SEO Friendly Internet Directories
Are directories beneficial or obsolete? I remember the days when directories were the bomb! But then Google started penalizing directories that were selling links for the purpose of gaining PR and the bomb exploded!
The question now begs, are directories still beneficial? Or can they actually hurt us in our quest for PR?
In a nutshell and to get to the point, the answer is yes. The right directories are very beneficial, but they aren’t beneficial for the reasons that you might think.
When Google began holding the PR of directories hostage in order to force them to change – they unfortunately also hurt the web designer/SEO who submitted to these directories. I remember watching in horror as my PR droped due to affiliation.
Google has continued to drop the PR on most link sites. There are very few directories with PR on their link pages. Some try to use the rel=”nofollow” tag, but to no avail. When you top this off with the fact that Google has also penalized sites for getting involved in link trades and no longer places as much benefit on blog links, bookmarkings or forum links ~ one must ask, is Google trying to devalue PR? ~hint, hint, hint! Google is ranking information above product. In other words, Google is smiling with a big smile on information that visitors find relevant and useful versus product – which is simply who has the most links…
And it is in this that we find the answer to our question. If we need to provide information to our visitors that they will find useful. Forums and blogs that are “relevant and correlate with the subject” are a good bet for success with Google. Knowing this… we can also see how directories will greatly benefit us. But they have to be directories that are clean (SEO Friendly) or they will hurt us via affiliation.
So here is a list of 10 (SEO Friendly) Directories. The 10 listed directories are void of “nofollow” and void of links in frames. They are friendly in that they CURRENTLY allow googlebot to index the links easily. They are in no particular order.
1. DMOZ The Open Directory
http://www.dmoz.org
An authority link and its free. Having trouble getting submitted? Consider becoming an editor - if you have time! Hint… hint… hint… Don’t keep resubmitting your site, it only puts you at the end of the line. I used to be an editor close to a decade ago…
2. HOT vs. NOT
http://www.hotvsnot.com
High Page rank directory $60 for a year $200 for a permanent link.
3. YAHOO DIRECTORY
http://www.dir.yahoo.com
This is an authority link. Inclusion is free to non-profits, but can be slow.
4. LIST YOUR SITES
http://www.listyoursites.com
Take about 2 weeks to accept.
5. LIBRARIANS INTERNET INDEX
http://www.lii.org
Extremely high-quality free link ~ much coveted, on the same plane as the .edu link, but very difficult to get. Websites go through a major review. They won’t let commercial sites submit unless they are highly rich in informative content.
6. BEST OF THE WEB
http://botw.org/
Non-commercial sites – only get in Free. HIGH Google PR – making this one of the better directories.
7. AD TRADER
http://www.packadtrader.com
Reviews site quickly.
8. BUSINESS DIRECTORY
http://www.business.com
Business sites submission cost $299 a year. Get the standard listing only.
9. CRAIGS DIRECTORY
http://www.craigs-directory.com
No it isn’t affiliated with “craigslist.org.” It is owned by Craig Hughes, not Craig Newmark. Trivia: Did you know that Craig Newmark still retains majority ownership with ebay of craigslist.org. Go Craig!
10. JOE ANT
http://www.joeant.com
Similar to DMOZ. Puts site in several categories. Free for editors guaranteed review within two business days. I remember when Joe Ant started ~ a bunch of us DMOZ editors jumped ship and started editing for Joe Ant…
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