Anyone getting anything from paid submissions?

[PEnterprises]

I was wondering if there was still effectiveness in the finding of directories via: plastic surgery "submit site". Below is an example of the directories I found that offer paid listings into their directory.

How do you measure what a good price is versus too expensive? How do you evaluate which directories are worth it? Alexa rank, pr and inbound links? If so what are the metrics you use? Obviously we are purely looking from a rankings/seo perspective because nobody actually uses these directories right?

Avia directory pr5 - the featured page your link would be on is pr 4. http://www.avivadirectory.com/Health/Cosmetic-Surgery/
A permanent link is $149 and a annual link is $49

Findelio pr 4 - however page where my liink would be is pr0 http://www.findelio.com/5981/Cosmetic_and_Plastic_Surgery/
One time fee is $39. So although this is much cheaper but the pr is none. So in this instance do you not buy the submission?

I do notice some of my competition in some of these directories. Should that be my indicator?
I thought that maybe these companies bought into these directories a long time ago and wouldn't still do so today. Is there more effective uses of my $50, $100 or $150 or whatever?

Interested to see what peoples thoughts are on this type of linkbuilding in todays world. Or if that even matters and this will always be beneficial? Thanks!

[SpottedFrogDesign]

I would be concerned with two aspects here: visibility (non SEO) and passing PR (SEO). Based on those points, there are few directories left that I feel are still good choices. Here is a list I follow with new websites that appear as backlinks & pass some good link juice:

1. Yahoo Directory
2. Business.com
3. JoeAnt
4. BestOfTheWeb

It's tempting to base your site on what your competition does but that will not always work for your own property. The directories mentioned above are used and actually show up in search results. I wouldn't put too much stock in directories as your main platform for SEO but as a small part to an overall strategy - it can't hurt!

[PEnterprises]

Good point and that's kinda what I'm trying to figure out. I know about those directories and those are DEF without question good ones to belong to as well as DMOZ.

But as part of an overall strategy that's what I am wondering if anyone is still incorporating this? You say that you are concerned with two things one of them being passing pr. Well in my first link example you would be listed on a pr4 page. So in that case would you consider that link or do you ONLY consider the 5 or 6 bigger directories we know about.

Thanks!

[TheEvilchippy]

My Unqualified Opinion:

I think directories are the easiest way to get quality links as long as you use common sense when you submit. In some niches, they are the only readily available source of links.

Unfortunately, this type of link building is also the easiest strategy for your competition to copy because the barrier to entry is so low. Like most link building activities, directory submission has value when combined with other methods.

How to Find Good Directories:

Fire up Open Site Explorer and look at your competitor's links. The links with high page authority and high domain authority are the one's you want to pay attention to. Many directories contain the word "directory" in the URL or domain name.

Things You Should Check Before Submitting:

• Do a search for the domain name in Google to verify that the site is not penalized

  • You should see many results for the domain. If not, you are probably looking at a site that is penalized or delisted - stay away!

• Check the historical page rank with the SEOmoz historical page rank checker to further check for an indication of a penality

  • A sudden drop in PR is an indication of a penalty

• Check the page authority of the page your site will be listed on!

  • I blindly submitted to the Yahoo Directory and DMOZ only to discover that the pages my site is listed on were totally weak and not worth the money (Yahoo).

Directory Rant:

There is no such thing as a universally great list of directories mainly for the reason that some verticals are listed on low authority pages. Do not accept recommendations that are not specific to your vertical.

Also:

The Aviva directory is a good buy with a PA of 36 for the page you mentioned. For your vertical, I recommend you check out the following:

http://searchengineland.com/a-link-building-blueprint-the-foundation-62784

[PEnterprises]

Michael,

Thank you for the answer and suggestions. I was wondering if you could please clarify one thing.

What metric led you to suggest that Aviva is a good one to pay and submit to? Is it mostly based on the moz rank of the page? I am assuming you did but was there anything else? If not what is the number you look for in the mozrank for the page? is it above a certain number as a generality?

Thanks!

[TheEvilchippy]

My valuation is based primarily on page authority with consideration given to domain authority (both SEOmoz metrics).

I usually discover about twenty potential links without buying any and create an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns:

• URL
• Page Authority
• Domain Authority
• Price per Year

With this information you can easily tell which are a good value and which are not. Make sure to keep track of the links you pass on because they may become more attractive when you've already picked all the low hanging fruit.

Recently I started using Raven Tools to manage this process because the spreadsheet starts to get out of control:)