Yell.com have been on the phone selling me advertising. Is this negative seo ,

[weddingshoesandaccessories]

Yell.com shall i or shall i not.

[GPainter]

Yell.com is a directory now you may be thinking Google doesn't like directories which is half true. However there are some exceptions here, niche directories that may help the user (e.g the user might find you via the directory) can be alright.

So lets ignore Google for just a second here and think:  will a user find you through yell.com? Will you make a return on it from a user finding you through it?

Negative SEO tends to come from competitors building thousands of spammy links so its not negative SEO.

in short:

Yell.com can be great if you think it help help your niche and it alone wouldn't get you a penalty.

Good luck & I hope that helps a bit

[weddingshoesandaccessories]

Thanks for the response. This is where I was getting confused. I think Yell.com will benefit me as a local business which has a shop. The shop has a good clean web site which has good links and a good web presence. Both are important but the web site is more important. The last thing I need is to be penalized when I appear several times on page one of google for a local search. ie  1 as yell, 2 as an organic listing, 2 my facebook, 3 places listing

I think they are fighting for business right now and the price is right.

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Peter - I have tried Yell myself and over 12 months, I never had a single enquiry - Not a one!

You won't be penalised for being in there, but I urge you to put your money into something different. Find something around your niche that people visit, and don't fall for the stories they tell you at Yell. I am in the progress of going through the complaints procedure right now to get my money back. I was warned about this myself and wish I would have listened.

-Andy

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Peter,

I want to be sure I'm understanding something you wrote here:

The last thing I need is to be penalized when I appear several times on page one of google for a local search. ie  1 as yell, 2 as an organic listing, 2 my facebook, 3 places listing

I want to clarify - did Yell offer to build you another website? That would be the only thing that would cause you problems. There is no reason you would be penalized for having multiple directory listings. A branded search for your business should, in fact, bring up lots of citations for your business, including your Google+ Local page, Facebook page, directory listings, etc. There is nothing taboo about this, so I want to be sure I understand what it is, precisely, that Yell offered you and what you think might be putting you at risk for a penalty.

[weddingshoesandaccessories]

Hi

No,  just to list me on there yell directory with links to my web site plus optimization to 5 key words. There is a page also what looks like a google places page.

Thanks for your help. Im not a seasoned seo expert but my web site was hit by Penguin a while back while in the hands of seo professionals who I sacked. I have used Moz to learn the ropes in general. My web site is doing very well and Im happy with what I have acheived but still im very wary of paid Links. I think the yell one should be Ok.

Im working with some high page authority bloggers at present to review our services and products. Do you have an opinion on this idea ?

[weddingshoesandaccessories]

Cheers Andy.

When I do a local search we are listed locally in organic listings and rank well for them also. I also see my competition with rubbish web sites ranking along side me with yell listings.

I will take your comments on board and let you know what I decide and how things go.

Appreciate your comment

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Peter,
Thank you for the additional info. So, do not be worried about earning a penalty of any kind from having directory listings. Citation building is one of the core disciplines of Local SEO and is perfectly fine. Whether you want to pay money for directory listings or stick with free ones is completely up to you. I would thoroughly research any paid directory before investing in being listed on it.

Regarding having people review your products - if the sites are a good match for your subject, that can be a good thing. If it's just on blogs that review everything under the sun, it may not be worth the time/effort.

[weddingshoesandaccessories]

Thanks again for the help and Ill monitor the Blog review idea.

Peter