7 Tips to Significantly Improve Your Directory Link Building
Posted in SEO Tips | By AhTim @ January 22nd, 2010
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Directories are almost as old as the Web, and have been used with varying success for link building by Web site owners and SEO firms for years. Here are some tips to keep you from wasting your money and improve your site’s SEO.
#1 – Only join paid directories that charge for review, not inclusion
When you are deciding which directories to join, check out their terms of service. If they explicitly say that they do not guarantee the inclusion of your site or give a refund if it is rejected, then the site is one that is worth joining.
In Google’s eyes, if a directory’s revenue stream is not dependent on every site that is submitted being included; they are more likely to be selective about which sites actually make it into their directory. Therefore, the directory is trustworthy and PageRank can be passed from its links.
#2 – Check for nofollow in their page links
Make sure that the directory is not trying to hog all of its PageRank and is not using rel=nofollow in outbound links. Believe it or not, many directories do use nofollow and you could be buying a link that is worthless for SEO.
Also, check the head section of the Web site to make sure that a “robots” meta tag is not included that says “nofollow.” Some directories may use redirects for tracking purposes; verify that they are SEO friendly with a 301 redirect checker.
#3 – Check the cache date
Sites that are important to Google are crawled regularly. Seeing how often a site is cached can give you an idea of how regularly Google crawls and indexes the directory.
Do a search in Google for the name of the directory, look for the link under the listing that says “cached.” If the directory has not been cached in more than a month, something is wrong, and you should probably spend your money somewhere else.
#4 – Track the indexation rate
This takes time, but is very effective and is one of the strongest indicators of which directories are the best.
Do a search in Google to see how many pages Google has indexed for a directory. In the top right hand corner, you will see how many pages are indexed from the site. This is a search for botw.org:
Results 1 – 10 of about 8,790,000 from botw.org
Botw.org has 8,790,000 indexed pages.
I take this data and enter it into a spreadsheet. In a month, I will do the search again to see how many pages are now indexed. If the number of pages indexed decreases, I will not join the directory. It would indicate Google is dropping their pages, and my link would not even count.
#5 – Check site authority
Although many people look at the PageRank that Google provides in the little green bar, it has been long known that Google does not reveal a site’s true PageRank. So don’t just rely on PR to determine authority.
My favorite authority metric is backlinks. The more backlinks a directory has, the more valuable a link from the directory is going to be. You can use Yahoo!’s site explorer to see backlinks. Alexa ranking and domain age are also good indicators of a directory’s authority.
#6 – Build directory links slowly
Don’t join 100 directories in a month. For a new site, I may join five directories the first month, seven the second month, and ten the third month. Slowly build up over time, so that your inbound links appear more natural.
#7 – Find directories that allow deep links
One of the problems with directory link building is that most directories only allow links to the home page. By finding directories that allow deep linking to your site, you can help ensure that subpages are getting their share of link authority.
Link building with directories can be very effective if time is taken to ensure that you only join quality directories. Over time, the PageRank built up from a few directories can be powerful and help you reach your SEO goals.
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Atlanta SEO Consultant (Jason Capshaw) helps small businesses leverage searches to increase their profitability and brand awareness. You are welcome to Guest Blog here – Contact me.
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Tags: cache date, directory link, google index, link building, nofollow, seo directory, website authority
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 PM
hey, nice info
i agree with tips no 6, once i join to many directory, and i sandboxed by google
May 12th, 2010 at 3:12 PM
Hey really excellent post, i have one doubt, once placed our site link to popular directories, whether is this possible to remove that links?
June 20th, 2010 at 12:27 AM
Very useful tips. Especially for new bloggers like me. Thank you.
October 14th, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Number 2 on the list really struck me. I hadn’t even considered that these directory submissions may go to nofollow pages.