Can Low Quality Directories Hurt?

[waynekolenchuk]

I realize that links from low quality directories aren't of much value. Having said that, can doing this kind of linking actually penalize a site?

[DojoGuy]

I don't think it can "hurt" a website.

Just because of the fact that a competitor could build them, to penalize you.

That being said, if very low quality links are built for months and months on end, that might possibly alert the search engines it's most probably the site owner building them.

[E-dreamz]

Absolutely not.

If there was a way to 'hurt' a site then black hatters would be bombing sites to force them down in rankings.

How did you determine the directory being of low value?

In my eyes a link is a link is a link.

[waynekolenchuk]

That's what I thought, but I wanted an experienced opinion. I had a ranking drop after adding some directory links and was looking for a cause

[E-dreamz]

That is a question we get a lot from clients. Extremely hard to pinpoint those drops.

[SEO5Team]

Hi Wayne,

Google released an official post regarding this topic located here which may help to explain your question. As stated previously, by Google and in the post, Google does take measures to ensure submission to low quality links will not necessarily result in a penalty, but will likely not help your site a significant degree. This also means a significant ranking drop for specific keywords is likely not the result of low quality directory submissions.