I have about a dozen link directories. One of my directories gets submissions from Chinese and other intl. sites. The benefit is that this is part of a three way linking campaign where these these intl folk provide a backlink to my most valuable site. Hence I don't mind all that much that directory listing are "off topic" since I do get a inbound one way link to my mother site. The question is are these inbound links to my master site worth anything in Google eyes?
IMO there is no difference in SEO for any domain extension such as in, cn or us. why not accept the submission if it meets your submission guidelines...
You can add your site in .cn domain there will not be any problem. I am SEO expert and have 5 years experience and there is not any harm to get back links. We suggest that don't make any link on own site that point to gambling, adult and drug sites.
Of course, I'm not saying all chinese sites are bad but seen as you are marketing (or selling links) to English speaking people it doesn't make sense to list Chinese sites.
How much time and money have you invested in your directories? Is it worth polluting them with "off topic" listings just to get a backlink to your "mother site"? Are the .cn sites truly off topic or just in Chinese? Do you even know what the sites are about? Would you know if you were actually linking to some horrible site that you would never link to if you knew what it said? Seems like all you will achieve is to turn your directories into a mess.
If you don't care about off-topic listings you don't care about your directory. Unfortunately this sort of practice is what gives directories a bad name. You should be looking to build a useful resource for your users, not prostituting your directory for the mother site.
A reciprocal link from an off-topic domain doesn't really help much. You should approve the website only if you think it deserves a place in your directory.
They are required to provide a 3-way link. I think I might accept them (or keep them in pending) considering they have a PR of 3 or higher. What do I have to lose? Your thoughts...?
I would hate to be responsible for tarnishing the "good name" of the directory business. I do take exception at the Hooker remark, most Hooker's make real money.