<non-serious noob question> Adding your site to directories is still an important factor, right? </non-serious noob question> Even after all the hype around Google's announcement (some time ago). I decided to write up a quick post to keep our readers' hopes still live when it comes to Link Directory. >> FULL ARTICLE << Quick Points (For those that are too lazy to click above ): Is the directory is indexed and regularly crawled? There's no point adding your site to dead-directories that have cob-webs building around them. The links are pure text, no redirects or Javascript. There are thousands, if not millions of hoax directories out there - just waiting to steal your bottom-dollar. So, make sure nothing fishy is happening behind the scenes. Do not link to bad neighborhoods. Just like the people around you reflect who you are, websites around your site reflect upon your site. If you add your URL to directories that are affiliated with adult/gambling/illegal and etc. sites, you can face some serious problems.
Also to add a QUICK Part :- How effective is the links being approved by owner, even if it is getting crawled but owner is not approving the links and having lot of pending then its not worth
Forums are great for an open discussion. So I must ask, what defines a bad neighborhood? http://www.dmoz.org/Adult/Image_Galleries/Hardcore/ http://www.dmoz.org/Games/Gambling/ Many over-reach when defining what a bad neighborhood actually is. Certainly some of the sites listed at the above URLs would not be appropriate for children, but they are part of one of the most respected directories. It has, and most likely will remain, who you link to that can cause the harm. Otherwise people would be getting bad neighborhood links all day long to hurt their competition. My definition of a bad neighborhood includes illegal sites as you noted, sites that are passing viruses, sites that intentionally attempt to trap visitors, etc. Gambling and porn are meerly moral issues for the submitter IMO. Certainly some people have such high moral standards that gambling and porn sites are bad neighborhoods in their eyes.
"Certainly some people have such high moral standards that gambling and porn sites are bad neighborhoods in their eyes." I don't accept gambling and porn. Is it bad for anybody? I don't care.
Google only mentions "bad neighborhoods" and as usual doesn't make a clear definition but I think this comes close. The broad definition of a Bad neighborhood is a network of web sites that have an irregular amount of penalized or banned participants for various reasons. Such networks will at some point of the chain link to web sites that are or were involved in Link scheming, hosting spyware, malware, offensive material, or have been involved in illegal activities such as phishing. I would consider porn to be "offensive material" to many and if I'm not mistaken online gambling is illegal in the U.S. PayPal also mentions this in their Acceptable Use Policy; Prohibited Items: "items that are considered obscene" "involve gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize" Again, PayPal doesn't do a very good job of explain this and there is some debate over whither simply allowing a porn or gambling related site in to your directory constitutes a violation or not. I do agree with OP on this; Co-Citation simply stated is the belief or theory that search engines look at link clusters or link patterns and "assume" these clusters are somehow related. So for instance if your directory is listed on a page dominated by casino sites, they may assume your site is related in some fashion. I personally feel that with so much ambiguity it's better to err on the side of caution and simply stay away from any "questionable" stuff.
That seems like a reasonable interpretation LakeCountry. I agree Paypal's definition regarding gambling is rather vague, which leaves this open to ones own interpretation. However, I think the intent of Paypal's policy is to prevent Paypal funds from being used to place bets. Considering the risk of chargebacks, I can understand why they would do this. I see why people would feel this way, but I've seen enough backlink profiles to know this is not the case. I'm not saying the value of having a link on a page dominated with casino sites would provide a whole lot of benefit. If it were damaging, then a lot of casino sites would pop up offering services to take out the competition. The same applies for unrelated and even vulgar anchor text used. These will not harm a site's ranks, even when placed on unrelated sites. Erring on the side of caution is certainly a wise choice. What applies today most certainly will change over time.
Most important (IMO): SUBMIT ONLY TO RELEVANT CATEGORY. for best results, the link should be on a page with similar KW to the site's anchor text. for example, my site would need to be submitted to "Arts => Music" or "Shopping => Weddings" and then I look to make sure the sites already in that category are a proper match. If I see "porn" or "penis enlarging" sites in that directory......I'll move on because that's a bad neighborhood!
I would agree that most will at least publicly say that porn sites are offensive - from what I hear though they are very highly trafficed and searched for sites online. So one would wonder how offensive the public really finds them. Regardless I don't list sites that I consider porn even though dmoz does... When it comes to gambling, it is widely accepted in most countries around the world other than the USA. I would also point out there are different categories within gambling itself. There are the strictly online casinos, there are informational sites on gambling (rules, strategies etc), and there are legit casinos such as MGM Grand or Ceasars palace in Las Vegas. It is not always as black and white as it seems.
Hello... I would also assume that "pharmacy sites" would be included in the mix with "porn and gambling" though you will sometimes find a decent site (legit) amongst them many times its a matter of choice for a general directory and its owner if they want to include these type of sites and take the chance of losing other potential clients. laterz malcolm