Do directories get any recognition at all any more, has anyone done some testing. For instance, has anyone made a new site and just submitted 50 backlinks and see what page rank they would get? I mean say I get 30 backlinks from a PR3 directory. Is that just as good as a PR3 site related backlink? Most people prolly won't know, the only way would by the first question I asked.
I do not think a directory will have same effect as a site with same rank that is related. Directories are not related just list of sites. Alot of directories have no effect or do not get spidered deep enough.
I would also be interested in Icedout's original question. Has anyone done a true test like that? If not, we should run one. But I have to think someone's already done it.
Directories are ok if you pick them manually. dont go for those that are accepting automated submissions. many are badly categorized and so they wont help you at all. but i will never say that directories dont help. you just have to pick them properly and that takes time. but blog-posts are stronger. absolutely.
Thank your for your answer, I kind of thought the same. One person said they don't carry any weight at all, I wonder if that is true? I think a lot of you are guessing and don't know the real answer. With all the great webmasters on here I thought some of you would know the answer. The best way to know is really the test I speak of and I wonder if anyone has tried it.
I say lets do a test, I am willing to set up a site to test it on, write a good, keyword rich article, and only market it to directories. Any ideas on the best way to do this test, and keep it so the only factor would be the directories?
Pretty easy, just add say about 50-100 backlinks or so, add about 40 articles or so using wordpress or joomla software. SEO rewrite enabled and see what happens
Alright, so i am thinking of running two tests, one for manual submissions, and one using automated tools. I will set them both up using an identical wordpress install, set-up with identical onsite seo techniques. How long do you think the test should run?
Wow. That sounds like a very good idea. Apples with apples and oranges with oranges. On the length of the testing, it could probably take months depending on Google's Page Rank update?
Some of my internal pages on elinkdirectory are PR2 (main site is PR4) which will help people out a little. I agree though, directories on the whole are not targetted and therefore probably have lower value than a link from a resource site. But .. I still think that they have a little weight and are useful.
In google terms, it all depends on if the directory backlink is from a relevant page/category, and the weight that page gives to backlinks - PR juice.