Directories that require backlinks

My 2 yen
I'm creating a new Japanese Directory (themed) so I'm building it based on what I would like.

I have found some directories that are close to the theme of some of the company I work for's websites. Like I found a few teddy bear directors. At first I wasn't really checking to see if it was a javascript backlink or not but we are getting some traffic each day from them.

So basically if it's not a static link in their directory I'm not really interested unless it's the same theme.

The Directory I'm building is going to be a Japanese Celebrity Search engine (We own the equivilent of Celebrity dot com in Japanese) & the main title of links will include the redirect & after the description I'll put the static URL of the site for spiders.

I'm going to give the option of adding a recipical link to get better search results.



TO BLING
Thanks for offering the scripts on your site I use one of them. As for a good Directory script. I use www. wsnlinks dot com It's $50 but I can install 3 times. It's ugly at first but very expandable. I'm not a programmer so it might be easier for you to understand.
I wrote on another thread about it but it's a really cheap price for a really good software. You can't belive how many search engines can't do a search with Japanese text.

 

I had a list of reciprocal directories on my directory list site. I removed it because directories that require reciprocal links, are no longer directories, they are link exchanges, and as such I decided to not list them as I do not wish to encourage people to engage in bad practices.

Having said that, some reciprocal directories are worth the link exchange. But I wouldn't just submit to reciprocal directories for the hell of it. If it's a clever SEO move (e.g. you get a PR6 static link on a page with few outbounds, and your keyword anchor text, in return for you giving back a PR4 of similar taste, you get a good link) then maybe its worthwhile. I have ONE such link on my site, and one only to a reciprocal directory. There may be a handful of other useful ones out there, but there wouldnt be a lot.

Don't just link to them, be smart and do your research.

 

I have to say that demanding a backlink is a real turn off. it might be okey to say that you appriciate a back link but that its not necessary.

However i might enter and given them an equally useless link back.

 

My problem with recip directories is the time it takes to add the recip links on my various sites.

I strongly believe that directories are a great way of getting links and traffic, especially for new sites. Time is money for me and many other webmasters. In terms of efficiency, I like to add at least 5 sites to a directory at a time. If I can add 5 sites in less than 5 minutes I am happy. When I have to take the time to add a link to my site and then record the location of the link when adding it to a directory, it often takes two to three times longer.

On the good side, recip directories are often a bit less crowded. But, there are also hundreds of free directories out there and some good paid ones. I am more attracted to them.

 

Won't directories that require a link back be flagged as link exchanges?

 

ThinkBling - You said: "Won't directories that require a link back be flagged as link exchanges?".

Huh... did I miss something... Are link exchanges considered "evil"???

For me, if the site (any good decent non-spammy site - directory or whatever) requires a reciprocal link and their front page has decent PageRank (say 4 or 5 or better - prefer 6 or better) and the page my link will be on is easily found from the front page, then I believe it will benefit me and I gladly reciprocate with a link.

If they are givingh me a GOOD QUALITY link I try to give them a "decent" link in return, I don't try to stiff them by giving them junk links, or hiding them in a forum or page not connected to the front page.

That's not fair to bury their link, is it?

I believe in KARMA!

Non-reciprocal links are definitely better but "link exchanges" are good too, especially when you need the links more than they need you.

Sure, if you have a PR 6 or better you'll have people beating down your doors begging you for links, but until then you have to get links the best ways that you can.

Directories are a good way of getting links, and if they have PR what's the big deal???

Now if the site smells of SPAM then that's a different story - but if it looks good and has PageRank, it should be a good site to trade links with.

Last time I checked it isn't illegal to trade links yet...

 

I don't think people consider them evil at all. They just tend to compare them to the hundreds (almost thousands) of free directories and the concensus is "why bother".

It is probably fairer to compare the recip directories to the paid directories. I don't mind submitting to recip directories if they are offering something that the free directories are not, such as high PR, uncluttered links.

 

I hear what you be saying CA dude, but it seems like some people DO consider "THEM" evil...

It's like anything... it is not fair to GENERALIZE... you have to make an evaluation before you take action.

There are enough good qulaity recip directories out there that make it easy to trade links with and give good PR. If a site looks shabby - RUN!

 

Its just a coincidence, but look at my blog entry (above) from earlier today.

 

why would I link to them?

Only if they are well structured and have great sites than may not link directly to a site I control I may be tempted, as a service to the sites visitors.

I'd rather pay a small amount to get the editor moving or when I know they are or have the ability to send traffic.
(Tip: I never pay by PP account always by c-card and in the few occasions they did not put up the link fast I detested the charge - boy do they move after receiving an RFI)

Expat

 

expat has the right idea I think! Pay with CC, you have automatic protection then.

Also -- isn't building BL just an elaborate way of advertising in the end? Therefore, doesn't it "add value" more to pay cash to get a link, rather than to exchange them?

I just remember reading a story about the fallacies of the dotcom boom, when big .coms would run huge ad campaigns for their partners who ran huge ad campaigns for them; they'd account for them with massive expenditure on marketing and massive ROI's on the balance sheet, but effectively they had a net 0.

Directories are metasites, as such they can't exist without decent content sites. My personal feeling is if you take the time to build a decent content website, then they should be happy you're taking the time to submit to them. There's just no comparison between the value of a good content site and a directory run by someone with freephpdirectory and a paypal account, sorry.

Edit: I'm working on a directory myself at the moment. I'm putting in the effort to make sure it isn't "just another directory", and no way in hell would I ever enforce a reciprocal link from people submitting. Sponsored listings - maybe. Advertising - why not. Reciprocal link requirement - dodgy; doesn't even make sense (why would my content site link to a general web directory, semantics-wise??); turn off to 90% of webmasters.

 

Are link exchanges a bad idea? Yes. They are an unnatural linking environment and can possibly hinder you. It is possible that if a directory was large, they could get viewed as a link exchange and Google could make the links count negatively.

You can argue your point and in most cases it doesn't matter if you believe in this. I just pose a simple question. How many great websites have you seen out there that use this? The answer is zero.

 

The purpose of a directory is to promote your site, not the other way around!

 

The purpose of a link exchange is to increase traffic.

There are as many different purposes as there are opinions.

 

Haven't visited the forums on a regular basis for a few days, but when I came across this thread today I was quite surprised that a lot of people are ready to pay for a link rather than just exchange links with a site (in this case, a directory). I do agree that it takes slightly longer to submit to a directory if you have to set-up a link to the directory first, but isn't it better to exchange links than pay for the link?? Wouldn't you rather use that cash reserve for something else - advertising, PPC etc.??

I also have a directory that requires reciprocal links. And, like the others here who are hosting such directories, my reasons to ask for recips were also quite similar. To reduce the number of rubbish submissions. The reason that it takes longer to submit to a directory requiring a recip link ensures (to a certain extent) that submissions are not spammy. I also check reciprocal links automatically at the time of submission, and this also ensures that SPAMmers can't set-up automatic submissions to my directory.

I have spent a lot of time setting up this directory and I try and ensure that the quality of sites listed are maintained at a certain level. I would rather have 1,000 quality listings than 10,000 listings containing 9,000 rubbish listings that are of no use to anybody. And I don't think that asking for a reciprocal link is "evil" either

Nor is it frowned upon by search engines. "Almost" every site that you visit has a "links page" or a "Partners page" (or directory). If reciprocal links were being frowned upon by search engines, then a good 90% of sites would be banned from Google.

Google does however dislike link farms which are totally different to link exchanges. A link farm automatically adds hundreds or thousands of links to your site on all sites that are a part of the link farm. THIS is unacceptable by Google and can get you into trouble. But, link exchanges are absolutely fine.

 

Yes!

http://www.hotvsnot.com

This is a directory with a fairly high PR and requires a mandatory reciprocal link. I don't see it being banned or penalised by Google and it appears on my "link:" search as well. This is probably a good example of a site that is doing well with Google, despite asking for a mandatory reciprocal link.

 

Many dont ask. I never submit to ones that need reciprocal.