Paid Directory Links

[WilliamKammer]

Agreed, if you're doing it, don't rely on it to increase your website's PageRank, but powerful citations on those reputable directories can help with Maps and getting some targeted traffic.

[GrowthHackingGooglesIndex]

Think of the Yahoo Directory.   It has cost associated with it and a listing there indicates a real website rather than spam.  Whether no-follow or not, if a directory carries trust and authority it is beneficial.

Regardless of what is said, these listings do add to your metric profile and do contribute to ranking.  Just like all the other "non-working" link types (read Press Release etc).

Don't believe me?  Go disavow or remove all your no follows.

[danatanseo]

I completely agree with this. Well researched and reputable directories are still worthwhile. As long as they are part of a mix that includes some link diversity, I think they can be a very valuable way to jump start a brand new site.

[Berner]

I used white spark, and I found some great directories that were related to my site, so I felt that it was good resource to have.

[JaneCopland]

William and Gary sum it up really well here - directory listings can be useful, but they should be sought for other reasons than SEO. Noah and Eduardo are also right - the safest thing to do is to acquire these links with the nofollow tag.

If you want to take a risk or two, the highest quality directories probably won't hurt you if they're followed links. Google's stance on these things is pretty hard line though, so if you're working on behalf of a larger company or client, perhaps it's best to play it safe.

[GaryVictory]

Thanks Jane. How about you?

Do you use "paid directories?”

Do you have any clients coming to you with "Penguin" battle wounds?

I'm a firm believer that businesses should invest money in developing interesting/educational content as part of their marketing strategy. If it is good enough, applied and shared correctly, it will create the foundations for success.

I'm just against paying for directory links that "could" cause harm a website, and may "never" become searched.

[JaneCopland]

I don't take these risks on purpose - if a link shows up on what looks like a high quality "directory" as a result of a paid posting for a client or a personal site, I won't worry too much about it but that's on a case-by-case basis. Links like that show up in the wild all the time, but I wouldn't personally seek them out. It depends on how much of a risk you're willing to take, but if you're otherwise good at link development, you don't need to take the sort of risks you see people taking when they acquire 20, 30, 40 paid directory links.

I am not sure what you mean by clients - are you asking if I have been responsible for clients being penalised? If so, no, I have not. Thanks.

[GaryVictory]

I was asking if you have any "new"clients who have been hit by penguin as a result of acquiring poor paid links.

Thanks for sharing Jane.

[JaneCopland]

Ha, in that case, it's pretty much every second new client you speak to!

[GaryVictory]

Snap! So many of our new clients have been penalised through paid link building.