Algorithmic flux or selective penalization? Nobody's sure and nobody that can answer is talking so far, but paid link directories have been plummeting in Google search results. Many are not ranking for their own business name, according to reports, even though webmasters have not received penalty notices.
 |
| Is Google Hitting Directory Links? |
 |
Editor's Note: This article doesn't address the robust discussion of whether Google should or should not devalue paid links, or even the value of directories themselves. This is a hot topic and we know you have an opinion. Speak out in the comments section.
As many as 60 directories, according to
this report, suddenly dropped in rank, leading to suspicion that Google has begun aggressively (and likely, manually) targeting paid link directories deemed to be in violation of the search engine's quality guidelines. Some have suggested competitor sabotage via the recently initiated paid link reporting form.
Some of affected directories included Aviva, Alive, Big Web Links, ewebpages, Directory Dump, Elegant Directory, and Biz-Dir. David Eaves, the owner and operator of
Biz-Dir told WebProNews that about 550 of his directory pages have been dropped from Google's index altogether.
| Key Takeaways |
 Don't panic, rankings fluctuate
Review Google quality
guidelines
Clearly label paid links
Don't Pass On PageRank
Don't forget content
Resubmit for indexing |
Eaves
admits to buying links, which he considers a legitimate form of advertising, but says Google gave him no notice that his site was being penalized. Eaves is considering dropping his paid links in order to get his pages re-indexed by Google.
It's important to note, though, that's not necessarily the best course of action for everybody. Eaves is obviously quite concerned for SEO and directory clients, and says he can
sustain a decent rank with natural links. And he says it wouldn't hurt him to change the links he paid for to nofollow, as the traffic from those links outweighs the traffic he gets from Google.
Again, Google hasn't sent out notice, and hasn't returned request for comment, so it could be just an algorithmic flux. So the important thing to remember is: Don't panic. This could be just the old Google Dance. I remember a man in 2005 ready to put
a shotgun in his mouth because his site was de-listed after an algorithm update. "Don't panic" was the operative phrase of that day, too.
But Google's Matt Cutts has been firing warning shots in previous months, both from his blog and from the Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose, saying that Google was going to be more aggressive about paid links that violated quality guidelines.
During a session at SES called "Are Paid Links Evil?" Cutts presented a
slide presentation, which he was approved to release, distinguishing the types of paid links Google doesn't like. Cutts cited first a Federal Trade Commission
ruling opinion that said sponsored or advertising links must be clearly labeled, and further differentiated between paid links by saying the only ones penalized were links that passed on page rank (PPP).
So whether or not you philosophically agree with Google's point, if being in Google's search rankings is more important to you than winning an argument, Cutts suggests labeling paid links in the following ways:
· Redirect through URL blocked by robots.txt
· Redirect through URL using a 302
· Use Javascript to direct the link
· Apply the rel= "nofollow” attribute to the link
· Add <meta name = "robots" content = "nofollow"/> to the page header
It may not be fair to say that Google favors buying links from certain places, but there are "certain places" on the approved list, and they include:
· AdBrite
· Quigo
· IndustryBrains
· Microsoft AdCenter
· Yahoo! Publisher Network
· Any site that doesn't pass PageRank
>>> Listen to the audio interview with Biz-Dir.co.uk owner David Eaves.
About the author:
Jason Lee Miller is a WebProNews editor and writer covering business and technology.
Listen to the audio 
What Do You Think About Paid Links?
Comments
It's Only Fair
Why should webmasters who have the money to pay for listings gain an advantage over those who don't? DMOZ might take a while to get listed in but they have standards and are trusted. Anyone can get into the paid directories so those links shouldn't count as much toward PR in my opinion.
I have seen no evidence of
I have seen no evidence of this i know this is an old post but time has told
Links
I think live links are still important, but google is very tweaked at the moment so there is no quick route!!
Finding out if penalized?
My sites not been doing as well as usual recently, is there any way to find out if my sites been penalized for something?
After this last google
After this last google update I think google has completely written off directory links altogether.
Easy Money
Mixes up the organic listings so more people have to pay for the ads??
Easy money for some!!
Just forget about directory
Just forget about directory submissions. Linkbait is the only way!
Besides dmoz and the yahoo
Besides dmoz and the yahoo directory,I dont see much of a need to submit to directories. IMHO
paid directories and paid links
This is a strategy adopted by Google that sends the same message as those who want to stop the torrents. You have to change the way you think about them and you have to find new ways to handle the information. Dictators never lasted long in this world.
I know this is an older
I know this is an older article, but I think more now than ever, google has completely devalued low tier cheapo directories altogether.
Web Directorys
I think google will go towards the new Wiki search type listing- consumer rated and driven!!
John
Welcome stand by google
I think this is a very good step by google.Google has been quite serious about link trading for quite sometime and this seems that they are really fighting well to curb it.
But i think this is just an initial offshoot , google has to go a long way in order to get it rooted.
WSOP Freeroll
at least they are trying every journey starts with a few steps
Fair Battleground
Well, it's a welcomed crackdown. Small marketers won't be able to compete with the humongous budget of the big guys. They can just get anything to the top of the result by paying for the links back to whatever site they want. Now, it's fair battlegound.
lets play a fair game
wow !! great news HUH!! Now this will bring all the players on same ground. Now Big companies cant can't just avoid small companies. They Cant boast on their money.
Thanks Google Guys
Cheers
Roshan
www.destinationsunlimited.org
www.indianreligioustours.org
No more Paid Links !
Yes, I totally agree with the Google's decision on not giving weightage to paid links. As there are webmasters, who are doing with more ethical way of get themselves included in the directories.
Not everyone, can afford to buy links from high PR directories or websites.
directories
There is a directory funny enough being launched tomorrow which will l believe take on and give new meaning to internet directories...
Watch out for it 06.06.08 12pm launch www.eway.tv
See you there
Bravesocks
Directories
Bravesocks, that site looks risky to me. I would not invest my capital there!
Free directories
We respect Google's decision as far as it is confined to Paid Directories alone as Paid link certainly result in Biased results as companies with enough enough finance can buy paid links and other companies lag behind as they cannot afford to Buy the links and are left behind as a result inspite of having a good content and a worthy site..
Start to submit to old Directory First
Start to submit to old Directory like DMOZ or others, Google respect them, paid directory are just for havinh a backlink to increase PR, and sometimes they don't submit any visitors.
Google is Evil and Who Cares what they do ?
People that put any stock in anything Google does need to take a step back. Do all of the pro Google people not realize if they go along with these stupid ideas, they are just helping Google control the internet ?
The whole intention of Google was a lie from the start. The plan to get large by promising the people they would never go public was born at the same time Google was thought of.
I have an 11 year old Chihuahua named Google at birth which I can prove from our vets records. We named one Google and one Booble. We posted a picture of each one of them on our website before there was a Google. Two college kids saw our site and stole the name for their site from a dog. I will never believe they came up with the name on their own.
I will use the name for anything I want as I can prove I had it on the net before they ever did. These people stole the name for their site and they have continued to steal since the conceptopn of their scam search site.
The people who even care what Google does are just being manipulated by scammers.
Kevin Hillman
Ad-Scams
I believe
google dance
Well only google knows what they are doing they have the hole picture . But if you are searching for a site name and it does not come in the top resaults then that very bad as the surfer searching wants that site. But i do belive it all a bit gonea bit mad pr rank does nothing for traffic at all. The only think it did was let the owners of the pr rank charge more for there links. But that is what google are trying to stop Yes i do belive it is a bit of poltics as there adsense and adwords as they are driveing to make more money this way. If this was not the case why whould they buy out companys for over 2b that where in the advertiseing market.
It is all about being number one I all so belive the search results these days are not so good.
Finally, a person with a backbone
This person said it all "It is all about being number one I also believe the search results these days are not so good."
If you have enough money, you can buy the number one spot on any Google search results page for any word directly from Google.
Google stopped being a search engine a long time ago and sold out to the highest bidder.
What they do in the future matters little. They are only concerned with making money and could care less if you or me make a penny.
Kevin Hillman
Ad-Scams
Where can you find out if
Where can you find out if your site has been reported for paid links?
Suspension of Unrelevant Links
Google should screen and counter check the links to ensure that whatever stated therein is reflected with the relevant and intended message otherwise what is the purpose of having a directory which gives 80% of irrelevant informations and wasting time of going through it.
links
How do you know if you are in violation of this rule? I have a company that does all of my submissions, but they are all in our category...gourmet food. I get nervous about these rules, since I do not control this part of my business. Thank you!
www.oregonmushrooms.com
Christina Cossairt
Very true!
You have a good point- I think directories will one day be one of the few ways to optimize your website- and most will require $$
paid links
Oh well at just google are keeping things challenging... I've had sucess with alot of sites and never had to buy a link.. with the exception ofthe yahoo! dir
It is Rand Fishkin or Carp
It is Rand Fishkin or Carp boy and his friend Fat Cutts, I mean Matt Cutts. I am going to submit him to 1000 directories right away!
This article seems to
This article seems to indicate that this is something new for Google. I thought Google didn't like spammy type directories for a long time now. Directories that do not list "quality" sites and directories that have links to a "seo" and a "designer" at the footer of "every" page is not what I'd call "quality" at all.
I could be wrong, but why would Google want to give prominence to the few directories this article speaks about? If I were Google, I would not. Period.
My question would be; why does this seem like something new to this industry? Where has everyone been the past two years?
Who Ordained Google God of the Internet?
While I appreciate the strides that Google has made to simplify surfing the Internet, it seems like the mega search engine has ordained itself as "God" of the worldwide web.
From the acquisition of DoubleClick and Google's flagrant algorithmic modificatiions, it seems as though Google has too much autonomy over who succeeds on the Internet. Is anyone policing Google?
Link Directory
i also own a web directory but I am not in favor of the people who have cheated the system. Web directories are also cool to have better positions if the intentions are right and not by just manipulation. The directory industry is so infested that they manipulate the system in every way. I hope Google could spend some time on them really if they get back they could do more damage than good and since they could tell that its ok and Google has an approval and the saga of deception, manipulation, cheating goes on. A prime example of one of those that has been affected is a PR6 with thousand of pages indexed that has no listings and is primarily intended of passing PR and getting the top of serps so that submitters can view it. If it really is an ok site you could have spend less on category adding rather build a content on each individual category. Now most of these directories dont have this and have loads of high PR links which leads to an impression that is intentions is manipulation.
link directories
I am new to all of this, but it has always seemed to me that the primary purpose of the internet was to share information. In some cases, that means commercial information, and in other cases information solely for informations sake. There is every conceivable combination, and that is great. The problem is that when one site gains an unfair advantage over another by the use of any method other than the inherent value of the sites information. Buying links for page rank is a big part of the unnatural manipulation process. I think that page rank means less all the time, except to those who are invested in it's false economy. I see a lot of sites, with little or no page rank listed higher for the same keywords, than pages ranking much higher. That should be the bottom line.
What I question, is the use of advertising to gain better search status. If someone wants to buy an ad on a high profile site that is fine, but when the ad affects the search position, that is a shame, and is about the same as buying links for page rank in my estimation.
even my directory
even my directory has been hit buy this recent debacle. I ranked high for few terms but now not even for my own Business Name. :(
Google penalty
So directories are the things of the past now ?
Will G be hitting Yahoo! directory ?
However, I tend to agree. When webmasters milk the cow a bit too much, something is got to turn up.
link think
Trying again
link directories
Hey, Isn't there some way to read the comments without making a comment? Did I miss it?
I own a small company and
I own a small company and cannot compete with the big fortune 500 companies BECAUSE their paid links help them. I feel that if Google et. al. would not give paid links more weight, this would level the playing field
respectfully
Robert
another argument for relevant link exchange
this whole paid directory links fiasco is yet another reason why we generate traffic and SEO juice for our clients via relevant low volume link exchange using editor based products such as linksmanager. We never paid for links and we don't see benefits for buying links when we can obtain relevant links for our clients via reciprocal linking with quality sites in a slow manner. so many people dont realize link exchange works better than ever.
Directory links
Being the owner of a directory I have a biased opinion on the subject but I can tell you this. 4 years ago on alexa.com webs411.com was ranked at 34,000. We are hovering at 980,000 right now.
The Internet has changed...
Too many websites out there getting popular overnight- this trend will definately cause a large impact on sites that have ranked well, and been around for a while due to confidence, and previous page rank of the older, less advertised websites. Just my 2cents...
Justin
Google dumping paid directory links
Most of the PAID directory websites that remained unscathed by Google offer free links in exchange for a reciprocal link. All the directories that got hit offer no free links (only paid). I am of the opinion that they got too greedy. So I wonder what will happen to yellowpages.com?
Yellowpages allows listings, but no links.. unlike Verizon SuperPages who allows a basis free business link. More shall be revealed!
Advertising 2.0
Forget links try Advertising 2.0
The Term Advertising 2.0 is relating to web-based user controlled online advertising.
Advertising Web 2.0 Portals change the ways users interact with the web as a platform. Advertising Web 2.0 simply put is how website developers use the technology and tools available in order to simplify the website platform for the end user.
Advertising 2.0 relates to Web 2.0 portals that allow users to control many of the sites settings, not previously available for users to edit and or modify, this then gives the information and or the advertising a higher relevance on search engines when people search for specific information.
People are passionate about controlling the choices they have. The web is full of complicated and confusing log-in screens, forms, applications, approvals and user panels, specifically controlled and regulated by the site developers. Advertising 2.0 portals eliminate the complicated and unnecessary ho-hum of the Internet and so create a simple but very effective end-user solution.
This is a so called world's first web 2.0 advertising portal. http://www.whynotad.com
Lots of hype...we tested the advertising portal a few weeks ago and can see the benefits are enormous to Internet advertisers and search engine marketers.
Try it for yourself it take only a few minutes.
directory links
Has anyone come up with a body count on this issue? I have been searching for some updated information, but haven't found much. It would be interesting to know the extent of the situation.
link directories
It seems that this has been coming for a while. Could anyone be really shocked about it? Has anyone been able to determine if it is a result of a change in algorithms, or was it done with human eyes? I can see evidence of both.
Google, directories
For several years, I have enjoyed top 10 (usually in upper half so make that Top 5 )listings with Google...but about 40 days ago, I used a directory submitter...immediately, I was wiped out of Google although I continue to have high listings in other search engines. Interestingly, my google rankings were based upon actual visitors search terms, not my own terms...meaning that I was doing something right that helped visitors using google search...so what happened...it had to be the directory submission...
Paid Links
We paid " Google" for traffic with ZERO positive results. We also noticed it did not matter what we set or budget or when we turned the program on of off somehow Google would alway max out thier profit.
Google adjusts the ranking of your web site if you don't pay them. Our site fell way down when we stopped the pay for click ad's.
I think Google started off the hottest thing on the net! Now, I refuse to us it. Great company seem to go down hill when greed sets in!
Lynn Ladd
Too much competition...
Too many advertisers- too many organic search results. Good paid advertising isn't the way it used to be... when you actually got quick and guaranteed results.
Good Luck-
Are directories penalised?
We listed this website in a number of directories to drive in more traffic and our Google ranking immediately feel from 4 to 3. I'm still wondering if this was a coincidence.
Post new comment