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Is It Worth Paying For These Links?

by Ohioquotes
12 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi. I noticed that one of my main competitors (Financial site) is ranked slightly ahead of me in some of the relevant key phrases. I would consider our two websites the top-2 for this group of key words.

I have much more content and update my site more regularly. And for what it is worth, I write all of my content and do not do any "black hat" stuff.

He is listed in a few paid directories. I am listed in none.
#links #paying #worth
  • Profile picture of the author Greg Beddor
    IMO absolutely yes. NextDir is one of the best directories out there. For the value I think it even makes my top 10 list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ohioquotes
    OK. Thanks for the help.
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  • Profile picture of the author thedog
    Originally Posted by Ohioquotes View Post

    Hi. I noticed that one of my main competitors (Financial site) is ranked slightly ahead of me in some of the relevant key phrases. I would consider our two websites the top-2 for this group of key words.

    I have much more content and update my site more regularly. And for what it is worth, I write all of my content and do not do any "black hat" stuff.

    He is listed in a few paid directories. I am listed in none.
    I wouldn't risk it dude. Google is dropping the ax on paid links.

    In fact, if you were so inclined, you could report your competitor to google, for using paid links.

    Your call.
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  • Profile picture of the author retsek
    If you're gonna do paid directories, I would stick to only the ones that review your site without the guarantee of listing.

    Those are fine with Google and they include Yahoo Directory, AllTop, BOTW. Smaller ones like familyfriendlysites.com and hotvsnot.com are also good. There's also niche directories, you can look for those that list only finance sites.

    Whatever you do, do not go and buy those bulk submissions and ensure your descriptions and anchor text are unique on each directory.

    Here's a good list:
    SEO Web Directory List - Web, Social and Local Directories | SEOmoz
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  • Profile picture of the author Ohioquotes
    That's what's so confusing. You have one definitely yes and one definitely no answer. So I'm still not sure what to do. I was not referring to a mass submission. Maybe a paid link every other month or so. Does that change the "no" answer?
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  • Profile picture of the author retsek
    Nothing is confusing. You have two people telling you there is a risk. I would risk it, the other guy wouldn't.

    I am telling you that based on communication from the head of Google's spam team, human-edited directories that have a review policy in place and the ones that DO NOT guarantee placement are fine with Google. For example, you can pay Yahoo $300 to list your site. That is ok with Google, because there is a review process and not everyone gets in.

    Google could change that policy tomorrow, if they so wished. So in effect, I am taking a calculated risk.

    Now you make your choice.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ohioquotes
    Understood.

    So, for example...This one, in your opinion, would be fine?

    Next Web Directory- Submit Link
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    • Profile picture of the author retsek
      Originally Posted by Ohioquotes View Post

      Understood.

      So, for example...This one, in your opinion, would be fine?

      Next Web Directory- Submit Link
      I would not buy a link there for these reasons:

      - anybody with money gets accepted.

      - The site does not appear to include links on their own. They just wait for submissions. For many categories, well-known authority sites that you would expect to be listed aren't there.

      - The directory is PR6, but according to OSE it only has 69 root domains linking to it and a Domain authority of 48. A PR6 should have DA in the 60s or 70s. So that indicates that the site is very weak and possibly has a faked PR or hidden links that I don't care to check on.

      - Copyright notice is out of date

      - It's using a standard directory theme and looks like hundreds of others. In fact, the site is probably owned by someone who has dozens of sites exactly like this.

      So IMO, the link from it wouldn't be worth it even if it was free.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ohioquotes
    OK. Thanks. I guess I'll stick to boring old fashioned adding and updating good content on my sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ohioquotes
    I just thought of something. Many directories offer both free and paid listings. Typically, I use the free listings.

    How would Google know if you paid for the link? If they can't tell, are all directories that have both paid and free listings a risk?
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  • Profile picture of the author fiberoptic
    Originally Posted by Ohioquotes View Post

    Hi. I noticed that one of my main competitors (Financial site) is ranked slightly ahead of me in some of the relevant key phrases. I would consider our two websites the top-2 for this group of key words.

    I have much more content and update my site more regularly. And for what it is worth, I write all of my content and do not do any "black hat" stuff.

    He is listed in a few paid directories. I am listed in none.
    Buy backlinks if your domain is 1+ years old. Google Panda is placing more emphasis of overall ranking on content now, but it also considers the content of ALL of your backlinks. So, just becuase they never update there website, if the websites they are backlinked to have good content, they will stay ahead of you no matter how good your content is.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ohioquotes
    "if the websites they are backlinked to have good content"

    I guess that's the question...Are paid directories considered "good content"? I can find a lot of them that appear to be clean and charge anywhere from $2 to $40. But if I'm going to lose all of my hard work/results some day for linking to these directories, it's not worth it.
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