beth_lk
Insider
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/27/2008 10:37 pm
I read here , there and every where that directories are quickly being "offed" by google, and in the very near future google will not recognize a directory.
Does any one have the straight scoop on this?
I am of course referring to good directories, not links farms or any other form of bad marketing.
Use dmoz as the good example 
I have a project in the makings and am not going to work uncountable hours on it if this rumor is true 
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Quadrille
Insider
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 785
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Posted: 04/28/2008 12:36 am
A cpouple of years ago, when PR ruled the waves, directories were seen as a short cut to gain PR, and so became a Killing Field for Spammers.
Within months, there were literally hundreds of thousands, mostly unedited link exchanges.
Google took a while to get wise, but then 'demoted' directory links.
While PR means virtually nothing on its own, trends in PR can be telling - I have a directory of directories, and I update the PR for each one every few months. Every time, without exception, many more show a fall than a rise; often, none at all rise.
Plus, of course, many thousands have been abandoned (though still promoted by spammers)
But it's not all bad news. Many Quality Directories have been stable, and still thrive. And niche directories, in particular, can do very well, provided they maintain their standards.
No directory that works on a reciprocal basis has a hope, and is a risk to far for any serious webmaster.
But sadly, I have not had one single quality directory submitted for six months (and only a handful of cr*p - I used to get hundreds).
To summarise, there is still value in directories, for users, webmasters and owners ... but only for the few genuine quality ones. It'll be an uphill battle for any new 'general' directory, but there's oodles of room for specialists.
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animated3d
Joined: Dec 22, 2005
# Posts: 310
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Posted: 04/28/2008 04:18 am
i think the directories wouldn't harm as lomg as google wont punish them and the landing page of your link is indexed, for new sites article submitting is good to and press release
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Prowler
Moderator
Joined: Aug 14, 2000
# Posts: 1596
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Posted: 04/28/2008 04:49 am
Quadrille summed up it well. When you launch a website and you want the site to be crawled/ taken notice of by all the major search engines - just get a link from a quality directory - and you are done. Gaining an inbound link from a non-reciprocal quality directory is still a pursuit worth the time.
But hunting for a number of quality directories is not so easy.
Niche directories are different.
Running a quality directory is an uphill task these days with dwindling revenues. The volunteer editors are getting harder to come by. The amount of spam is astronomical. You need to constantly update the techniques just to weed out the spam. Sifting through one good submission amongst a thousand crappy submissions can be very hard.
Staying "upright" in the eyes of Google is another herculean task for the directory owners.
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beth_lk
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Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/28/2008 11:05 am
All very very helpful information and I thank each of you 
I now must re think my plan. I had planned on creating a directory with a specific niche. I knew it would be a lot of work, but did not think I would be starting out with a black check mark...
I have shared my idea here before and will share it again, as I hold no secrets
It was to be a directory of sites specifically related to women's topics/subjects.
I will need to give this much more serious thought.
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Quadrille
Insider
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 785
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Posted: 04/28/2008 11:31 am
Start by searching to see what's already out there; if you see a gap in the market for your specific idea, then go for it, and you'll likely get Google's blessing.
Another tip - do check out the 'free' directory software, but most of it is fairly limited, and designed for 'made for adsense' spamdexes. But for directory software that is highly configurable (dread word!), you should only need to pay $20-40 - probably a very good investment.
Then submit it to Quality Directories of Quality Directories, and you'll be off to a good start.
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beth_lk
Insider
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/28/2008 01:09 pm
It is out there but with the risk of sounding prideful, I can do better
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Quadrille
Insider
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 785
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Posted: 04/28/2008 01:28 pm
Then go for it!
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beth_lk
Insider
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/28/2008 08:41 pm
Just to be sure I am not being a cocky know it all
Please define specifics traits of what you would call a good quality directory and a bad directory.
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animated3d
Joined: Dec 22, 2005
# Posts: 310
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Posted: 04/28/2008 09:26 pm
a directory is a directly i think , if you dont mind the big bucks and the gamble of maybe being rejected then sure pay for the yahoo and busines.com link,to me any directory can be good s long as its not gonna be seen as a link farm and the category you put your link on is well indexed.If you plan to run your own directory just make sure the links that you or others put in there are niche related and i guess you'd be ok.
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Quadrille
Insider
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 785
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Posted: 04/29/2008 03:49 am
The key issues are:
- The content sites are vetted; some will inevitably 'turn bad', but you have a process to weed them out. One major reason why niche directories can still do well in Google, while big, general ones often do not!
- The sites are appropriately categorised. Otherwise they are 'nonrelated links', and Google Snarl Magnet.
- The descriptions of the sites are descriptions of the sites, not marketing blurb; if there's ever a 'manual inspection', there's no doubt that Editing Happens.
But the key to it all, is that you build the directory with a clear view in your mind of what the directory's users will find useful - all the above, and more, follow naturally from that.
And don't feel the need to be huge. A small but useful directory that is well managed is infinitely better (by any criteria you care to suggest!) AND more likely to do well in SEs, than a cumbersome, outdated mess.
I've pm'd you a list of articles, some of which focus on Quality Directories.
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beth_lk
Insider
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/29/2008 12:58 pm
so in general, the directories that google and other SE are black flagging are the ones that are link farms and other big no No's ?
They ( the SE ) are not just black flagging directories in general?
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Quadrille
Insider
Joined: Nov 15, 2000
# Posts: 785
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Posted: 04/29/2008 04:34 pm
Absolutely not.
All directory links were 'downgraded' a good while back, but that affects the 'link juice' (dread term), not the directory itself. Since then, there's been a very effective clear out of link farms (though some have slipped through).
Any directory that decays, abuses paidlinks, ore lets editorial standards slip below a certain point is at risk. No, I don't know what that point is, but I suspect the 'nonrelated' clampdown has hit some shoddy directories hard.
The bad news is that some 'good' directories have received collaterol damage. I know of one *very* good directory that was wiped out; it turned out that her use of 'sponsored links' had hit the paidlink barrier. She took advice from insiders, and and has bounced back.
Of the niche directories I know, most have come through totally unscathed. Interestingly, paidfor directories seem to have suffered as much as free - but again, I strongly suspect paidlinks, and failing to heed the warnings
I am sure there are exceptions to this 'overview', and I'd be interested to hear them, but I really don't think you'll have a problem, except that people aren't so quick to submit these days (although spamtwits are), as people know the seo value is less, and also the urban myth about social networking sites is the current fad.
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beth_lk
Insider
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/29/2008 07:00 pm
Thanks everyone for your input. I have learned a LOT. I still have to give this some thought as to if I am going to follow through with the project or not.
It was to be a free directory - I just don't want to travel the paid link road.
There seems to be several up hill "battles" in this field right from the get go.
YET..... I love editing and research.... sooooo - not sure yet.
I am greatly appreciative to each of you
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Prowler
Moderator
Joined: Aug 14, 2000
# Posts: 1596
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Posted: 04/29/2008 11:38 pm
My partner runs a "successful" directory primarily targeted at women. The word success may not mean much in terms of actual revenue accrued, but in terms of the traffic. She spends long hours just to weed out sites which have fallen into "disrepute" .
There are no easy ways to find this out. A site which had passed the editorial criteria once, may have changed hands and now it may be just a MFA or a blatantly spammy site.
I say this as most people assume that once the sites are whetted at the time of submission, they are safe to link out . Unless you adopt a policy of constantly weeding out the bad neighborhood sites, you will have a problem.
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beth_lk
Insider
Joined: Jun 23, 2004
# Posts: 932
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Posted: 04/30/2008 10:36 am
I have decided to change course from the original plan.
If I am going to be needing to spend a large amount of time on the weeding work, I would rather put my skills and time into a different project.
However again I do thank each of you, I have learned a lot, which can now carry over to other areas of my web work.
Much Appreciated
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