Using directories to boost your site

by Sapphire (November 21, 2005)

I’ve been cleaning up links in my directories, and I think it’s only fair to mention something I’ve started deleting: sites that have add-on directories with tons of irrelevant links.

There’s been a lot of advice floating around about how it’s good to toss a directory onto your site to boost it in the SERP’s. The problem is, people are putting general directories on sites that have a very specific audience. This means you’ve got irrelevant outbound links like crazy, and that’s something the SE’s can hold against you.

Your potential link partners may also know this. I just learned it.

So, for example, today I found in one of my directories a site selling a specific product. They had a general directory listing everything from astrology to clothes to travel sites. Even though they didn’t have any pharm or gambling or porn sites, I deleted them. It’s just too many irrelevant outbounds.

On the other hand, I had a couple of jewelry sites with directories listing nothing but other jewelry sites. Those are cool. Another couple had very relevant links in their directory, plus a section for “others” which appeared to be a carefully screened list of directories and other partners. I think that’s okay, as long as the main focus is on the ones relevant to your site.

I know we’re all trying to do anything we can to get our sites spidered, but some SEO tricks are more harm than help when you don’t do them just right. So that’s my suggestion - stick to relevant links for your outbounds, and don’t go nuts handing out billions of them.

Posted in Traffic
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