Questions about my comments on links from directories…
Posted on August 25, 2007
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I’m getting a few questions about my recent discussion about directories. Paul asks:
How does Google know if a link to your site is a paid link? I remember you saying Google is preventing page rank from being distributed to a site if it’s paid. Wouldn’t that make links from directories like Yahoo, which is paid, a bad choice? Just want your thoughts on this matter.
Good question! Google says it has identified many sites that are selling links. It may have pieced together entire link broker site networks – I’ve heard rumors about that but nothing confirmed. What it can do is identify sites that clearly say they have a ’sponsored’ links section or ‘advertisers’ text links section. It has also been asking the public to turn in sites that are advertising paid links.
What Google is looking for are sites that are selling links that typically are not directories and that people buying links from these sites are doing so solely for the purpose of building page rank and, thus, manipulating the search engine rankings. Let me give you a clear example. The site www.ketv.com (oddly a TV news site in my own home town) is selling text links on its PR6 site. You can see them in the lower left hand column on the home page. I’m using this site as my example because Matt Cutts (Google public spokesman) has publicly referred to it as a site that Google knows is selling paid text links and has neutralized any page rank transfer from those links.
Contrast those links to Yahoo Directory which is a paid directory that was formed with the purpose of listing legitimate companies. There is a reason for this directory that was not designed just to add page rank to a site. Google has publicly said that there is a valid business reason to have a listing on Yahoo’s Directory that goes beyond simple manipulation of page rank so they have said a link from Yahoo Directory is OK.
Is this arbitrary on Google’s part? Maybe. Probably. But it’s their call. We just need to understand their thinking and act accordingly. If you were going to buy a link you would want to find a site that integrated the link into it’s content and ideally was of similar content (theme) to your site and that would be nearly impossible for Google to find. I don’t think Google is too concerned about much of this activity going on as they know how difficult it would be to find many sites like that.
Here’s another question that I’ve gotten from more than one person:
Why doesn’t your directory list include DMOZ?
DMOZ.org (a.k.a. Open Directory Project) has been a prestigious directory to get into for many years. It’s free so it’s probably worth a few minutes to submit but I find that directory so full of subjectivity on which sites they let in that I’m not too fond of it. As an example, TheGolfCollection.com is not deemed worthy of making the directory despite it’s top search engine listings and popularity among vistors in making purchases. We have unique products our competitors do not offer. We have alot of products. We have a professional looking site. But we cannot get it in. I have submitted other sites that I am embarassed to identify that made it in no problem.
From an SEO perspective, the big attraction is that DMOZ was the source that Google used to populate its Google Directory. So getting into DMOZ meant that you got a Google Directory listing which was important. However, I have been hearing rumors that Google may not be getting updates for the Google Directory from DMOZ although when you get to Google Directory the ‘Submit a Site’ link takes you to DMOZ. I have seen individual cases where the two directories are out of sync and have been so for months on end so at this point I cannot conclusively tell you what the actual case is on this issue.
At the end of the day my list was compiled from Google backlinks that I compile from a large portfolio of sites. I’m not seeing DMOZ getting listed. That is not to say that getting a link from DMOZ doesn’t count but as TheGolfCollection.com proves, you sure don’t need a link from DMOZ to take and hold #1 listings on Google.
Keep the questions coming!
Nancy
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