Do "free" general directories still have a place ?

Reading some discussions here and on other forums I ask myself do "free" and general directories actually still have a place in the Internet landscape of today?

Again what follows is in regard to general directories that do not have any own content.

My take is quite simple:
There was a time when these - like DMOZ - had a place and where a great haven for fledgling websites and webmaster. This time has gone - G send out a loud time signal to this regard (sorry if you haven't got any shares).

Looking at some of these, all I see is that they are link mules - using unique content, twisting it a bit maybe and looking at guidelines that are antiquated and/or convoluted.

No I'm not bitter - I have not been rejected - I use them for what they are link mules and very careful, as changing once in is virtually impossible.

Looking at some of the statements - "listing is not an endorsement" "not responsible for legality / content of site" etc.

So what are they actually good for?

Does anyone really use them except for checking on competition - listed or not - and getting back links?

Expat

PS Active directories - not link yards - dovetailed on content rich sites and potentially enhancing these, I do not mind I actually support these.

 

i for one agree... i mean, who actually "uses" these things anyway? i've never once used any of them for any reason whatsoever in terms of looking for useful content, i'm a straight-up search engine junkie. Seems like the way it's currently set up, google favors the people who have enough time on their hands to sit and add their site linkage to hundreds and hundreds of useless & obscure pages that no one will ever use for their intended purpose, that is, assuming the intended purpose is providing a visitor useful information?

Oh well... gotta get back to work submitting my site to some more useless directories. hehe

VG

 

90% of 8 billion web pages aren't used by anybody. why blame on general directories?

 

I'd say that general directories still have a place, and that niche directories can have more of a place.

Overall, though, you should never be relying on a single strategy for SEO purposes, and that means if you include submissions to directories as part of your overall SEO strategy, then I'd say you're doing something in the right direction.

Main uses of directory links for SEO, are to increase your spread of IP linkage, and also generate on-topic links via the directory categories.

2c.

 

Google, for one seems to be using DMOZ A while back, I've noticed that Google has started using the site descriptions from the DMOZ entries.

 

Yes, definitely the niche directories are going to have more of a place. I have several niche directories that do very well, and the PageRank is not bad. I think general directories can have a place too, but the standards are much higher, as should be expected. This is one of the reasons DMOZ itself is getting so much heat, because they are having trouble maintaining quality.

I would love to see DMOZ use Slashdot style modding!
I may have to add this as a feature to phplinkdirectory

 

I have no problem with "niche" or content supported directories.

I'm just questioning the link mules and general dir's that seem to have no real usability except keeping some people bussy.

G seem to have fun with the dmoz feed and if one looks carefully no pr is assigned after level 2

..- from G's directory ..- .

When would I use the Google directory instead of Google's regular web search?

• The good news is that you don't need to choose between the two. Google's regular web search results are enhanced by information from the Google directory. Look for the addition of editorial descriptions and links to Google directory categories in some search returns.

which I read as "don't bother".....

Expat