How do paid directories like thomasnet.com do so well in the serps? Aren't the Panda updates supposed to be moving us away from this?

[PropelMike]

With all of the updates/changes to Google's algo, I assumed that paid listings & links like those on thomasnet.com would have less merit.  Is this an incorrect assumption?

[EGOL]

Thomasnet is a large site with a nice, but not overwhelming number of links.

Also, a lot of their competition is in naive markets where they compete against much smaller sites.  Although Thomasnet is not a major "powerhouse" they do have a nice number of links and that gives them enough authority to be a strong competitor in the naive and smaller markets.

[PropelMike]

Yes, I do understand how linking works.  My questions is about the links on their directory which are paid links.  Any company in their directory with a link to their website is a paid link. Shouldn't paid links be valued lower than non-paid organic links?

[RyanKent]

Paid links do not pass link juice. What is causing you to believe otherwise in this case?

Also, I took a quick look at the site and noticed a Free Links link in the footer. I didn't investigate it but they may offer both paid and unpaid listings.

[PropelMike]

Hey Ryan, thanks for the reply. They do offer free listings on their site, but not free links. Perhaps I was a bit fuzzy on my question. Thomas does very well on many keywords from their listings. The majority of thomasnet's content are the listings of companies that pay to be on the thomasnet website. Thomasnet has a rather high domain authority of 77. If thomasnet content consists mainly of paid listings with paid links and my understanding is that these are not good for SEO, why would thomasnet perform well?

[RyanKent]

Mike, the one point to clarify is whether you feel that Thomasnet.com is performing well? or whether the sites which pay Thomasnet.com for links are performing well?

If Thomasnet.com is not paying for any links themselves, then there is no reason for them not to perform well.

My understanding is that Google would penalize the BUYER of any links by removing the value of any paid links. There is much speculation about whether Google takes any additional steps. They could penalize the seller and they could further penalize the buyer, but I am not aware of any confirmation to either point.

[PropelMike]

Thanks again Ryan. Thomasnet does well in the serps, but they do so on the backs of those that pay to be in their directory. That being said, I fully understand your explanation and appreciate your clarification for me.