33 replies to this topic

[emmaj]

First things first, hello everyone! My name's Emma and I am new to this forum. I know it's cheeky to ask for advice straight off, but this certainly seems the right place to do it and hopefully I can make some useful posts in the future to make up for it!

When researching manual submissions I came across this forum and have read many negative opinions on the subject here, saying it isn't worth it and doesn't work as well anymore. I was hoping to offer manual subscription as a service to small online businesses for a small charge, however I'm starting to wonder if it is worth my time promoting my service if no one wants it?? I'm currently working as a nanny in a foreign country and figured this would be a great way to earn a bit extra money online whilst the girls are at school as I have loads of spare time and I'd heard mainly possitive things until now.

Just wondered what your opinions were?

Thank you in advance,

Emma

[Jill]

People still want it. It's the value it provides that is the question.

[Traffic-Bug]

Many people are still doing directory submissions as it cant be ignored as a SEO tool. May be it has gone less in importance but people do need directory submission and bookmark submission services.

[Jill]

but people do need directory submission and bookmark submission services.

I beg to differ that they need them.

[chesa7]

Jill,

Is your point that they are no longer valued by the search engines?

Laura

[Randy]

I'm not Jill obviously, but I'll give it a whirl Laura.

The issue is in how one defines Value. Do some directories still provide value in the search engines eyes? Yes. Smaller directories that are laser focused on specific market niches and hand-edited still contain value, both with the search engines with real people who use them.

On the flip side of the coin many, many general usage directories pass very little if any linking value. For either the search engines or for real users.

At one time in years past one could rely pretty heavily on directory submission and get their site ranking pretty well if they had decent on page optimization. Not top ranked certainly, but usually in the top 2 or 3 pages in many markets. That's simply not the case anymore in the vast majority of markets. Nowadays it takes a lot more than directory links to get a site off to a good start.

Perhaps this is because most markets are simply more competitive these days. Perhaps it's because the search engines have in fact devalued the links of so many general purpose directories. They why doesn't matter as much as the fact that it takes considerably more than just links from directory submissions if you want your site to rank well.

[Jill]

Is your point that they are no longer valued by the search engines?

No. My point is that you can optimize a site perfectly well and not be listed in any directories.

[itsmeewan]

No. My point is that you can optimize a site perfectly well and not be listed in any directories.

Hi Jill, I understand your point that you may not need directory submissions to get rankings but what do you think about the theory that directory submissions help to get your website indexed?

[Jill]

I would imagine for a new site those submissions might help to jumpstart indexing. But that's just a guess as I haven't worked with a brand new site in a long time.

[NMHancock]

Hi Guys,

First of all, welcome from a new poster!

However i thought i would have my 2 pennies worth.

Clearly you can optimise a website without needing directory submissions, and clearly you can get great rankings without needing directory submissions, i would even go as far as saying that directory submission will not make much of a difference in the SERPs at all.

That saying, there are definitely times and markets when directory submissions should not be overlooked. Sometimes, particularly as a brand new site, you simply need to get some quantity, rather than quality of links behind you, and the easiest way to do that is directory submissions. And to bring this back to Emma, directory submissions are tedious and very time consuming, particularly when there isn't going to be a massive benefit. Therefore there is always going to be a market for companies looking to outsource this service, leaving their link building experts to create more 'creative' links.

If your prices are competitive, and your service is ethical and transparent, then people will always want to outsource to you!

Hope this helps!

Neil M Hancock

[Say Yebo]

I would imagine for a new site those submissions might help to jumpstart indexing. But that's just a guess as I haven't worked with a brand new site in a long time.

I've had a few brand new sites to work with recently - so new they had not yet been indexed by Google.

I just linked to them from my 'Clients' page and all of them were indexed within a few days to a couple of weeks. Much quicker than bothering with directories.

[Randy]

Yeah, it definitely helps if you have sites already in your network you can use to get the ball rolling Yebo. That's what I do too. It's easier and works just as well if not better. And it can take just a link or two to get the ball rolling, as opposed to having to submit to multiple directories to make sure you get a few links in a relatively timely manner.

[MarkisLearning]

One thought. Do your research and find the top 5 relevant directories with a strong PR (5 or higher) and just submit to those 5 for now. I have found some of the directory submission tools are ridiculous, especially the free ones, they will allow just about anyone in the door. When I did my side by side comparision, I found certain information did not match such as "free" was really reciprocal or even paid but not free. Even the PR didn't match up.

Software automation is what you get. It will never be perfect because it will always require an update. Especially directory submission softwares.

[danstelter]

Directory submission is only minimally helpful in my experience (6 months) of it. I used only the 'free option' and found got my link to appear about 10% of the time in 6 months. I have received no more than 10 hits or so in that same time period. The paid inclusion does not seem to be worth it. My overall conclusion, based on experience, is that there are better methods of linking out there, such as article distribution and using signatures in forums.

[Jill]

My overall conclusion, based on experience, is that there are better methods of linking out there, such as article distribution and using signatures in forums.

I'm surprised you feel that article distribution and/or forum signatures would be better than directories.

I would say that they all pretty much suck.