Why are Directories allowed to charge for links that pass PageRank? Hand-Editing and Human Review? Don’t bloggers do that too?
6 Comments
6 Comments
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Comments
discussion 5 years ago called
i disagree...this is a current issue that is being discussed by top SEOs. The paralles are compelling if you take the time to analyze the situation
what planet have you been on. Most directories (not including botw, dmoz, yahoo) have been discounted long ago. Just because they have some green in the tool bar you think they are worth something?What exact top seo’s are discussing this issue?
It’s true that few directories still carry a lot of weight, because the vast majority of them are so clearly just selling links. But there are still plenty of worthwhile niche directories and a few good general directories out there.Why are these 2 types of websites (blogs and directories) being treated differently on the same issue?I don’t think it’s really the same issue. A directory serves a very specific purpose: to link out to other sites. A blog, on the other hand, while it’s likely to link to some other sites, can be used for a lot of other purposes.If a directory exists just to categorize, list, and link out to other sites, then (at least according to the SE reps) what matters isn’t so much whether they charge for a listing, but what a listing represents: will they list just anything, or do they actually have editorial standards? If they’ve clearly got standards, then the engine can choose to treat whatever fee they charge as the cost of being vetted for the directory or of the directory’s operating expenses, rather than as payment for an advertisement.But since a blog serves numerous other purposes, the engines choose not to give it that kind of latitude. If a link is paid for, they’re not going to assume the payment was a fee for checking out the site before the blogger would be willing to link to it.
qwerty, I do understand that side of the arguement, I am implying that the exchange of money for the link is all the same, blog or directory. "But since a blog serves numerous other purposes, the engines choose not to give it that kind of latitude. If a link is paid for, they’re not going to assume the payment was a fee for checking out the site before the blogger would be willing to link to it."That’s my point. Some bloggers do only take selective reviews that they do get paid for, some, such as Andy Beard claim to turn down a majority of the paid reviews he has the opportunity to do. In that case, he is being selective, and only picking quality products (or links). It is infact the same as a directory deciding who to include. I would guess that 99% of the sites listed in those paid directories solicited a listing on that particular site. How is that different then a paid review on a blog? I see no difference if you look at it on a very basic level: Paying for a link.mikelowery,thanks for commenting on this article. to aswer your questions, I live on Earth. I was never once discussing the value of any directory so I wont bother answering that question. Andy Beard compaired his paid reviews to a listing in the Yahoo! Directory in a discussion less than 1 week ago. go troll somewhere else.
Listing Link & Policy Changes Xemion has the best search engine rankings of any web designer directory (see sidebar for more information). Recently, Google has made it quite clear that all paid advertisements should include the rel=nofollow tag. In order to keep Xemion within Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and protect our rankings, all direct text links have been removed. This is not a change we wanted to make, but felt there was no other choice. If the direct link was your primary reason for purchasing a sponsored Xemion listing, we’d like to offer you a pro-rated refund equivalent to 20% of the annual listing fee (for example, if you have six months remaining on your listing, you will receive a 10% refund). The listing order on each page is also randomized on each page refresh now. Previously, the order was determined by listing date and this hurt latecomers. Lastly, all Sponsored listings have been automatically upgraded to Premium Sponsored listings. There are now only two listing levels, Free and Sponsored, so the listing process is much simpler. ^^ I recieved this email this morning from a directory I had posted a free listing in months back. It appears the directories are feeling the heat of nofollow tags. I won’t be satisfied until all paid directories are nofollow with their paid links or nofollow is removed from google’s policy alltogether.