) found on the page.

Still others will insist on a reciprocal link. While fair in concept, it feels risky to me since Google frowns on exchanges where there's little/no value to your user. Your mileage may vary :-)

My best listings have come from scouring this site -- http://www.isedb.com/html/Web_Directories/ They have a great list and allow feedback from happy and unhappy webmasters. I also had good luck here -- http://www.webproworld.com/viewforum.php?f=34 Many directory owners post here so there's good accountability.

Good luck! You are trying something that requires effort but can/will work to a certain extent. Don't lose sight of the other things you should be doing -- this is just one approach amongst many.

Best,

James @ DVDsPlusMore

[sfowler]

If they want money, forget them! If they want a reciprocal link, give it to them, but check if their link shows up. If not, dump them after a suitable period of time.

[howabout]

Here here to James's comment. This is just a small part of what you need to be doing. Don't get too caught up in it all.

[greeneagle]

howabout,

I agree, I have never run a linking program on one of my Sites, yet I get several Google Alerts a week that indicate they have recognized new links that are being picked up organically.

Ken

[mgillis]

I've had both success and nada from directory listings.

I am employed in 2 ways currently.

The primary employment is for a software company. When we launched the new product, new website, whole new marketing campaign, I scoured the web looking for ANY place to list/submit. The previous site was not optimized in any way and was literally a blank page when it came to the engines. It helped a bit to get started, but not substantially, and there is a huge gap between the number of directories that we are listed in and the number that drive traffic. What drives traffic to this site is the marketing alliance that we are creating with like-minded companies, major search engine results and PPC programs.

The secondary employment is helping small businesses (usually family or independantly run) optimize their simple pages for search in certain areas. Here is where directory listings help most, but I am extremely picky in where I put these companies. I look for places that specialize in what they are offering, I look for regional directories as most of these companies only offer their services within a certain area. So far I've gotten and kept all of these companies on page one of the majors without ever submitting to the majors.

Basically, in my experience blindly or mass-submitting to the many directories out there really isn't helping. One targeted listing is worth 20 blind submits.

Good luck!

[cbp]

How many links do you need from Directories?...

If you want to rank higher than Google for the search term 'search engine', you will never have enough.

If you want to rank higher than the local 'mom & pop' store for a non-competitve term, then a couple of links should be enough.

CBP

[sfowler]

A lot of them are Java, or otherwise worthless. I am trying to get a list together of the links that work. They cost nothing but a few minutes of your time.

[OneMoreBite]

I don't know if there is a "rule" as to how many directories is best. The important places are obvious, such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Dmoz is nice, if you can get them to look at you. ;-)

The best way to get noticed by the search engines is to write and post articles in your subject at places like http://www.ezinearticles.com

Kathryn

[Joelt]

Thanks for the feedback. What about directories with a PR of 6 or more. Wouldn't search engines's see that as a back-link from a high ranked site? Or do they differentiate regular sites from directories?