I like directories. I really do. They are a great way to create a broad net of relevant links to your site, and best of all, they're easy! If you've ever done any link building, you know that going after authority links can be incredibly frustrating and often painful. There are flat spots on my head from pounding my head repeatedly on my desk due to frustration. When I reach this point, I tend to pull myself back together by targeting more low hanging fruit. Amongst these options, of course, are directories.
Some web directories have as much link juice as these guys.
Our former intern, Jason Bibbings, put together a really good list of useful directories a while back and there are plenty of them across the web. One of my favorites is Strongest Links, which allows you to sort by type of directory, whether there is a fee or not, and domain page rank. That said, it's really just the tip of the iceberg. There are any number of local, regional and vertical directories out there, and in truth, you could spend months just digging up directories.
You could also try a variety of tools out there that allow you to automate the task, and these can be very handy as well. However, many SEOs advise against cranking through an endless amount of directories as they think it may trigger negative results within the search algorithm. I can honestly say that I haven't seen this in practice, but I think the general concept holds some weight in that some directories have no value within search enginnes, so why waste your time?
How can you quickly tell if a directory has value? Well, first off I like to give it the eye test.
- Is the directory user friendly, intelligently organized and designed for users.
- How many results are on a given page? If you start getting over 20 or 25 links, the pages are going to be terribly diluted.
- Does the site claim to be human edited? If not, don't bother.
If you're still up in the air after the eye test, you can always run some searches. Go to a sub page similar to where your site would end up. Do a quick search for the URL, if you get no result, that's usually not a good sign either.
Don't be duped into thinking that a paid directory means that it passes link juice, either. Submit these sites to the same scrutiny. Many a popular directory has devalued itself by racking up solid PageRank numbers and then turning the site into a paid link free for all to make a quick buck.
Once you've gained some experience assessing the value of directories, you'll start to be able to quickly recognize what's worth your while and what isn't.
