Thread: Are Directories Dead?

Are directories dead? I don't think so. They still have value in SEO. Links from directories can have a good effect on rankings. A well marketed directory can provide a good source of some extra traffic to a site and provide a valuable inbound link.

Are paid directories dead? Not at all. A well designed and well marketed directory takes a lot of work to maintain and a small submission fee is often used to keep up the maintenance of the directory. Paid directories are often more valuable than free ones because that money is used to maintain and further market the site.

So what should be avoided with directories and submitting sites to directories? My personal opinion is that directories which seem to be created from scripts with little thought or effort into giving it a unique look and feel, are the ones to avoid. Look at the directory for unique layout, design and content before submitting your site.

Deep Thoughts on SEO

by Web Gazelle

I have submitted to a few directories including paid ones and I haven't seen any hits from any of them

Originally Posted by Autumn

I have submitted to a few directories including paid ones and I haven't seen any hits from any of them

It all depends on how well they are marketed. I get hits from some paid and some free ones. Unfortunately not a lot are getting the traffic that will give good hits on sites listed in them. DMOZ will give a site some hits. There are some other ones too.

Originally Posted by Autumn

I have submitted to a few directories including paid ones and I haven't seen any hits from any of them

You won't get any hits from directories.
People add their links to directories for SEO purposes (link building).

Wrong. Some directories will give you some hits but not very many. Most are only valuable as an inbound link.

Seems like a lot of trouble to have a link to your site if very few will click on it anyway

Seems to be a heck of a lot of directories for sale over at DP.

Directories are not dead, but they are certainly much less useful than they used to be, with some notable exceptions.

Was only a year or 2 ago that links from 500 directories (most of them PR3 or less) would have a huge effect on your rankings. Now not so much. In hitting 500 directories you might still get into a few good ones, maybe 20. The other 480 links you get still have some value, but very very little.

Now when you can pay a directory submitter anywhere from $30 to $100 to submit your site to 500 directories for you then it is still worth blasting that many dir links. Its the shotgun approach.

Now in smaller niches 100 directory links can still do wonders.

But overall, directories are not what they used to be. There will always be a few standouts but the mass directory free for all market is dying, regardless of what the hundreds of directory owners over at DP try to tell you. The writing has been on the wall for some time now but many directory owners are in denial.

Next up, pay-per-post blogs. These will likely get slaughtered by Google at some point too.

Anything the quick buck crowd jumps onto will have a limited life span.

Originally Posted by Web Gazelle

Are directories dead?

As dead as a gazelle at a cheetah tea party! :sgrin:

I think they are probably not as alive as they used to be; over the last year everyone and their dog seemed to have one.

I don't have one

People are selling them because of the big scare with Google cracking down on paid links. They think directories have lost their value. While it is true that most directories will give no traffic to a site listed in them, directories still give you the extra inbound link. The down side to directories is that everyone jumped on the bandwagon when they found free directory scripts that would make it easy to throw one together with very little thought. It is those ones that have very little value IMO.

that's right! There's no guarantee for a boost in traffic but definitely, you'll get IBLs out of directories

Directories never made sense to me, though I've submitted to numerous free ones (probably a waste of time in retrospect). If the web had one or two major directories, like phone books for a metropoplitan area, they would probably work great.

Does anyone know which directories still matter?

DMOZ still gives a very good inbound link and some traffic. Business.com can provide some traffic and give a good link. Internet Library sites like ipl.org can be a really good link for informational sites. I have also seen more niche specific directories rank pretty good and get some additional traffic.

i get hits from directory submissons regular

but only wanted them for seo reasons

Originally Posted by axemedia

Directories are not dead, but they are certainly much less useful than they used to be, with some notable exceptions.

Was only a year or 2 ago that links from 500 directories (most of them PR3 or less) would have a huge effect on your rankings. Now not so much. In hitting 500 directories you might still get into a few good ones, maybe 20. The other 480 links you get still have some value, but very very little.

Now when you can pay a directory submitter anywhere from $30 to $100 to submit your site to 500 directories for you then it is still worth blasting that many dir links. Its the shotgun approach.

Now in smaller niches 100 directory links can still do wonders.

But overall, directories are not what they used to be. There will always be a few standouts but the mass directory free for all market is dying, regardless of what the hundreds of directory owners over at DP try to tell you. The writing has been on the wall for some time now but many directory owners are in denial.

Next up, pay-per-post blogs. These will likely get slaughtered by Google at some point too.

Anything the quick buck crowd jumps onto will have a limited life span.

Originally Posted by ewomack

Directories never made sense to me, though I've submitted to numerous free ones (probably a waste of time in retrospect). If the web had one or two major directories, like phone books for a metropoplitan area, they would probably work great.

Does anyone know which directories still matter?

Coming from a person who knew nothing about a Directory at the beginning of July...................

I built 4 Directories, cost me about $35 including hosting, used link building and directory submissions to promote the site for about 1 month, I put all my income from the sites back into promoting them. During the last google update my sites received homepage PR of 4, 3, 3, and 2 along with inner page rank. It is now about 4 1/2 months after first starting my directories and my main directory which since the google pagerank update has been making $400+ consistently and recieving lots of link submissions.

Not only that but links which are submitted into my directory have been showing dramatic impact on their search engine rankings within 48 hours of submitting their link (homepage links). So that leads me to beleive that directories are still very important for SEO purposes as well as traffic sources.

I am definately not worried about google and all the propoganda which is being promoted about paid links. I am well aware of what google standards are and they are not against paid links, but there is more to it.

As much as people will say that directories are dying and that they aren't what they used to be, in reality it's just that SEO is advancing along with everything else and some people may not be able to understand the new methods which must be used now a days to work with directories and SEO.

So this is just my take on things...:slaugh:

I have two directories right now, and they pull in enough money to cover their hosting fees, nothing special.

Directories are not dead, but on their way out.
The issue is that people stop updating them, and stop verifying links. I coded my own autosubmitter, which hits up about 800 PHPLD directories. It finds proper category, shuffles link text, etc. Everything looks up to par. But most people, while they never reject the submission,never accept.
People just stop maintaining them.

And yes, there is also a diminished importance from search engines. But it's one of the easiest ways to get do-follow links for free, so it will always be around.

Referrer-based reciprocol-cloaking is also going to be an issue in the near future. My beta tests for it were ethical, and I've never used it for a money site, but it works too well. Other people will begin playing with it soon too(if they arent already), and then I think directories may have some problems.

Originally Posted by sticky

Coming from a person who knew nothing about a Directory at the beginning of July...................

I built 4 Directories, cost me about $35 including hosting, used link building and directory submissions to promote the site for about 1 month, I put all my income from the sites back into promoting them. During the last google update my sites received homepage PR of 4, 3, 3, and 2 along with inner page rank. It is now about 4 1/2 months after first starting my directories and my main directory which since the google pagerank update has been making $400+ consistently and recieving lots of link submissions.

Not only that but links which are submitted into my directory have been showing dramatic impact on their search engine rankings within 48 hours of submitting their link (homepage links). So that leads me to beleive that directories are still very important for SEO purposes as well as traffic sources.

I am definately not worried about google and all the propoganda which is being promoted about paid links. I am well aware of what google standards are and they are not against paid links, but there is more to it.

As much as people will say that directories are dying and that they aren't what they used to be, in reality it's just that SEO is advancing along with everything else and some people may not be able to understand the new methods which must be used now a days to work with directories and SEO.

So this is just my take on things...:slaugh:

That is a great testimonial. Did you use a directory script and if you did then what did you do to add value to your directories to encourage people to pay for links in them? I think uniqueness is the key for a directory to survive in the present day.

Originally Posted by sticky

Coming from a person who knew nothing about a Directory at the beginning of July...................

I built 4 Directories, cost me about $35 including hosting, used link building and directory submissions to promote the site for about 1 month, I put all my income from the sites back into promoting them. During the last google update my sites received homepage PR of 4, 3, 3, and 2 along with inner page rank. It is now about 4 1/2 months after first starting my directories and my main directory which since the google pagerank update has been making $400+ consistently and recieving lots of link submissions.

Not only that but links which are submitted into my directory have been showing dramatic impact on their search engine rankings within 48 hours of submitting their link (homepage links). So that leads me to beleive that directories are still very important for SEO purposes as well as traffic sources.

I am definately not worried about google and all the propoganda which is being promoted about paid links. I am well aware of what google standards are and they are not against paid links, but there is more to it.

As much as people will say that directories are dying and that they aren't what they used to be, in reality it's just that SEO is advancing along with everything else and some people may not be able to understand the new methods which must be used now a days to work with directories and SEO.

So this is just my take on things...:slaugh:

Sounds like you run some nice directories. Believe me when I tell you this is not always the case, and is the reason MOST are crappy links. None of the SEs have anything inherently against directories. Yahoo runs their own, and Google actually flaunts DMOZ on it's own domain(well, a subdomain).

I think directories are only good for ranking in search engines. Not very good for hits though.

Originally Posted by Web Gazelle

That is a great testimonial. Did you use a directory script and if you did then what did you do to add value to your directories to encourage people to pay for links in them? I think uniqueness is the key for a directory to survive in the present day.

Yes I use directory scripts. I have tried out alot of different bid diretory scripts (actually there aren't to many out there, I've tried 4), I won't name the 4 but I will tell you that I have had the most success with 1 in particulare, just pm me and i'll let you know what it was!

It has created a few nice directries with good link structure to help spread the PageRank throughout all the pages. Also very user friendly!

Yes! I do agree that uniqueness is an important key in obtaining better than average popularity of your Directory. Although at the moment I can't say that mine is at all unique, my previous template was pretty custom! I will have a new unique template up within this next month:scheesy:

And to add value to my directry I tried to create a comfortable and easy to use website with powerful abilities to show results fast, I did that through my own SEO techniques, they are very time consuming and very technical. The ROI of SEO is great, which is why I take the time to research and build links.

sticky added 5 Minutes and 16 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by SlightlyShadySEO

Sounds like you run some nice directories. Believe me when I tell you this is not always the case, and is the reason MOST are crappy links. None of the SEs have anything inherently against directories. Yahoo runs their own, and Google actually flaunts DMOZ on it's own domain(well, a subdomain).

I try to keep my stuff as top notch as possible!

I just started my first directory a few months ago. It's a niche dating directory for marriage-minded singles and I review each link submission. The purpose of this directory is to only provide information relative to this niche from dating to honeymoons and all involved in between.

I am pretty strict about my link categories. Also add content which I wrote as well as relationship content from others. I went up to PR3 on the last Google go-round. Eventually, I would like to charge for links but I plan to provide value for visitors and those who pay for links.

Out of every 20 submissions, I usually only am able to accept 1 that falls within my guidelines. :skiss:

Back in the day I used to submit my sites to millions of directories, free and paid. (i did it gradually) You know where it got me? no where...haha
Now the sites I have do very well with zero submissions to directories. Actually I think I did to one new directory of a friends that needed to look full. haha but other than that I dont.
I think getting natural links is the way to go. I say dont bother with directories. They dont give you traffic, and I dont see any effect on SE ranking.
But thats just my own opinion, i have not researched this.

I am one happy camper today. My new directory now has a PR 3 from the recent PR update.

Originally Posted by Web Gazelle

I am one happy camper today. My new directory now has a PR 3 from the recent PR update.

So what does the PR3 get you? Did it bring more hits?

Originally Posted by superrichguy

So what does the PR3 get you? Did it bring more hits?

Well, I honestly don't think it gets you anything, but there are people who think it does and will pay to advertise with you or have their link on your page, so if anything, it gets you money.

Discovered last night that my directory went from PR3 to 2 - yet it is now listed in Google as #31 for a popular keyword, which is not great but it's THERE. Also am now listed at #4 in MSN. WOO HOO for that! :ssmiley: Have to see if any other worthwhile listings........

Just thinking about starting a new one. This shall be my first and I want to give it a shot at least.

Originally Posted by Beautiful Blonde

Well, I honestly don't think it gets you anything, but there are people who think it does and will pay to advertise with you or have their link on your page, so if anything, it gets you money.

That is correct. You should change your name to Smart Beautiful Blonde. :swink:

IMO, PR can determine how much you should sell links, ads, banners in your site Traffic wise - having high PR won't really guarantee additional traffic.

Direcories are not quie dead yet, just on life support, it may or may not be possible to revive it, depends mostly on decision of Dr Google.

Having some PR means Google likes your site. :sgrin:

I'll be the first to admit I don't have much experince in the directory arena, I only had one directory and got rid of it pretty quickly. For a free directory it's just not worth keeping up with all the automated submissions of crap sites you said from the beginning you didn't want.

Personally, I've stayed away from starting more directories because of the reasons above. A paid directory needs to be built up and have a strong PR that takes time + money. Is it worth doing when there are 100's of free directories coming online daily? How exactly does one, especially a small business owner with a relatively low advertising budget like ourselves, compete with free?

I've watched a couple of the frequent posters here with lots more experience than I back away from starting and promoting directories.. That's enough proof to me not to bother with that market.

Just my. 02,
Dan

In my opinion directories are dead, I've had some sites in directories for a 5 months now and 0 hits have come from directories

Originally Posted by SkyCow

In my opinion directories are dead, I've had some sites in directories for a 5 months now and 0 hits have come from directories

Your tracking the wrong ones then. :scool: Lots of directories will not deliver much if any traffic. Only the ones which have been optimized and marketed are going to give you some traffic. Links from directories still hold value. I am just going to say I have my source on this information and they had contact with someone from Google. :scool:

I think there was an update going on in those directories..
I was submitting the site I am promoting, I only get a little
bit hits but not that huge:ssmiley:

Originally Posted by SkyCow

In my opinion directories are dead, I've had some sites in directories for a 5 months now and 0 hits have come from directories

Skycow,

Before making that type of assumption......Maybe you should think about it.

If you submitted your website to directories in order to gain more traffic, did you research the directory first to make sure that it si receiving the type of traffic that you want to send to your website? Possibly you submitted to a low traffic directory or maybe you submitted into the wrong type of directory for your website.

I don't understand how you can receive 0 hits from a directory that is getting relevant traffic to it......

Also, traffic is not the only use of a directory....so why would that make it dead?

There are SEO related advantages of using directories if it is properly done!

Do some research on the directories you submit too! It might save you some cash and help out your website :scool:

Originally Posted by Mysanctuary23

I think there was an update going on in those directories..
I was submitting the site I am promoting, I only get a little
bit hits but not that huge:ssmiley:

Directories are not good at delivery traffic, just good for backink building.

Originally Posted by sticky

Skycow,

Before making that type of assumption......Maybe you should think about it.

If you submitted your website to directories in order to gain more traffic, did you research the directory first to make sure that it si receiving the type of traffic that you want to send to your website? Possibly you submitted to a low traffic directory or maybe you submitted into the wrong type of directory for your website.

I don't understand how you can receive 0 hits from a directory that is getting relevant traffic to it......

Also, traffic is not the only use of a directory....so why would that make it dead?

There are SEO related advantages of using directories if it is properly done!

Do some research on the directories you submit too! It might save you some cash and help out your website :scool:

Very good points!

Traffic from directories may be minimal but they tend to be targeted. Having your site listed in the apt category also helps in SERP

Choosing quality directories that are well maintained should really be a concern. Be the better judge and check the sites listed in the directory you are submitting to - if they are crappy sites and if they are listed in the right category.

Just avoid directories that look like link farms and those that require a reciprocal link

Originally Posted by MrCat

Very good points!

Traffic from directories may be minimal but they tend to be targeted. Having your site listed in the apt category also helps in SERP

Choosing quality directories that are well maintained should really be a concern. Be the better judge and check the sites listed in the directory you are submitting to - if they are crappy sites and if they are listed in the right category.

Just avoid directories that look like link farms and those that require a reciprocal link

Also avoid directories that look as if very little effort went into creating them. :scool: