Does directory submission still work in terms of SEO?

Hi,

I've been doing SEO since 2006. So far I've had success with one website only. I've had dozens since and they all achieved nothing, they have about 50 users a day. The first website that did succeed had more than 2000 a day. I've tried everything : on-page optimization, off-page optimization, articles, forum posts and others. The only thing I avoided was directory submission because I was afraid it would hurt my ranking. Does it still work? I mean free directories not Business and Yahoo.

Thanks

 

I think there is minimal value in some php template directories that are poorly edited, although free low PR niche directories may be useful if you have a niche site.

 

Well, if you've not tried web directories maybe you should add them in your next SEO campaign, you said it yourself that you've tried everything but...

Directories hurting rankings? That's silly Directories are like any other web sites out there it gets crawled by search engines to see what's new sites/contents are out there.

Some directories got their rankings drop because of a reason, not because it's a "directory" because black hat SEO was done and was punished for that reason, again, like any other sites that have done Black Hat SEO's will get it's reputation dropped by the SE.

 

Directory submission can't hurt your SERP. However it might not help that much either.
Submitting to directories is still a good way to diversify your link profile getting links from various IPs.

 

Some directories are good quality directories that Google and the other search engines respect. Others are junk. Get links from the good directories and it will help your SERPs. Get free links from the junk directories and all you've wasted is some time. My advice is to take some time to sort the good directories from the bad ones before you start submitting.

 

Can anyone suggest me few directory name for directory submission?

 

in my opinion the millions of link directories available are general crap that won't get you any results. they are link farms and thats what they get counted as...the correct thing to do is manual building of various PR links and anything high in PR should be relevant.

I tried mass submissions for a few websites and the traffic increased from them crawling the site but no more traffic after that and no ranking effects and perhaps unnoticed negative effects....I would just stay away from anything that is over populated with links and besides most directories list your URL and not whatever your seo campaigns target keyword as the anchor text so they really are practically useless even if they are seo friendly...but there is always a few gems out there

 

Directory Submission Helped 1 year ago.But according to latest Buzz directory submission will be penalized by google.It will be considered as SPamming.Yeah i think thats right,Full of links in a directory right?

 

Your really whacked out and should probably avoid giving out information. A directory submission can in no way harm any website. If it could people would be submitting their competitors websites in mass numbers.

Think before you run your mouth.

 

A link is a link....bad neighbourhood links we all should avoid, but a topical directory link can only help you!

 

I believe there is still some benefit but it should be one of may sources of backlinks. I agree stoner ... I find it highly unlikely that Google will penalizing you for submitting to directories.

 

I really haven't found any reason to use directories. I got myself to a PR4 in less than 2 months just driving traffice to my site using Adwords and other means..

 

OK, I a bit confused. What does traffic to your site have to do with Page Rank?

 

0. lol!

But I find directories useful if you can find the right ones. Some are worthless, even with a decent amount of traffic. I still make low $xxx/mo off of direct/indirect residual article/directory submissions.

 

I think directory submission is working with helps PR.

 

I have always been a fan of directories and have used directory inclusion as a strategy to help build link popularity, especially for new sites. However, in the last eight months or so, I have seen many directory pages in which we have listings on become all but useless. They don't pass any link popularity and they drive zero traffic. If inclusion in the directory is free that is one thing, but if you are paying a fee, you better make sure that you are going to get some value out of your investment.

Reasons Why Directories Hold No Value
* No Traffic - The directory itself generates very little useful traffic. This is due to the fact that the amount of people that actually use the directory is dismal.

* No Substance - The directory is sparse of actual content. There may be a lot of category pages but very few listings included in them.

* Not Indexed - While the main page and a few of the main category pages might be indexed in the search engines, many others are not. If interior category pages aren't indexed, they have no ability to pass any link juice to your site.

* Low PageRank - Google PageRank isn't everything but it does count for something. For example, it is much better to be among ten listings on a category page that has a PageRank of 5 as opposed to the same scenario with a PageRank of 1.

All the best..........

 

I agree, I think the worst that can happen is that google will not count some directories but other search engines more then likely will

 

Directory submission is a main part of S.E.O because it's basic activity in S.E.O !!!!

 

PR is based on the number & quality of your backlinks.
Claiming you got PR4 driving traffic via PPC is a nonsense.

 

As far as im aware it still works, i see benefits from it.