Guy at Google told me Yes, Paid Directories DO LOWER the rankings of a site

I know this thread will have a bunch of ppl blasting at me so I just want to say If you are going to be all on me, IGNORE this as fiction.

I really don't want to start an argument because there's a lot of skeptics here but for those who aren't... I was at the third street promenade yesterday late afternoon and met a guy at the Borders there at the computer books section. I forgot what we said but we started talking about programming and then he told me he worked for the Google office in Santa Monica. He told me that they parse directories to find hints if it is a paid one or not like a Paypal link or address. Those that fall under this category are then like labeled. Any sites linking from a directory such as this will recieve like a minus point against them. There is a point system so like each paid directory linking to your site will be like a minus one kind of thing. His name was Mark btw...probably still doesn't put any credibility in this post but yea...

Again do NOT get all on me, if you are going to post such things in this thread or PM me, SAVE IT, I don't want to deal with it. I just thought this was important so I'm sharing it.

 

Thanks for sharing. Do you have any additional info regarding this?

 

Some people don't get it .. do they??

Your ranking can be effected (i guess so) by a back link from a page with tons of crappy links.... It can just be a single page site...

It isn't need to be a Paid Directory (or even free) ... It depends on the directory itself....

 

Quoted For Truth.

There's just no way that Google is penalizing sites for being in a paid directory. For one thing paid directories could also link to sites that did not pay to get into them (for example if a paid directory starts off by populating their directory with links they got from DMOZ etc...)

The absolute worst thing that could happen is Google discounting links from a certain directory that they've decided isn't trustworthy. They are just not going to penalize sites for being in a directory. It doesn't make any sense.

Matt Cutts said (not that I trust everything he says, but in this case it makes sense) that Google will not penalize a site for the links pointing at it.

I think it's important to think about the difference between a link not being counted and a penalty being put on a website. Two very different things that can sometimes appear similar in how they effect the SERPS.

 

Hilarious, I almost fell out of my seat with laughter!

What more can I say.....

Did he at least prove he worked for Google any in way what so ever?

 

If this were true, then many of us would be in the negatives!

I still see directories as boosting your rankings in se results.

 

Just a bit of logic here...

If Google searches for PayPal and links, how does it not also penalize any site that sells something, has a PayPal link and a links page?

And if I have a directory with a PayPal donate button, will I also be flagged as a links seller? What if I sell a eBook on SEO from my directory?

I'm not saying anything regarding if this Mark person was really a Google employee, but, I just don't see there being an accurate way to electronically determine who is selling links. Nor would there be a way to determine if the links being sold are for advertising or only PR.

 

I agree with you here as I have had donate buttons on some of my sites also sell ebooks on a variety of subjects on a couple of my sites so have the Paypal logo and their ratings haven't gone down

 

Google says that inbound links can't hurt your rankings

 

bit off topic but

your avatar is kinda sick.

makes me feel uncomfortable

 

How so? it's from http://www.azuzephre.net/site/main/

 

It may be that this is correct, but it's likely this applies to just one of the overall smaller factors that contribute to a ranking and not to a sites "overall" score so to speak. If every paid directory listing subtracted a point from the overall score of a site, I'd have sites that would likely have a negative score as some have mentioned.

The minus one factor you speak of may be just for a part of the link profile, but Google has already mentioned that there are around 200 separate factors that contribute to the ranking of a site in their search results.

Can this "harm" your rankings? I don't believe that it can because I doubt it's significant enough of an overall factor to cause you to drop in the rankings as you add paid directory listings. Worst case - I think it might offset a small portion of your overall score.

 

It is pure nonesense, folks would be submitting their competitors to paid directories and burying them.

Red rep given as a thank you for wasting 20 seconds of my life.

 

Pure nonsense alright.

-from Randfish (http://www.seomoz.org/blog/what-mak...y-and-why-google-penalized-dozens-of-bad-ones)

"that's a fundamental problem" for whom? For SEO's losing business to directories? Why is it a shady type of link building tactic if someone was to only submit to high quality sites?

 

Hello...

I dont believe it myself...

as i seen for myself one off my New sites "video links" that got picked up was #1 above youtubes own till it was
removed by a google rep last nite when he noticed i had found it in their serps.

I was logged in my account (google) and they where watching what i was looking for in the serps then quickly removed it.

PS... it was a google rep from cali office as well as his

IP was recorded http://www.google.com 193.219.187.36 2007-09-25 20:22:54





thx
malcolm

 

Ummmmmmm....

I heard a guy say the Earth was flat and I tend to believe him...
He said he got close to the edge once and hearing him talk about it made my hair stand on end...

 

Wow, that is pretty interesting and a little scary (kinda big brother-ish)

 

They must be running a covert sting operation from Lithuania to get you.

 

Google will be never able to separate paid directories and free directories by any algorithim,

Also Google employees will not disclose to a stranger that they work for Google..