Do you pay to be list in a directory?

by toffee
39 replies
  • SEO
  • |
You have to pay to be list in some directories. Does it worth the cost?

Does big directories bring enough traffic and backlinks to worth the 100$ they ask?

If so, what's the math to calculate if it's worth it or not?

Thanks
#directory #list #pay
  • Profile picture of the author holdem8
    I have never submitted to one before. I would rather use the money to buy links in high PR sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Radix
    Originally Posted by Intrepreneur View Post

    I never submit to paid directories.. Don't do it, there are plenty of free ones.
    speaking of which, do you remember the site, it was brown?, that submitted to multiples at a time? Someone posted it here.
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  • Profile picture of the author thomasr
    At first I thought is was soo important to be in big paid directories....so I talked my boss into buying into the Yahoo Dir. Well we got no traffic from it and it is only a backlink. I would much rather spend that money a different way. A backlink is a backlink. I would just build them the free way!
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  • Profile picture of the author toffee
    Does someone have a list of free directories?
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  • Profile picture of the author PLRwithAlex
    I've heard both sides of the story. I have had experience with listing in some of these paid directories and traffic was quick to get. I don't think it's worth the prices because you can also get good traffic by working on backlinks from high PR sites. I've so far abandoned the idea of paid placements.

    Also, they don't guarantee a listing after you pay.

    Just a thought.

    Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author toffee
    Thanks to all for the tips and advices.
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  • Profile picture of the author Liquidgraph
    A poster above said, "A back is just a backlink". Well, I beg to differ. A backlink from Yahoo is worth 1000 PR0 backlinks from shitty directories. That said, I prefer to have both. I consider paying money for directory inclusion when my competitors on in it and it has high PR and reputation.

    There are a fair amount of good directories out there. Here's THE definitive list. I've been plugging away at it every day for over a month and still haven't made it past page 2, hehe.
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    • Profile picture of the author toffee
      Thanks for the list

      Originally Posted by Liquidgraph View Post

      I consider paying money for directory inclusion when my competitors on in it and it has high PR and reputation.
      And, I like the way you analyse this.
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      • Profile picture of the author Puerto uno
        yeah..im paid..but need to looking the reputation of directory first.
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      • Profile picture of the author dburk
        Hi Toffee,

        It seems that most directories are not worth paying for, in fact many free directories are not worth your time to get listed.

        Having said that, there are some directories that are absolute gold and well worth the cost. It's all about the traffic, if a particular directory is likely to send you a lot of targeted traffic then it could be worth quite a bit.

        There is no exact formula that you can use unless you have already directly measured the ROI in advance. If you have a general idea of how much 1000 targeted visitors a month is worth to you, and can estimate the approximate number of targeted visitors you will receive from your listing then you can make an educated guess.

        Unfortunately, there are so many directories out there that get little or no targeted traffic and want to charge you, it's ridiculous. It's all about the traffic, if you know what traffic is worth to you and you can verify the traffic exists then you would be foolish not to grab it.

        I recommend that you use a trusted third party tool to verify traffic, you can start by checking the site at Quantcast.com and use backlink checking tools to get an ideal of how targeted the traffic will be. If the traffic is not targeted then you should pass all together.
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  • Profile picture of the author intelinside
    I have submitted to various directories but never used the payed option. However, I might pay for inclusing in Yahoo Directory if I ever like to pay.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gog
    The only directory I have paid to be listed in is the Yahoo Directory.
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  • Profile picture of the author anuj291
    no...
    If u have some authority do do it... but if you are a starter... dont waste money
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      Here is a newer one.
      It is a PR4 site.
      Teachers Resource Directory
      It's free and requires no link back.
      However, it is an educational directory, so
      beware when submitting a url. There is a
      last category called, Worth Viewing, which looks
      promising for anything else.



      Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author J.Cole
    I guess paid directories do have their advantages. Backlinks from DMOZ or Yahoo dir do add more "weight" than from the thousands of free dir (most are pr0 I see).
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  • Profile picture of the author Jenie0109
    never tried the paid ones.. Free are enough
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  • Profile picture of the author gadget_man
    If it's just $1-$2 and it looks at good directory then I'd pay, but some of the amounts that some directories ask is just not worth it.
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  • Profile picture of the author dataprovier
    I would never prefer to get listed in any diretories if its a paid one. If you have money then its much good if you can apply for yahoo directory otherwise there is nothing much to get output from directories. even free would also not give you much benefits...
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  • Profile picture of the author wezzley
    I'd avoid any paid links like the plague.

    too many free ones out there & search engines do not like paid links.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Originally Posted by wezzley View Post

      I'd avoid any paid links like the plague.

      too many free ones out there & search engines do not like paid links.
      Hi wezzley,

      You don't really believe that do you?

      I hear that Google, Yahoo and Microsoft love paid links so much that they decided to make that the primary revenue source for their search engines. (AdWords, YSM and AdCenter). Seems like a ringing endorsement to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author mr.schutz
    NO! There are a lot of free web directories out there.

    Here is one, Free Web Directories - Free Web Directory List

    Its a list of free web directories, there are some that needs payment, don't pick them.
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    • Profile picture of the author toffee
      Originally Posted by mr.schutz View Post

      NO! There are a lot of free web directories out there.

      Here is one, Free Web Directories - Free Web Directory List

      Its a list of free web directories, there are some that needs payment, don't pick them.
      That's what I call a list! Thanks a lot.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarkOwens
    Nope, I don't even submit to directories. It's not worth the time, there are much better ways to get backlinks of the same quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author mhuktar
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author jetwebspider
      I do the directory submission manually, what is the use of paid directory submission , is it more effective?
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  • Profile picture of the author Smokey_Joe
    Well, I don't pay for directory submissions, it's not worth it. If one chooses to submit to directories, then it makes sense to do that for free, since traffic from the bulk of the directories is non-existent.
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  • Profile picture of the author Red_Virus
    depends on the budget, I mean for big B2B client or local business sites getting listed on business.com and Yahoo directory is profitable.
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  • Profile picture of the author FredJones
    Originally Posted by Paul M View Post


    Brad Callen offers a free semi-automatic directory submitter that submits
    to 350 free directories.

    Here: Brad Callen's Free Directory Submitter (not an affiliate link)

    -Paul
    Paul, thanks for this. I have downloaded it and want to submit this for one of my websites to see the result.
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  • Profile picture of the author Devilfish
    When I first started out, I paid to a few directories that were highly ranked only to get on the first features pages. Now I realise that I would have gained no traffic whatsoever from these links but they may have helped my rankings and PR.

    Now I feel directory listing is useless. I think they will be penalized in the years to come.
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  • Profile picture of the author jsherloc
    I agree with the previous poster that if you are an offline business, getting listed in the Yahoo Directory as well as on Business.com can help you with traffic and backlink juice. Lawyers.com is a great one for lawyers (obviously) too.

    Adding your offline business site to specialized free community portals can help with traffic and backlink juice as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author linkisking
    I heard that directories are the old fashion way of getting backlinks.
    My advise will be..don't buy it.especially if they're asking $100 for it.
    Use your money wisely in SEO..there's a lot of "snakes" out there
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  • Profile picture of the author 1 Marketing
    I have paid $299 for inclusion on the Yahoo Directory in the hope to get the traffic. But I think only benefit I could get from there is a high PR back link and that's it.

    So my suggestion is instead of paid inclusion for directories do some extra work on site promotion.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sean S
    what directories are worth paying for ? Are there any good ones that are free ?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jenie0109
    im always on free dont want to waste my $$$ directories
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  • Profile picture of the author toffee
    Thanks for your advices.
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  • Profile picture of the author Barrion
    I think if you spend money on links betteer do this with quality articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tyrus Antas
    People should start seeing SEO as a more strategic, high level process than the ongoing tactics of preferring quantity over quality.

    Not saying you shouldn't bet on tactics, just that the best links you will ever receive come from the relationships you develop with other people, the quality of your content as well as your capacity to attract attention to yourself.

    Just one PR7 is more valuable than hundreds of PR3 links. Think about that for a second.

    Tyrus
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