Determine if Directory Submission is Worthwhile
Writing by Brick Marketing in Link Building
Directory submission used to be a primary SEO link building technique. There are thousands of online directories, which could mean thousands of inbound links back to your site. But then Google shifted its focus and concentrated more on the quality of a link and decided that directory links hold little value. In fact, many directories have even been de-indexed. So, should you eliminate directory submission from your link building strategy entirely? Not necessarily. Consider the following first:
How many inbound links you already have
If you are just getting started with SEO and developing a link building strategy for the first time, take a look at your inbound link portfolio and that of your competition. If you already have developed a lot of great inbound links naturally, directory submission isn’t necessary. On the other hand, if you have very few links, directory links certainly aren’t going to hurt. Even if they hold little weight it is better than what you are starting with.
How far along you are in link building
At the start of a link building strategy, many sites are working with a small number of inbound links so directory links can be beneficial. However, as time goes on and you are conducting other link building activities that are more valuable you can ease back on the directory submission.
The domain age/trust of your website
The search engines want to rank websites that are trusted and one way that they determine trust is the age of the domain and how long the website has been active. There are so many websites that are created and then abandoned. If your website has consistently been active over a long period of time, Google takes note. An aged and trusted website doesn’t need directory submissions. They won’t hurt anything, but they won’t really give your link building enough of a boost that it will be worth it.
When it comes to directory submission, it’s important to consider the quality of the directory. Just because there are thousands of directories does not mean that you should submit to every single one. The best directories to submit to are niche directories. Spend some time checking to see if a directory actually generates any traffic and always check the location of where the domain is hosted. If it’s in a foreign country, avoid it at all costs.
