Is It Worth Submitting To Directories Anymore?

not really... link directories went kaput years ago... stick with article directories, social bookmarking sites, related forums, etc, and your own network of sites.

Its a loada crap about how it will harm your site. Its just another method of backlinking. It's no different to leaving a link on a forum. Just remember to use anchor text that is relevent to your site.

I've submitted to many directories and my site is number 1 for that keyword. Go ahead and do it. Don't listen too much as most of what people say is bollocks anyway. They've heard it from someone that heard it from someone else.

Get some software which will automate the process - Icansoft have a good directory submitter - that way you won't spend much of your time on the submission process.

I spend around 20 minutes a day submitting to directories for extra link juice. I have done this for a few of my sites and it certainly hasn't hurt.

I wouldn't spend too long on it though.

Paul,

I have been wondering that myself.

I just spent the last couple of days reading various articles on the subject as well as visiting directory submission services and reviewing directory submission software.

I can't affirm that it would be a total waste of time nor can I say it would give a significant boost to your rankings. I haven't submitted to enough directories to know.

Michael claims he has submitted to a number of directories and his site is number 1 for that keyword. I doubt that is the only means of promoting the site that he has done. He might be able to affirm the effectiveness of directories if he did absolutely nothing else to generate traffic. Was directory submission your only means of promotion, Michael?

Here is the dilemma I have with directory submission. If you contract a directory submission service, they submit your link to a bunch of directories that either have no pagerank or are focused on a niche that has nothing to do with your site.

I visited a submission service that can submit your site to 1184 directories. I went through the entire list. About 90% of the directories have a PR 0 or 1. And that is for the homepage!

If you decide to submit your site to the directories yourself, I think you could use your time more wisely by submitting to sites that have a lot higher PR and more content than just a bunch of links.

I recommend you spend your time getting your links on social networking and social bookmarking sites. Add to that article marketing, press releases, videos and podcasts and I don't think you are going to have time for link directories or care about them for that matter.

When someone shows me definitive proof that directory submission was responsible for either increased ranking in the search engines or increased sales, I'll reconsider.

William

I think they are still worth submitting to, if you have the time. I also think that they do not have the power they once did, the exceptions of course are like Dmoz. If I had to choose from directories or social bookmarking, I'd choose the social bookmarks.

I've had the theory that it's a shift in power. Directories use to be the place and they use to have the link power. Since most people these days spend their time on social networks, that is now where the power is. Just my kooky theory

Depends upon what kind of directory you are talking about ....

Article Directories - Yes Submit
FFA - Free For All Link Directories - Never have worked and will always be useless
Search Directories - Not as important anymore (I have not submitted to a search engine in over 8 years)
Business Directories - Yes and No - This depends upon what you are marketing
Script Directories - Yes Submit (if you are selling scripts)

This mainly depends upon what directories you are talking about but as always "Test For Yourself"

James

* If submitted to inktomi (owned by yahoo) you will show up in many of the main search engines such as excite, hotbot, and etc ...

Really?

I have a huge list of directories that I have been working my way through slowly but surely and thought I was doin good .

The thing is I only submit to directories with page rank, do you think they are not worth submitting to either?

My first two blogs are at page one but I suppose that could be down to all the rest of my link building and promotion.

I can tell you with my time at an seo company here in chicago that when we signed a new client part of our new client workflow was to submit to relevant directories with page rank of 5 or higher. Everything we did with new clients worked so I would say dont waste too much time with directories but its helpful to find ones that are industry related with decent page rank. DONT use software to automate the process! That crap will hurt you.

For me it does help me get traffic, so I still do that. Aside from article marketing etc etc...

It can't hurt, but your time (or your money if you outsource) could probably be better spent by building more relevant backlinks.

You're taking a huge risk by using link farms.. if Google suspects you're a spam site (because you're endorsed from spam sites) then you're asking for trouble.

You might be ok for a while but sooner or later you're going to hit some of the nasties out there and end up paying for it.

Get relevant, high quality backlinks and you'll benefit from it in the long run... Dmoz and Yahoo are the best directories to use, focus on getting multiple listings in these.

Here's a list of some of the ones you should stay away from, there are of course hundreds if not thousands more but these are some of the most recognised:

• AvivaDirectory.com
• AliveDirectory.com
• Haabaa.com
• DirectoryDump.com
• BigWebLinks.com
• ElegantDirectory.com
• eWebPages.org
• LinkBook.org
• Trincas.org
• CBravo.com
• CDHNow.com
• FreeWebIndex.com
• Mingleon.com
• PremiumDir.com
• Submission4u.com
• Aerospect.com
• Bakie.com
• LinkForever.net
• LinksArena.com
• LinksFactory.net
• LinksHolder.com
• WebVerve.com
• Wezp.com
• BestInternetResource.info
• DirSpace.com
• Eonte.com
• Frogengine.com
• LinkLister.co.uk
• LinkVerve.com
• LivelyDirectory.com
• Submitdotcom.com

Submitting to Directories is absolutely fine, it's just that submitting to low PR ones won't do you much good, however they won't harm you. No off-site link building can harm you in any way at all, the worst that can happen is that certain links will be devalued or filtered. In short, don't worry about it.

Straight from the horses mouth Link schemes - Webmasters/Site owners Help

And Webmaster guidelines - Webmasters/Site owners Help
Most link farms request that you return a link before they include you.. this is what can really screw you.

Also note that directories that have no or little editorial control are seen as "bad" by Google.

This is seriously one of the most basic rules of SEO; don't use link farms.

There are tons of better things to do with your time however it is another backlink. Won't really hurt you but the amount it helps is microscopic

when it comes to where to get backlinks..yes directories still matters

Stick with the high quality, high PR directories

Directory submission will help you in index your site but don't waste too much time on directory submission Now you can start with article directories, social bookmarking etc,

I am using free directories all the time and they definatly work.

Those who say otherwise are wrong, just use decent directories with PR.

article directories are much better