does that mean PR 0 directories are actually harmful or it doesn't hurt to keep em. I've been thinking of directory submission but I really would like to know what the issue is here & if it even is worth the time.
No. PR0 directories are fine. That's my opinion. As long as they are indexed by google - you have a backlink for your website.
I have many websites where I will submit to directories and never see the backlinks but I see results in the serps rankings. In my experiences I believe the more your submitted in the directories the more the search engines will pick up your anchor text's. It's something I don't believe you will ever be able to physically see the results.
That's exactly what I was going to say. All you would need to do is hire a staff to "bomb" your competition and take microsoft's number 1 position for the search term "windows". With over a billion competitors, you'd pretty much be able to print your own paycheck.
its an interesting thought. was planning to do the opposite in a few days, this has given me second thoughts
After reading all this thread, I didn't find any SERIOUS arguments why directory submission could be bad. I think I will try it tomorrow as one of my new websites started experiencing SANDBOX effect.
I do believe that sooner or later Google will find a way to devalue "self linking", since it is not an accurate measurement of how valuable your site is to others..which seems to be how they are trying to give rank and configure results, but for now that is not the case. I still go with a balanced attack..just having all directory links cannot be good, but i don't thik that directories will hurt you, unless it is run poorly or in a link farm,
Hi, Just to let u know from my experience I have submitted my sites to lots of directories including no PR to PR5 or PR6 and I have got loads of my website pages indexed into search engines because of these directories. It can't do any bad to your site but who knows may be a PR0 website gets PR3 or PR4 within few months so don't think this is not gonna benefit your site. I hope you get the idea.
I believe dictories are only worthwhile if you submit to quality ones. As for people saying they haven't seen a backlink, from some directories it can take months or years to get accepted. Just go with your guts on which you should submit your link to and you should be fine.
Directories that are high quality will gain your PR and trust in the search engines but many of these directories that are link farms and on dropped domains don't do a thing for you. They do not do anything negative at all but the link is just downgraded so much that it has no juice passed on. So basically if you are submitting to low quality directories you will be basically wasting your time.
I just don't get why people keep saying directories have no value, or that directories have lost their value. This is a silly statement and if it where true none of the major webmasters would keep submitting. A link is link no matter where it comes from, providing that it is from a valid source and not just some fly by night directory. People tend to forget that yahoo directory started off as a bookmark list which was turned into a directory. Page rank or not if a directory has been around for awhile and paid their dues then those are the directories you want to submit to. If your goal is to get page rank from directories then forget it because those days are long gone, if you are looking to climb serps then directories are still in. IMHO all this talk is just a distraction and a way to try and get people to get their minds off directories and start spending their money on the so called latest fad of building links. It all comes down to the goal you have set for your business. The only way to the top of the search engines is to have links pointing to your site, and what better way to do it then directories. Sure you can twit and all that stuff but how long will that last? You will only see your site their for a second or two before google decides that those links are no good as well. You can't even get a solid blog post nowadays without google claming that you paid for it, so whats the point, you can't get a link from some of these so called power sites without getting slapped with a nofollow tag, so again, whats the point? I'm not saying that directories are the only way to go, but one thing I do know is that you are more likely to climb the search engines faster by using directories and moreover staying there, as aposted to trying the latest fad and getting disappointed.
I have heard that it is just a myth and I am starting to believe it is. The best way to get rank quicker is through ezine articles but it just requires some time and dedication
As for now i don't submit to directories, but i think it is worth doing it. Even if it don't help your site, i think it wont hurt it either.