Analysis of Google's Directory Penalty

How nice of you to just notice. This has been discussed since the early part of the month.

 

Yes dude, I posted this an hour ago on UK WW at http://forums.ukwebmasterworld.com/directories/6649-have-big-directories-been-penalised-google.html

Just another rip off thread. Any yes - this has been spoken about for a while now on DP so how silly you really look for swiping that one today!

 

Oh didn't know that. Was gonna submit another site today and came across it.

 

news spread fast. I thought everyone knows that.
Is the winter of directory coming?

 

NOT Again ....
Please .....

 

Please have a look at my directory penalty analysis or see the discussion at http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=490396

 

Interesting analysis, thanks!

 

Thank God because nobody else has thrown out their theories! I too applaud the effort!

 

I have found this and maybe this could be the base to your analysis.

Design and content guidelines
* Make a site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link.
* Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site. If the site map is larger than 100 or so links, you may want to break the site map into separate pages.
* Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.
* Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.
* Try to use text instead of images to display important names, content, or links. The Google crawler doesn't recognize text contained in images.
* Make sure that your TITLE tags and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.
* Check for broken links and correct HTML.
* If you decide to use dynamic pages (i.e., the URL contains a "?" character), be aware that not every search engine spider crawls dynamic pages as well as static pages. It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.
* Keep the links on a given page to a reasonable number (fewer than 100).

Quality guidelines
These quality guidelines cover the most common forms of deceptive or manipulative behavior, but Google may respond negatively to other misleading practices not listed here (e.g. tricking users by registering misspellings of well-known websites). It's not safe to assume that just because a specific deceptive technique isn't included on this page, Google approves of it. Webmasters who spend their energies upholding the spirit of the basic principles will provide a much better user experience and subsequently enjoy better ranking than those who spend their time looking for loopholes they can exploit.

Quality guidelines - basic principles

* Make pages for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as "cloaking."
* Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether you'd feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a website that competes with you. Another useful test is to ask, "Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?"
* Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be affected adversely by those links.
* Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our Terms of Service. Google does not recommend the use of products such as WebPosition Goldâ„¢ that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google.


Quality guidelines - specific guidelines

* Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
* Don't use cloaking or sneaky redirects.
* Don't send automated queries to Google.
* Don't load pages with irrelevant keywords.
* Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
* Don't create pages that install viruses, trojans, or other badware.
* Avoid "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other "cookie cutter" approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
* If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.


Thanks
Deisam

 

I have completely re-written the Google penalty background page. It is a written a bunch of factors that could potentially identify a poor quality site (in the eyes of a search engine). Thank you in advance for your comments.

I have also added a whole bunch of new sites to the list of penalized directories. Sorry

 

Well i definatly think that the "sitewide" has something to do with it.

We are going threw them now updateing them so as not to fall in harms way..

thx
malcolm

 

With these penalised sites; does this mean the pagerank of these sites have dropped to 0, which the PR toolbar hasn't caught up with yet?

 

nice article but Wezp.com doesn't use any script it is custom script.

 

Most of the directories are giving links to websites in wrong categories. This is causing ranking of websites in google search for wrong keywords. Just take an example. Suppose a site is selling "wine" then many directories will put this site in "Food products" category. The site selling wine should go in "wine category" only. If a directory dont have wine category, the directory owner must create a wine category. I have seen a site was selling motorcycles stunt DVDs .But many directories have given link to that site in "motocycle" category. This is wrong. A site selling motorcycle DVDs must go to DVD category. This is greatest mistake most directories are making and google is penalizing those directories as it gives wrong results in search engines. If you search "motorcylces" in google then its quite understable that site selling motorcycles should come higher. But if someone search "motorcycles" and the results in google search give site selling motorcycle DVDs then its wrong results coming.

www.madhavweb.com

 

Most of the directories are giving links to websites in wrong categories. This is causing ranking of websites in google search for wrong keywords. Just take an example. Suppose a site is selling "wine" then many directories will put this site in "Food products" category. The site selling wine should go in "wine category" only. If a directory dont have wine category, the directory owner must create a wine category. I have seen a site was selling motorcycles stunt DVDs .But many directories have given link to that site in "motocycle" category. This is wrong. A site selling motorcycle DVDs must go to DVD category. This is greatest mistake most directories are making and google is penalizing those directories as it gives wrong results in search engines. If you search "motorcylces" in google then its quite understable that site selling motorcycles should come higher. But if someone search "motorcycles" and the results in google search give site selling motorcycle DVDs then its wrong results coming.

 

I think you are right. I have added sitewides to the list of factors that can affect a site's quality in the eyes of the search engines. It is starting to look like a SEO how-to. Google may not have all the factors in their algos but if they don't they are probably working on it. I would appreciate comments, either positive or negative. Thanks.

 

I am wondering that if sitewides are a factor are people who spent good money on them going to get a refund?

 

Someone like me saying it is a factor doesn't make it so. I am discussing factors affecting the overall quality of a website. Sitewide would only be one of many factors. Many people buy sitewide links for brand exposure and traffic, which is completely fair. Sitewides are often sold because that is what the buyer wants.