directory submissions caused massives serps fall - proof inside

I suspected this for a while, and now I've proved it to myself.

I was restructuring my sites, and ended up with a 2 year old, pr4 site that I no longer needed. It was ranking page 1 (google) for lots of different terms.

The site had a reasonable amount of backlinks, and was ranking for competitive terms.

For a test, I submitted it to 100 directories. Within 2 weeks of this, the serps fall was massive. Nothing else changed in this time frame, and the serps positions had been stable for the last 6 months so directory submissions caused this penalty. My domain isnt even a proper word, and I cant rank for that term now so its clear that this has caused a penalty.

I'm not bothered about these results, it was a site I was finished with anyway. I would recommend everyone forget directory submissions, at best you are throwing money away, at worst you are hurting your serps.

Okay, now let the flaming and negative rep commence

 

I just say you are wrong .....

 

I am sure you won't mind showing the site now that you don't care about it.
also provide a list of directories you submitted to and let us understand the problem.

 

I wouldn't mind rubishing your statement if you would provide some more info on your website.

How do you know your site was reviewed and approved in all 100 directories in two weeks? How do you know that all 100 backlinks were fully indexed by SE's?

Making this sort of statements without providing any proof or serious examples makes from yourself just another clown talking nonsense. You don't wanna be a clown, do you? If so...please provide us relevant evidence.

Thank you

 

I agree this is BS. If backlinks effected your rank in the SERPs we could all just sandbox our competitors.

 

Hello...

Well... i can prove otherwise and would do so in private pm only
so as not to hurt those clients that submit threw us and others.

Last time i checked on some which was about 1 week ago... they where in
the #1 spot for the title terms they used which are several since they have several
sites and they are all in the #1 spot in google as well as yahoo.

You would have been lucky to have been accepted in 25 off those 100 directories that
you submitted (within that time frame) and even luckier if out off those 25 directories 10
actually got indexed where your link is sitting on within the 2 weeks time frame.


thx
malcolm

 

pls show more info like your url and what directories you submitted, otherwise people would think you are just making story

 

Ok, heres something, some of what i have

4 general web directories
2 similar topic blogs
1 Other topic blog
Other sites

One of the directories mentioned here often in the past, used to be in my sig = messed up in the serps, had no pr because was new, gained pr, lost pr, lost the pr just few weeks after gaining it.

One of the Blogs, the one that shows in my posts, cant make it disappear from my posts yet, even though edited CP, stripped of PR.

My other directories, my other blogs, my other sites, all are fine, non of them in sig links here, none mentioned, not talked about on this forum or others.

I submit all of my sites, blogs and directories to directories to help with promotion.

Can you see a pattern?

 

Title of the thread says :
directory submissions caused massive serps fall - proof inside
where is the proof then be on your words and show us all the proof for it .
I think you have choosen a gr8 title thats it to gain some adsense income and lessen your ctr % in your adsense a/c . if not so then bring in the proof to your saying.
I never heard that directories submission caused any serps fall .

 

What it used to rank for is irrelevant. The fact is I had stable serps for 6 months. I then get a lot of directory listings and bomb in the rankings immediately. Nothing else was changed in this time.

Thats your opinion, but I havent seen anything else that can attribute the fall to.

I'm running other sites similar to the now dead site so I dont want to give the niche away.

A combination of checking the directories manually, and the link tool in google webmaster tools.

Thats okay, I dont expect anyone with their signature filled full of spammy directories to take this thread seriously. Not like you're ever going to admit I'm correct even with proof is it?

You are wrong. Read this, specifically the post by JohnMu, google worker.

 

If your site is penalised, its because someone here at DP made it happen.

Sadly

 

unfortunately i must agree that your site is now penalized and if it was in your sig here
then the chances are even greater that a competitor was behind it

regardless wish you success...

cheers
malcolm

 

In that case your title is misleading (no proof) and don't expect us to take your thread seriously.

 

Your choice, you can choose to believe it or not. But I'm not posting my niche on a webmaster forum, for obvious reasons. Feel free to conduct your own tests and post your conclusions.

And my site as never posted in this forum or in my sig etc, so the fall is nothing to do with dp.

I hope everyone reads that link to google groups I posted, it shows that links can affect serps negatively, and it would be possible to do it to competitors.

 

I had success with directory submissions. The problem may be with the link profile of the site. Too high a percentage of links coming from directories could trip a spam filter.

It's important to balance the link profile with other types of links.

 

Regardless of what people tell you here you will choose to dismiss it anyway, you would think you were the only person affected.

I advise that you accept that one of your sites now is not doing so well because of serps and do anything you can to protect your other sites.

If you are so sure submissions to directories are the problem then stop using them completely and watch your competitors whiz by you over the rest of this year, because their probably submitting to directories for backlinks.

Proof inside? a rather hollow statement.

 

he also fails to mention whether the directories were paid(which generally constitutes of quality listing) or free.
this thread should be locked and dropped.

I guess this guy now calls the serps now. google who? haha

what a joke

 

Thats very true but as i mentioned above 2 weeks isnt enough time

but i agree that it should be varied with bookmark submissions and other forms off backlink building.

thx
malcolm

 

From now on my link building strategy is to forget directories completely (apart from niche directories). Its worked for me well in the past, I can only see google cracking down more and more on the spammy link farms which are general directories - paid or free.

I knew my post would get rubbished here, but thats cool I expected that given most of the people posting have directories in their sigs.

I Know you wont admit it, but what do general directories add to the internet? the answer is nothing. Do people go to a directory if they want to find something? No, they go to a search engine.

And I also agree with Bogart that too many directory links as a percentage probably caused this. But then if your competitor doesnt have a huge amount of links, it would be easy to tip them over this threshold and have them penalized also.