As strictly a submitter who does not own or operate a directory, I look for the following things (in no particular order) when determining the overall "quality" of a given directory: No duplicate content Dedicated IP address No links to gambling, pharmacy, porn, etc. No sitewide links PR4+ Not a dropped domain with questionable PR Good traffic Decent age (proven longevity) Sorts listings by age of domain or PR of URL Owner reputation No off-topic listings in inappropriate categories No excessive interlinking between owner's/friend's sites No blackhat practices in the directory or across the Web No links marked as "Sponsored" or similar Backlinks from reputable sources SEO-friendly URLs
I would be interested to find out what you do and why you are so interested in education related links. Do you sell them? Or buy them? Whats sites do you run? Why a dedicated IP address?
You have a very high expectation of a quality directory. You could also add, the directory should be either free or have only a nominal review fee. But the question is - How many directories do actually meet the criteria?
I own many educational sites, which I do not list here. Many people believe that links from a dedicated IP have more SEO value. Some think that getting links from two different sites on the same IP is LESS valuable than getting otherwise exactly the same links from two sites on separate and/or dedicated IPs. Others believe that it is a good idea to get links from dedicated IPs because a site with a dedicated IP will not be penalized for the SPAMming practices of other sites that may share an IP address, and the person linking to the dedicated IP is less likely to be undeservedly penalized for linking to a "bad neighborhood."
The bad neighborhood thing, and dedicated ip addresses doesn't make a difference. All search engines that are worth anything know that sometimes hundreds of sites are on shared servers. It's by domain and that is it.
Please be realistic. If that were my all-or-nothing checklist, I would not have been able to purchase a link from ANY directory. Those criteria are general guidelines that I use to help me make a decision. There are an infinite number of possible scenarios. Of course, if a particular directory scores really low on many of the criteria, I walk (or click) the other way.
Whatever they say I have a tin foil hat already but I am listed in some Quality. Yahoo Business.com Gimpsy Nyahahahaha ! Pumping Fist in The Air !
I find it very intersting that there is no mention of the quality, or the standard of the sites actually listed in the directory. By an large , one of the most important tasks of the directory operator is providing useful content to its users, human and SE automata This means rejecting a lot of sites, for various reasons And then listing sites with useful content , or potential