It wasn’t long ago when directory submissions were one of the most important tactics available to SEOs. But these days, link building has become more diverse, and directory submissions have lost their luster in response to emerging link building tactics that have involved blogging, bookmarking, and other social media marketing tactics.
With the continuing popularity and diversity of various social media sites, directories have continued to become less popular and less relevant. In addition, since the heyday of directory submissions, Google has changed their algorithm to account for the spam that typically plagues popular free directories. Google has also warned against using paid links for link building, and this also includes directory links.
While directories may have become less influential as far as Google is concerned, this is not to say that directories should be ignored completely. As fewer SEOs are relying on directories, they may be the low-hanging fruit you need to give your website an edge. The key is to find the right directories to submit to, rather than submitting to just any directory. By exercising caution, you can avoid the low-quality, irrelevant directories and take advantage of those that can still boost page rank and referrals.
The important factor to consider with directory submissions is that your link building efforts should include other types of link building, not just those acquired through directories. If you’re able to attain that diversity, through blogging, social media, etc, then your website should remain in competitive shape in terms of off-site optimization.
Before blindly submitting to massive amounts of directories, you’ll want to first do a little bit of research. Ask yourself whether or not a directory in question will provide adequate SEO value. If you’re targeting a specific area or demographic, there may be a directory available that caters to that specific target. Once you find a directory you want to submit to, you’ll most likely have to decide which category within that directory that you would like to submit to. This seemingly obvious task of choosing a category could become quite confusing. While many categories are temping, it’s best to think of the specific services your dealership offers and who you would most like to reach.
Another factor that regularly comes up when submitting to directories is the question of the reciprocal link. Many directories allow websites to submit their directory for free in exchange for a reciprocal link from your website. At first it seems like a small and reasonable price to pay, but reciprocal linking schemes could be harmful to your website’s optimization. Avoid these schemes at all costs!
Many directories today do not count significantly towards a website’s organic performance simply because they don’t offer relevant or high-quality links. That being said, harmful traits are often obvious, and with a little bit of intuition and research, directories remain worth looking into.
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