I submitted my site to loads of article directories and got loads of links - since then my site has dropped in the SR. I thought it was not possible to drop in the SR as the result of more links - if it is I could hurt my competition? Any ideas?
No, that's not the reason why. Were you just submiting to directories? Stupid move there; build links with relevant sites, try to get posts on related blogs, and don't just submit your site to directories. If the directories are in google's bad neighborhood, then of course you'd drop.
His question is my answer Get links from sites relevant to yours, forget directories they are a waste of time in my eyes.
Submitting to directories is stupid? Since when? Not all directories are in Google's bad neighborhood! If that were the case then it would be very simple for me to sit and submit my competitor's website in multiple directories, keep doing that until he literally falls off the face of the planet G. Feel free to submit to directories. It WON'T hurt you UNLESS you submit to a directory that Google dislikes. Remember that directory links do not carry huge amount of weight, but they still count and can pass PR. Do everything, submit your site to directories, article directories, link exchange blah blah and wait and see the results... do a little tweak if needed and wait again and see the results. Patience and devotion are the key here
I don't mind article directories because the articles can end up on a lot of relevant sites, albeit not always quality sites. You can also get trickle of traffic as well.
I second it, that submitting to directories is stupid and a waste of any respectable webmasters time.
Wouldn't that allow you to sit and submit competitors sites to only those 'disliked' directories and accomplish the same effect then? Not trying to be a pain in the ass, there just seems to be very little agreement among people on whether it's true that inbound links by themselves can or can't cause harm, which I think was ultimately the question camino was asking... If a site can trigger a penalty just by linking to you, with no reciprocation to said 'bad neighborhood' required - then what's to stop people from deciding to sabotage competitors? If that's not possible, then why would getting any particular inbound links be cause for concern? (I can see how some might be pointless/useless, but if inbound links can't hurt because they're 'out of the webmasters control' - then shouldn't the only worry be that one's wasting their time?)
One-way inbound links can not hurt you, regardless of where they come from. Anyone preaching anything else is spreading misinformation.
Doesn't that mean that anyone could hurt someone else's website ranking simply by submitting their targets website to the directories as well?
Lets make this simple, one-way inbound links do not effect your SERPs in any way shape or form, if that was the case competitors could hurt your site greatly.
I don't think it has anything to do with your links, I think Google has made some changes because there seems to be a lot of sites dropping in ranking - considerably - within the past couple of days. This could be the next algo update for all we know. Whatever they're doing, it affected me as well - my site's ranking dropped by about 300 positions.
I didn't call submitting to directories stupid. I called just submitting to your sites to directories and not building links with relevant sites stupid.
Google made some major changes in late november and alot of sites were affected. Use the googles Webmasters Tool and you will get alot of info. They even have a new feature that lets you see week by week where you hold on the serp!
Google may have set a hidden limit to the amount of links a site can get in a certain period of time. However, directories does not really hurt a site's search engine rankings. The search rankings tend to fluctuate a lot, so it is natural that a site may sometimes drop out of certain keywords despite building links for it.