Free link directories?? Do they help with page rank??

[mike95910]

I was curious about submitting your website to free link directories? I wanted to know if this really helped in getting higher page ranking in search engines?

[fwn122]

Yes, directories do help your page rank. The directory pages do not usually have much page rank themselves so to improve your page rank you will need to submit to lots of directories which is easy because their are so many. Try for 25 per week for the first few months. You can submit to my directory if you want Submit Your Site you will however need to provide a recipricol link back to my site from any page in your site which is the case with most directories. This site is very new so it does not have much page rank currently, but it will have a 2 or 3 hopefully by the next update.

[vishenda]

some do....check if the directories have no "no follow tags" cos your submissions will be all but useless

[amesibub]

Even if they don't have follow through tags it's not exactly useless as some people may still see it.

I've had people come from some of the most unlikely of places... so in my eyes any place is a good place to have my ad!

[sk24iam]

It can't hurt. Might as well get your link out to as many outlets as possible.

[rogercbryan]

You can also build link values and raise awareness about your site from posting an article (or more) an www.article2008.com The site has a PR3 so it gives you real value from your efforts!

[Woodcs82]

Of couse they do as long as the links are do-folllow and the higher the page rank the better!

[emd5005]

They help a lot, especially if you add to many. However, be careful about nofollow links. I would suggest creating a blog to go along with your site, if you haven't already. Useful content will urge people to link to your site themselves, either through their own blogs or through social networks such as del.icio.us or StumbleUpon. This will also help your page rank! Good luck!

[veikoh]

Some info about the directories I tested out - Submit to Internet Directories – waste of time? « Veiko Herne – lifetime entrepreneur with adventurous soul
Didn't help me with my rankings but I didn't expect it either.

[HarveyJ]

A word of warning: Adding too many backlinks too quickly to a site can have you penalized. Google sees it as an attempt to simply get recognised, instead of being genuinely useful.

[sk8ramp]

Definitely don't add too many per day, but submit for sure. With one of my sites I submitted to a random directory that ended up becoming the #1 directory in the industry and now (3 years later mind you) we get 70% of our traffic from it.

In a search relevant to our products we are consistently in the top 5 there, surrounded by a bunch of sites that paid big money, all because we got in on the ground floor.

This might be the exception to the rule, but it's worth a shot.

[flnazrael]

Quality wins over quantity with Google.

Couple of articles to consider...

Building Links? 13 Ways To Determine Link Quality

Avoiding Common Search Engine Optimization Rip-Offs


95% of the general directories out there today are pure crap, and have very little or no trust. Google got very aggressive beginning last year with stripping the ability of low quality directories to pass link authority.

If your site's link profile is made up of 99% low quality, spammy directory links, your TrustRank score - which is more important than PageRank - will not be good.

Just think of it this way - the easier it is to get a listing in a directory, the less discretionary it is, thus, the less Google trusts it.

There are only about 10 general directories worth even looking at anymore.

These include...

DMOZ.org
Yahoo Directory
Business.com

DMOZ is free. Yahoo is $299/yr (but worth it if you are in a competitive niche). Business.com is $299/yr, but I've sometimes been able to get free lifetime links for clients.

Overall though, Google's algorithm is placing more and more weight on the 'active web' - blogs, social media and networking, etc. Directories as an SEO tool are fading away...

[ayaboy]

they have less value. link has nothing to do with page rank...

[jackfranklin]

But using keyword is the better idea.

[discountedclothing]

Make sure you submit your site to relevant directories only. If you see there are plenty of directories scattered around, you can select reputable directories and check if they are updating regularly.This is one classic way of generating backlinks but avoid submitting your website over a thousand directories as they've said, it's easier to get backlinks but take note of its consequences at the end.