Domain authority - Low quality links

[Jonathan1979]

I have a question I hope people can help me on.  it is my intention for my next project to focus on domain authority, and a small number of high quality links.  I have a couple of scenarios I would appreciate some advice on:

1.  Can lower quality links lower domain authority?

2.  Would you avoid links from low quality sites no matter what \ what domain authority levels should you avoid links from.

3.  Should I be looking at link profiles of the sites I get links from.  Does it matter if a site I get a link from has 1000's of spammy links (i.e. something to look out for when doing guest blogging).

4.  Should I avoid directories no matter what, or is high pr \ domain authority directories ok to use, if I end up on a page of other relevant directory submissions related to my niche.

Essentially, my aim is to have high quality links, but equally, there are some decent sites on the fringes that I will need to consider (based on a competitors link profile I researches).

[ChristopherGlaeser]

When I began SEO for my sites, I spent a lot of time addressing the very questions you posted regarding links and directories and the like.  I know more now than I did then and in hindsight, I think I am more productive now focusing on great content for my sites and less time focused on back links.  For those who used black hat link building or purchased a domain with a bad link profile, sure, they need to devote time to cleaning that up, but if your link profile is natural, I would not spend too much time on this or that link from a low quality site and spend more time creating excellent content.  I know it's often repeated on this and other SEO forums, but if you read the comments / suggestions / experiences on this forum of the SEO experts, it's pretty clear they spend the bulk of their time creating content and an awesome user experience for those who visit their sites.  When you have an awesome site, the links will come naturally.

Best,
Christopher

[garfield_disliker]

Keep in mind that domain authority is Moz's metric. It's intended to predict how well your site might perform in search results. You might be able to rank just fine without a high DA.

To answer your questions as they are numbered:

1. It's possible. Low quality links are probably low quality because they lack relevancy and are low on trust.

2. Not necessarily. A natural link profile will have all kinds of links: some good ones, some decent ones, and some not so great ones. But at the same time, I wouldn't actively pursue low quality links. I just don't panic if a scraper links to me and start tearing my hair out over my domain authority.

3. Perhaps. Avoiding websites in "bad neighborhoods" is generally recommended. At the same time, you could probably spend your hours more effectively than reviewing everyone's link profiles.

4. I wouldn't avoid directories "no matter what." I wouldn't avoid anything "no matter what." Consider what the benefits are against the risks and go from there. With any directory, consider if it looks like a resource people would actually use. If it's just there for links, don't bother with it.

Just think for yourself with these things. Don't fall in love with bumping up metrics.

[Jonathan1979]

That is very helpful, thanks.

[Jonathan1979]

Yeh, I think a focus on good quality content is something I am going to have to work on as well.  Thanks.

[SEO5Team]

It's not advisable to disregard directories across the board. Adding your site to a niche directory related to your subject matter can have the dual benefit of a link back as well as a source of some traffic. Whitespark has a terrific local citation finder tool that can get you suggestions on lots of relevant links for your site.

[xoffie]

A second question - low(er) quality, as in low DA/PA links from relevant sites - some things are pretty niche, and can be without many huge DA/PA relevant site links, if a site is one of a few, but still good, on that topic, but has low DA/PA, would it be ok to take in links?

[garfield_disliker]

Unless I'm mistaken, I think this guy was asking specifically about web directories like dmoz and botw.

There is a distinction between local directories and web directories—and the primary benefit of local citations has relatively little to do with links. The reason behind getting listed in either one is fairly distinct. Local has a lot more to do w/ establishing your address in the area + taking advantage of how sites like yp.com and Yelp take up a lot of space in SERPs.

[garfield_disliker]

I wouldn't obsess over DA/PA. People lose sight of the fact those are just Moz's metrics. They're an excellent resource to have, but take them with a grain of salt. If a website is a good resource for you that could potentially send referral traffic, but the DA/PA isn't where you want it to be, go for it anyway. We all know this, but ultimately, the purpose of online marketing is to increase traffic and conversions (traffic being secondary to conversions). If you're forgoing either one of those two for the sake of preserving your domain authority or link metrics, you're making a mistake.