Why do SEOs use directories which put 'nofollow' tag?

46 replies
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I'm here again

One thing that always made me think is that why SEOs use article directories like ArticleBase, ArticleSnatch etc which put the 'nofollow' tag in the anchor texts? How does it help in SEO?

As far as i can think and understand is that these nofollow tags don't help in creating back links, then what is the use of these directories in SEO.

I guess these article directories are simply a database of different kinds of articles on different topics. They do not help in SEO.. Do they ?
#directories #nofollow #put #seos #tag
  • Profile picture of the author MisterMunch
    There are infact several reasons for this activity.

    For me the most important is the SEO power of these article directories in itself. Articles on Articlebase tend to rank high for their keywords with little effort. So you are not trying to rank your website, but the article and get the clicks over to your site.

    The goal here is to do a shortcut in the search engines and get rankings faster. When your own site finally get there, you will often have two spots. (it is called bum marketing and was made popular by Travis Sargo).

    The other reasons might be that 1. the SEO have not checked the follow tag and has no clue it is a nofollow, 2. the SEO does not believe the Nofollow tag is used by google anymore, 3. The SEO is targeting yahoo, bing and other search engines, 4. the SEO is targeting the traffic already on the article site, 5. the SEO is hoping that someone will be using the article on another website, without the nofollow.
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    • Originally Posted by MisterMunch View Post

      There are infact several reasons for this activity.

      For me the most important is the SEO power of these article directories in itself. Articles on Articlebase tend to rank high for their keywords with little effort. So you are not trying to rank your website, but the article and get the clicks over to your site.

      The goal here is to do a shortcut in the search engines and get rankings faster. When your own site finally get there, you will often have two spots. (it is called bum marketing and was made popular by Travis Sargo).

      The other reasons might be that 1. the SEO have not checked the follow tag and has no clue it is a nofollow, 2. the SEO does not believe the Nofollow tag is used by google anymore, 3. The SEO is targeting yahoo, bing and other search engines, 4. the SEO is targeting the traffic already on the article site, 5. the SEO is hoping that someone will be using the article on another website, without the nofollow.

      Thanks for the points. I hope I'm quite clear about this thing now
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  • Profile picture of the author nettech
    In addition to the excellent points raised above, its all about diversifying your SEO efforts. Other directories do not use 'nofollow' so it still has its benefits!
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    Zaheer

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    • Profile picture of the author PhilipSEO
      The two main reasons for using nofollow directories are:
      1. It makes business sense (e.g. when it's an important business directory relevant to your niche / market)
      2. To diversify your link building (if all your links are dofollow it seems like link manipulation)
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      • Originally Posted by PhilipSEO View Post

        The two main reasons for using nofollow directories are:
        1. It makes business sense (e.g. when it's an important business directory relevant to your niche / market)
        2. To diversify your link building (if all your links are dofollow it seems like link manipulation)

        Yes... even that is what I thought. When it is an important directory in the niche for your business, submitting your articles there and let the readers read your content really helps in establishing trust factor and there are certain chances of getting traffic to your site. Though this thing is clear to me that it does not have any relationship with link building.

        One silly question here... If someone only goes for dofollow directories, are there any chances that he would be considered as spammer. I know there are other factors as well.. but .. just a doubt.
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        • Profile picture of the author PhilipSEO
          Originally Posted by theperfectstrategy View Post

          One silly question here... If someone only goes for dofollow directories, are there any chances that he would be considered as spammer. I know there are other factors as well.. but .. just a doubt.
          In general backlinks to your site cannot hurt you (otherwise people would submit competitors' sites to a million dofollow directories!). Google penalties (as in filtering your site of completely deindexing it) are typically not caused by backlinks (they can be caused by on-site practices such as cloaking, for example).

          This doesn't mean that we shouldn't worry about the kinds of backlinks that we build. If Google detects manipulative behavior, it will devalue your links. Many people perceive this as a "penalty" because the site drops in search, while actually it is merely a loss of link juice. When you trigger such a devaluation, it can be very broad, in that not only bad spammy links but also good links can be devalued. This can be a hassle to find because you'll need to make an effort to clean up your links and then, in applying for site reconsideration, come clean to Google, tell them everything you have done, and name names, including your SEO company. Then you can hope that you will be pardoned and your good links will start flowing juice to your site again.

          What raises a red flag at Google that sreams "manipulative behavior!"? It is not the backlinks themselves, but a pronounced pattern of abuse. It seems like I am taking a long way to the answer to your question. Be mindful of anything that suggests a clear pattern. Only dofollow blog comments, only dofollow forum signatures, only dofollow directories... Some small number of them is just fine, but once you are in the hundreds or thousands you are probably playing with fire.

          I hope this helps!
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          • Originally Posted by PhilipSEO View Post

            In general backlinks to your site cannot hurt you (otherwise people would submit competitors' sites to a million dofollow directories!). Google penalties (as in filtering your site of completely deindexing it) are typically not caused by backlinks (they can be caused by on-site practices such as cloaking, for example).

            This doesn't mean that we shouldn't worry about the kinds of backlinks that we build. If Google detects manipulative behavior, it will devalue your links. Many people perceive this as a "penalty" because the site drops in search, while actually it is merely a loss of link juice. When you trigger such a devaluation, it can be very broad, in that not only bad spammy links but also good links can be devalued. This can be a hassle to find because you'll need to make an effort to clean up your links and then, in applying for site reconsideration, come clean to Google, tell them everything you have done, and name names, including your SEO company. Then you can hope that you will be pardoned and your good links will start flowing juice to your site again.

            What raises a red flag at Google that sreams "manipulative behavior!"? It is not the backlinks themselves, but a pronounced pattern of abuse. It seems like I am taking a long way to the answer to your question. Be mindful of anything that suggests a clear pattern. Only dofollow blog comments, only dofollow forum signatures, only dofollow directories... Some small number of them is just fine, but once you are in the hundreds or thousands you are probably playing with fire.

            I hope this helps!
            All I get from the long answer to my question is that key lies in being honest from your side and keeping a natural and easy pace with your link building campaign... Right
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan79
    Originally Posted by theperfectstrategy View Post

    I'm here again

    One thing that always made me think is that why SEOs use article directories like ArticleBase, ArticleSnatch etc which put the 'nofollow' tag in the anchor texts? How does it help in SEO?

    As far as i can think and understand is that these nofollow tags don't help in creating back links, then what is the use of these directories in SEO.

    I guess these article directories are simply a database of different kinds of articles on different topics. They do not help in SEO.. Do they ?
    I think these directories can send some unique visitors.
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    • Profile picture of the author link-master
      2. the SEO does not believe the Nofollow tag is used by google anymore,

      I am personally in this group. When You think about adding nofollow atribute as someting unnatural , so why google should pay attention to it?

      Besides I totally agree with what was said before.
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      • Originally Posted by link-master View Post

        2. the SEO does not believe the Nofollow tag is used by google anymore,

        I am personally in this group. When You think about adding nofollow atribute as someting unnatural , so why google should pay attention to it?

        Besides I totally agree with what was said before.
        I actually didn't get your point here :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    I didn't see it mentioned but the whole point of those article directories is so others can find suitable content for their own web sites.

    So while the directory itself might be nofollow, if somebody likes your article and reuses it on their website (leaving your links intact) then you may very well get a backlink out of your article. If it's a really good article and a lot of people republish it then you'll get a lot of backlinks out of it.

    This is probably wishful thinking since most of those article directories are packed with spun garbage. I'd have to imagine that the article writing crowd are spamming those site with thousands of junk articles daily.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
      Originally Posted by jasonmorgan View Post

      I didn't see it mentioned but the whole point of those article directories is so others can find suitable content for their own web sites.

      So while the directory itself might be nofollow, if somebody likes your article and reuses it on their website (leaving your links intact) then you may very well get a backlink out of your article. If it's a really good article and a lot of people republish it then you'll get a lot of backlinks out of it.

      This is probably wishful thinking since most of those article directories are packed with spun garbage. I'd have to imagine that the article writing crowd are spamming those site with thousands of junk articles daily.
      That was the original purpose of article directories. It seems like a lot of people don't even take that into account with article directories.

      Write some decent articles in a popular category and you've got some good chances to get it syndicated.
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    • Originally Posted by jasonmorgan View Post

      I didn't see it mentioned but the whole point of those article directories is so others can find suitable content for their own web sites.

      So while the directory itself might be nofollow, if somebody likes your article and reuses it on their website (leaving your links intact) then you may very well get a backlink out of your article. If it's a really good article and a lot of people republish it then you'll get a lot of backlinks out of it.

      This is probably wishful thinking since most of those article directories are packed with spun garbage. I'd have to imagine that the article writing crowd are spamming those site with thousands of junk articles daily.
      Yes that is a wishful possibility.. and I totally agree that these article directories are filled up with useless crap spun materials. I have seen on articlebase same articles with even exact same titles. I don't know how it happened but i was really stunned.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    I have seen on articlebase same articles with even exact same titles. I don't know how it happened but i was really stunned.
    It could be called... spamming

    There is a little tool that will not only spin your article but also auto submit it to 100's of article directories.

    Now, the article kids in the main forum think this is all legit and cool but all they are doing is spamming article directories with useless crap. Not a whole lot different than using scrapebox to spam blog comments.

    It's particularly amusing when somebody is crying about why their 75% unique spun article is rejected... boo hoo.

    But ya know what, when I need fresh content for a site I'll troll an article directories, pick a few articles that fit my needs and use those to write my own articles. Screw them article writing spammers.
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    • Originally Posted by jasonmorgan View Post

      It could be called... spamming

      There is a little tool that will not only spin your article but also auto submit it to 100's of article directories.

      Now, the article kids in the main forum think this is all legit and cool but all they are doing is spamming article directories with useless crap. Not a whole lot different than using scrapebox to spam blog comments.

      It's particularly amusing when somebody is crying about why their 75% unique spun article is rejected... boo hoo.

      But ya know what, when I need fresh content for a site I'll troll an article directories, pick a few articles that fit my needs and use those to write my own articles. Screw them article writing spammers.
      Someone's getting hot here.. calm down bro.. We can not help it.. but it really frustrates when you need some quality content on these directories and you end up getting what.. crap spams.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
      Originally Posted by jasonmorgan View Post


      Screw them article writing spammers.
      Heard that.

      "I'm so glad WSOs from the backlink spammers are out!!! Ok, now time to go submit one of these spun PLR articles to every directory on the web."
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    Someone's getting hot here.. calm down bro.
    I'm cool like Fonzie.

    I'm not judging or saying what is right or wrong. I do plenty of 'wrong' myself.

    I just call 'em like I see 'em and the hypocrisy and self-righteousness gets a little thick at times.

    Really has nothing to do with this thread... I guess I went off on a rant or something.

    It's a slow Saturday and stirring up controversy is more fun than trying to figure out a php coding roadblock I've reached.

    how do I make $a = $b or $c depending on which one has a value and how do I output a list that includes both $b and $c ???
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  • Profile picture of the author pandorasbox
    Easy answer Niche Link, No-follows are still followed and traffic.
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    • Originally Posted by pandorasbox View Post

      Easy answer Niche Link, No-follows are still followed and traffic.
      But articlebase and articlesnatch are not niche directories.. are they ?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
        Originally Posted by theperfectstrategy View Post

        But articlebase and articlesnatch are not niche directories.. are they ?
        I'm convinced after seeing the majority of this person's post that hes trying to either inflate his post count or get some signature backlinks. None of his posts have made very much sense and a few of them repeated exact statements already made in the thread.

        I could be wrong. It might just be his English, but that's how it looks to me.
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        • Originally Posted by Jacob Martus View Post

          I'm convinced after seeing the majority of this person's post that hes trying to either inflate his post count or get some signature backlinks. None of his posts have made very much sense and a few of them repeated exact statements already made in the thread.

          I could be wrong. It might just be his English, but that's how it looks to me.
          Hi Jacob.. First of all.. I'm not here to make back links.. neither do i need.. I'm neither an SEO nor any online business owner. I'm just a freelancer who writes articles. All I'm trying is to learn a few things here. That's it. My english might get you this feeling.. but it is all because.. I'm new here and I'm not much aware of technical jargon. I don't know how does it helps you by inflating your post count.
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          • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
            Originally Posted by theperfectstrategy View Post

            Hi Jacob.. First of all.. I'm not here to make back links.. neither do i need.. I'm neither an SEO nor any online business owner. I'm just a freelancer who writes articles. All I'm trying is to learn a few things here. That's it. My english might get you this feeling.. but it is all because.. I'm new here and I'm not much aware of technical jargon. I don't know how does it helps you by inflating your post count.
            Oh I wasn't talking about you. I was answering your question to the guy above you. Sorry if you thought I was talking about you.

            This guy:
            Originally Posted by pandorasbox View Post

            Easy answer Niche Link, No-follows are still followed and traffic.
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            • Originally Posted by Jacob Martus View Post

              Oh I wasn't talking about you. I was answering your question to the guy above you. Sorry if you thought I was talking about you.

              This guy:
              Its OK.. But really it made me feel stunned when you said that because my intention here is just to learn
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              • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
                Originally Posted by theperfectstrategy View Post

                Its OK.. But really it made me feel stunned when you said that because my intention here is just to learn
                No harm intended.
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                • Profile picture of the author paulgl
                  Because people have mixed up the terms "traffic" and
                  "SEO." Traffic is not SEO, and SEO is not traffic.

                  Normally when you hire an SEO person, you want traffic,
                  not necessarily SEO. They know that. If they give you
                  traffic, they've done their jobs, so to speak. But you
                  still need on page SEO and real backlinks in the long run.

                  Why would they not utilize every white hat method of
                  getting you traffic, including nofollow links?

                  Directories show up in search results.

                  But why would google suddenly ignore a tag that they
                  themselves invented and ask people to use?

                  Google is going to ignore more and more as spamming
                  links goes mainstream. A lot of SEO's are big on these
                  spammed, useless links. Whether the link is nofollow or
                  not, google may well ignore it.

                  A link in high PR directory, nofollow, is still worth some
                  traffic.

                  Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
      Originally Posted by FiverrGuru View Post

      1. traffic
      2. no follow still counts
      Really? AWESOME! I'm gonna go out and get me some nofollow backlinks. Thanks!
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      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        The term "still counts" would mean that
        something had to have counted. Since
        nofollow was designed to not be counted,
        I can't for the life of me figure why people
        would say nofollow still counts.

        I suppose you could use the generic term,
        "still counts" and just put whatever meaning.

        Google designed nofollow to not pass PR juice
        to it. In that respect, it won't count.

        But hey, washing your car counts for something, right?

        Yeah I know. There's something in the water that makes
        people think nofollow actually aids PR. Well, if a city
        put up a stop sign to get traffic specifically to stop,
        what would you think if your friend says, not really,
        you don't have to stop, they just want you to slow down.
        The stop sign does not mean stop.

        Paul
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        • Profile picture of the author licketysplit
          Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

          The term "still counts" would mean that
          something had to have counted. Since
          nofollow was designed to not be counted,
          I can't for the life of me figure why people
          would say nofollow still counts.
          Because it doesn't matter what the nofollow tag was designed to accomplish when it was created 5 years ago, but how Google treats it RIGHT NOW, today, in the year 2010. Regardless of what you think in regards to whether or not nofollow links are counted, do you really believe that Google hasn't changed their algorithm over the past 5 years?
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          • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
            Originally Posted by licketysplit View Post

            Because it doesn't matter what the nofollow tag was designed to accomplish when it was created 5 years ago, but how Google treats it RIGHT NOW, today, in the year 2010. Regardless of what you think in regards to whether or not nofollow links are counted, do you really believe that Google hasn't changed their algorithm over the past 5 years?
            Why would they go through the time to design the nofollow tag to combat spam...just to ignore it?

            It doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.
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            • Profile picture of the author licketysplit
              Originally Posted by Jacob Martus View Post

              Why would they go through the time to design the nofollow tag to combat spam...just to ignore it?

              It doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it.
              I don't know... Why would Coca-Cola take the time to come out with New Coke just to abandon it? Because if something doesn't work, you change it. How does that not make sense?

              I'm not saying that I think the nofollow tag is completely ignored by Google - Just that they've changed the way the treat it. If you disagree, that's fine.
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              • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
                Originally Posted by licketysplit View Post

                I don't know... Why would Coca-Cola take the time to come out with New Coke just to abandon it? Because if something doesn't work, you change it. How does that not make sense?

                I'm not saying that I think the nofollow tag is completely ignored by Google - Just that they've changed the way the treat it. If you disagree, that's fine.
                That analogy is quite a bit different than the nofollow tag. New Coke sucked and they had to revert to contain their customer base.

                Nofollow tag was created to help combat spam...so it doesn't make sense to change the way they treat it.

                Let's make a tag to help combat spam...and after everyone gets familiarized with it, we'll change our mind?
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                • Profile picture of the author licketysplit
                  Originally Posted by Jacob Martus View Post

                  That analogy is quite a bit different than the nofollow tag. New Coke sucked and they had to revert to contain their customer base.

                  Nofollow tag was created to help combat spam...so it doesn't make sense to change the way they treat it.

                  Let's make a tag to help combat spam...and after everyone gets familiarized with it, we'll change our mind?
                  But it really didn't help to combat spam. Spammers just moved on to finding places to spam without the nofollow tag. It's not like all "dofollow" links (Damn, I hate that phrase) are completely pristine and free of spam.

                  And there are plenty of legitimate, high-quality links out there that get nofollowed from sites like Wikipedia, Digg, Yahoo Answers, forums with people talking about things that they're passionate about, etc. Google would be nuts NOT to use those links in some way.

                  At the end of the day, Google's goal is to return the most relevant results possible. If ignoring nofollow links jeopardized that, why wouldn't they change it? They're not going to stick with something just for the sake of pride...
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                  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
                    Google's nofollow was not to prevent spam. That's not their job
                    or aim. It was to prevent PR being passed to spammed or
                    untrusted links.

                    Google has never said anything about counting PR for nofollow links.
                    Quite the opposite. When digg a few months ago added the nofollow
                    tag to some links, google said, "GREAT!." Now why would they say that?
                    nofollow is tag sifted into an algorithm.

                    What google has said, is they would like to see more trusted sites
                    like wikipedia, on some entries, remove the nofollow link. Notice how
                    profound of a statement that was. It says wikipedia REMOVE the nofollow
                    tag. NOT that google will ignore nofollow tags from wikipedia. Which, by
                    the way, they could do quite easily. Google has removed some nofollow
                    tags from some of their own published content when it gets trusted.
                    Notice "removed," not ignored.

                    Paul
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                    • Profile picture of the author licketysplit
                      Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

                      Google's nofollow was not to prevent spam. That's not their job
                      or aim. It was to prevent PR being passed to spammed or
                      untrusted links.
                      Um, yeah. That's exactly what we're talking about here.

                      Google has never said anything about counting PR for nofollow links.
                      What did you expect them to do, send out a memo about it?

                      "Hey guys, remember that nofollow tag that we created and forced the internet to adopt awhile ago? Well, it turns out that was a pretty dumb idea, so we're going to start counting those links again. Please go ahead and start spamming blogs and forums again."

                      Not going to happen. It should be fairly easy to see that people believing that these links don't help them when they do is actually beneficial to Google, and a great reason to give them weight. Google will change their algorithm as they see fit - They are not required to tell you or anyone else about these changes.

                      What google has said, is they would like to see more trusted sites
                      like wikipedia, on some entries, remove the nofollow link. Notice how
                      profound of a statement that was. It says wikipedia REMOVE the nofollow
                      tag.
                      Yes, Google would love it if Wikipedia stopped using the nofollow tag, but it won't. They would also love it if the nofollow tag was even a reasonably good solution to not factoring link spam into their rankings algorithm, but that's not the case either. There are still a ton of spam links that aren't nofollow. and a lot of good links that are. NOW WHAT? Can you really not even fathom why Google would have reconsidered the way it treats the nofollow tag, and why it would have been a smart thing for them to do?
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                      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
                        Originally Posted by licketysplit View Post

                        Um, yeah. That's exactly what we're talking about here.


                        Yes, Google would love it if Wikipedia stopped using the nofollow tag, but it won't. They would also love it if the nofollow tag was even a reasonably good solution to not factoring link spam into their rankings algorithm, but that's not the case either. There are still a ton of spam links that aren't nofollow. and a lot of good links that are. NOW WHAT? Can you really not even fathom why Google would have reconsidered the way it treats the nofollow tag, and why it would have been a smart thing for them to do?
                        Then you contradict yourself. Why would google care if wikipedia stops using
                        the nofollow tag? Google could choose to ignore it from wikipedia, but they
                        don't. They are hoping wikipedia takes some nofollow off. Notice the
                        difference? Now if google won't ignore nofollow on wikipedia, why on
                        earth would they ignore the nofollow on our little ol websites?


                        To repeat google wants nofollow removed, note REMOVED, not ignored, in
                        some websites. They certainly have enough brilliant people working for
                        them and a boatload of cash to be able to simply ignore it from trusted
                        content. And wikipedia is one of the most trusted websites they choose.
                        But they are leaving it up to webmasters to remove it.

                        Paul
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                        • Profile picture of the author licketysplit
                          Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

                          Then you contradict yourself. Why would google care if wikipedia stops using
                          the nofollow tag? Google could choose to ignore it from wikipedia, but they
                          don't. They are hoping wikipedia takes some nofollow off. Notice the
                          difference? Now if google won't ignore nofollow on wikipedia, why on
                          earth would they ignore the nofollow on our little ol websites?

                          To repeat google wants nofollow removed, note REMOVED, not ignored, in
                          some websites. They certainly have enough brilliant people working for
                          them and a boatload of cash to be able to simply ignore it from trusted
                          content. And wikipedia is one of the most trusted websites they choose.
                          But they are leaving it up to webmasters to remove it.

                          Paul
                          No, I didn't contradict myself, you're just completely missing the point. I didn't say that Google ignores the nofollow tag - I said that they've changed how they use it.

                          Anyway, I'm not going to try to convince you. Feel free to do your own tests and draw your own conclusions...
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  • Profile picture of the author FrankBowman
    Matt Cutts has stated without any doubt, that NoFollow links do not pass PR (PageRank).

    He has never stated (as far as I know) that the anchor text used is not associated with the url that is not being followed.

    Just my opinion
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  • Hey Hey Hey guys.. please calm down. I think I'd asked something that revolutionized the whole thread.. I didn't mean to have anything like this. I just wanted to know why people still use directories with nofollow tag. And from the healthy discussion we have had, i can summarize these points -

    1. These article directories have a huge number of readers who refer articles for different topics. If you have your links in the resource boxes of these websites, there are certain chances that the reader visits your website after reading the article, provided that you present sound content in the article.

    2. Its a different thing that you can not use these directories for SEO purposes but you can always use them to market your products and services as these websites have a good reputation and strong reader base.

    3. Only google has a policy not to pass PageRank through the links with nofollow tags. There are other search engines as well who do not have any problem with nofollow tags.

    I guess I've covered most of what I get from the discussion above. If anyone else has something to add up, he is most welcome
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    • Profile picture of the author PhilipSEO
      If you want to know exactly how nofollow works in Google today, read these sources:
      PageRank sculpting
      SEOmoz | Google (Maybe) Changes How the PageRank Algorithm Handles Nofollow
      Google announced the change in June 2009: it will soon be a year!
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    • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
      Originally Posted by theperfectstrategy View Post

      Hey Hey Hey guys.. please calm down. I think I'd asked something that revolutionized the whole thread.. I didn't mean to have anything like this. I just wanted to know why people still use directories with nofollow tag. And from the healthy discussion we have had, i can summarize these points -

      1. These article directories have a huge number of readers who refer articles for different topics. If you have your links in the resource boxes of these websites, there are certain chances that the reader visits your website after reading the article, provided that you present sound content in the article.

      2. Its a different thing that you can not use these directories for SEO purposes but you can always use them to market your products and services as these websites have a good reputation and strong reader base.

      3. Only google has a policy not to pass PageRank through the links with nofollow tags. There are other search engines as well who do not have any problem with nofollow tags.

      I guess I've covered most of what I get from the discussion above. If anyone else has something to add up, he is most welcome
      You forgot the primary reason Article directories were created. To help webmasters syndicate their content and to help webmasters find relevant content they can use on their site.

      That's my goal when submitting articles. To get them on other relevant websites. In my experience a backlink from Ezine or others isn't that great. But when one of my articles shows up on a relevant site in my niche and a site that has some PR, that's what its all about...for me at least.
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  • Profile picture of the author Briansstocks
    Has anyone tested this yet ? Maybe I will give this a try if there is noone else has and posted the experiment. Im new but read alot of different stuff. I thought no follow just ment that is did not pass page rank but google still see's it and knows there is a link. I always figured it wasn't as powerfull as a follow link but still counted as a link. Have I completely miss understood things ?

    Thanks
    Brian
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  • Profile picture of the author Marketing Ignite
    For pure seo purposes to rank well using those article sites, there are much better ways to do it...google knows about article spam and pass very little link juice...if you try to get highly competitive phrases up there you can't rely on article links on the bottom to do that job..that may have worked in the past but not anymore..for non competitive phrases yes it can help some i have seen..
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    • Profile picture of the author Briansstocks
      Originally Posted by Marketing Ignite View Post

      For pure seo purposes to rank well using those article sites, there are much better ways to do it...google knows about article spam and pass very little link juice...if you try to get highly competitive phrases up there you can't rely on article links on the bottom to do that job..that may have worked in the past but not anymore..for non competitive phrases yes it can help some i have seen..
      Im not sure if you are referring to article sites that have a no follow or just in general. Obviously if you are following The 40 day to top 5 challenge he passed enough juice from a few articles and boosted the value of them to rank pretty good for a competitive keyword. So there appears to be proof that you can use articles pretty effectivly.

      Im a newbie suffering from opinion overload. It doesnt seem to matter who says what, there is always someone telling everyone else that they are wrong.

      Xfactor tells everyone he only uses EZA for his micro niche sites. Most people say that a bunch of links from the same site to the same site don't help much. That actually makes sense and seems easy to prove. A guy offered a challenge to test his theory by using your WF sig to test this. Im sure he has so I believe it.

      Maybe Im the only one that feels like 90% of IM is discussed in circles not getting us new guys anywhere.

      I think Google is smarter than us all put together and no one has figured out what works best for anything other than themselves to date.

      Sorry for the rant.
      Brian
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