High PR Paid Directories and Social - SOMEONE answer some basic questions for me.

You could buy a relevant niche domain with an already established link profile for the same money or less, from then on it's $10 yearly domain renewal cost.

So..., If you have a yearly budget of $299 for backlinks, that's potentially a boat load of decent backlinks after a few years.

Plus, If you aim for buying relevant domains with existing link profiles you'll probably end up with a few decent links that send you direct traffic while providing SEO at the same time. If you go with domains, do the research & know what to look for before buying, stay away from domain auctions.

Too expensive directories (like yahoo $299/yr) may not be that much worth as these were few years back. It will be better IMO to spend out that money for about 5-6 different sites/dirs rather than going for a single one.

The benefits are not worth $299/year, you can find better links and likely permanent links for the same price.

Again, Yahoo directory isnt worth the cost.

I would invest that money in backlink campaigns for your site. $299 is a lot of money to spend on only one directory. Rather, you should optimize your site for your targeted keywords, and focus on getting dofollow backlinks on high PR sites within your niche.

I don't think a directory hurts, but is it worth it? Like Yukon said I am of the opinion that your money would be better spent growing your own network and using that as a potential link.

Here's couple of things to ponder:
- What's the most likely page your link will be on? The PR is probably going to be much lower than on the front page.
- How many links do you see in that category? If the number is twenty, you might get 1/20 of the link juice. It's not this straightforward (as far as I know), but this is a quick mental calculation to help you out.
- Do real people use the directory? If users are searching for information incoming traffic could be one factor to consider. However, it's usually very hard to estimate, and I don't see the use case being prevalent in this day and age.

After these checks and mental calculations the "high PR directories" do not usually seem like a very good investment.

If you can find a legitime niche-specific directory that would be something I'd investigate further. Same limitations apply, but at least the link is not from a random site with no focus. Unfortunately most directory sites out there are crap.

I just wish that one of these commenters would explain HOW they're helpful.

All of paid directories are not useful, Just use popular directories like Dmoz and Yahoo Directory to get your website listed and be aware from low quality directory backlinks.

I'd like to offer an opinion that goes against the grain of much that has been said here, even though I have great respect for some of the replies (mostly Yukon).

One options is to purchase expired domains, which you can find for less than the Yahoo Directory, and build up a PBN. Over several years, you will have many nice backlinks - more than the one you would still have several years later from Yahoo. This method provides more value for the money, as Yukon pointed out.

The above method also takes time, especially if it's not what you do on a daily basis. Yukon, Mike Anthony, Nik0 and others do this every day. They are purchasing domains and setting them up on a regular basis. They know how to do this. I don't.

Within the SEO world, there are many approaches one may take. Ranking the most competitive keywords often requires all of them. I, however, have decided to focus on one specialty. While I have a general grasp of the SEO world, I am a writer. That's what I do. It's where I make my money. I know writing, not PBNs.

Therefore, I am willing to pay more for a backlink than many others, because it saves me time. Time is money, after all. I can more than make up the difference in cost by writing during the time I would have spent researching sites and setting one up for a PBN.

I could go with one of the PBN services, but I often choose not to. I don't doubt that the services work today, but will they work in 5 years, 10 years? I'm in this for the long haul, not to rank overnight and lose it in a month or even 3 years. Therefore, I avoid PBN services for two reasons. First, I don't have control over them. Second, they aren't up-front with Google about the sites paying them. What if they are found out?

Directories, on the other hand, make it clear that they are paid. Just try submitting your site! Google knows that sites have paid to be listed. And yet, Google continues to give them some weight (sure not as much as they received in 2004, but they still have an affect).

Why does Google pay attention to high quality directories? I think there's two reasons. First, they have PR that has accumulated from links built over a number of years. Second, the quality directories review sites and are saying "We believe this is a good site."

This is why I go with directories. I am willing to pay for a white-hat, decent backlink that takes me 5 minutes to create. Remember, time is money. I have seen a single good directory link outrank a site with 50 guest posts, and that directory link only cost about $60.

Having said all of this, you probably are better of not going with Yahoo's directory. If I had $299 for a year's link, I would probably do the following (only considering directories and similar links).
1. I'd donate ~$100 to charities that list supporters for a link. This will show Google that my site's trusted.
2. I'd look for good directories that people mention several times. These are often in "High PR Directory" lists, but the really good ones are also mentioned in comments. They don't just have PR - they produce results. People occasionally mention these results. Most of these directories cost $30-70, so I'd try to get 4 of them for $200.
3. I'd submit my site to free directories that focused on my niche (assuming it's not SEO). I'd probably submit it to 20-40 directories, all for free, and hopefully 50% of them are still active. All of these directories need a PR of at least 1 and no spammy Viagra, etc. This is just to help Google define my niche a little bit.

Hope this helps!