How Google differentiates web sites like directories?
-
Hi,
I want to ask how google differentiates web sites like directories or company listing websites? How it understands that is a normal thing to have many links in a directory site? Are there some guides links about what to do and avoid and how to make SEO optimization for a directory web site.
-
I'm afraid I've seen issues with even decent quality directories. I have a client who originally published a print directory and then moved it to the web - they have relationships with all of the companies whose "products" they list (it's not a product directory, but that doesn't matter much for this discussion), they use unique descriptions, and they really focus on quality. Still, they've seen gradual declines, as the OEMs (essentially) rank higher and higher.
I think Google is just starting to view the directory model in general with more and more suspicion. They'd rather land someone directly on a result or answer then go through what's essentially another search engine. That's not to say you're automatically penalized, but it's a tougher model to succeed at than it was even 5 years ago.
I think, ultimately, you've really got to show some kind of unique value. If you're basically just listing other people's information, your chances of making much of a splash in the rankings aren't great these days.
-
Right now, I can tell you that I have a message proving that directories will indeed get you penalized. I had a pr4 51 authority link on a directory site that was very popular. Google doesn't generally give you an hints on links, but they did and I have proof. They told me to take specific directory links down that we built to very relevant sections. Not only that, but even told me that my main url of my site I used as the keywords was still spam.
So, Google I feel is hand picking the directory sites like DMOZ, etc, etc. I also don't feel directory sites are that high of a quality in a link anyways. What can you really say in 30 or so words about your site.
I am not saying to stay away from them all, I am just saying be very careful, because I thought they were ok to use if you picked good ones too, but it's not.
Have a great night.
MB
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Inserting Keywords in Web Pages
Hello! Question: When I add chosen keywords to my site (in urls, title tags, meta description, page content, headers, etc), do I need to put the words on my webpage exactly as they appear in my keyword research? So if I searched "therapist bay area" and I want to include these keywords, for example, must I use those words in that order in a sentence or header on my homepage? Or is it enough to include each word somewhere on the page?
On-Page Optimization | | LPantell0 -
Do sites with more pages rank better?
If a site has more pages and also has good internal linking, then logically it would rank better. Is this the case? Should I be building big (but high quality) sites?
On-Page Optimization | | T0BY0 -
Google Indexing Wrong Title
Hey guys ! I have a wordpress website and also yoast seo plugin . I've set up a meta title which is : TV Online | Assistir Filmes| Notícias | Futebol |GogsTV . (I checked on some free tools to see , and they also show up this) but .... google is showing this : GogsTV: TV Online | Assistir Filmes| Notícias | Futebol . Seems they are trying to show my brand name first instead of my main keyword . I'm not sure why it doesnt indexes as i want ... Does anybody know how can i fix this . Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | tiagosimk0 -
On-Site Optimization Issue!
Hello, I have some confusion about how to structure my site to better in on-site optimization. I am using WordPress. Therefore, there are many things that I need to consider as following: Static Page for homepage OR Latest posts? Archive, Category, Author, Attachment and Tag pages - To put meta robots (no index, follow) or not to prevent duplication? If I use Static Page for homepage, do I need to add meta robots (no index, follow) to POINT 2 above or not? If I use Latest Posts for homepage, do I need to add meta robots (no index, follow) to POINT 2 above or not? To have breadcrumb or not? To have recent posts, comment, tag clouds or popular posts/comments widget or not? To have social sharing icons and related posts in single post or not? If you don't mind adding more tips that I don't know it would be very great! Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | dinabrokoth0 -
Website Changes Updated in Google...
How long does it take for Google to recognize SEO changes that I have made to my website?
On-Page Optimization | | AubbiefromAubenRealty0 -
Schema.org and Google +
Now that google merged local into Google+, should we be changing the way we do the reviews on our sites to be out of 3? I had one out of 5 and it showed up in the SERPS, but since the change now nothing shows.
On-Page Optimization | | netviper0 -
Trouble with Old Site Name
Trying to figure out what is causing a site to show up under a former name in Google. The name of the client is Fortenberry Legal. They changed from Fortenberry Law Group over a year ago. I can't find any code on the site that uses the old name. For some reason, it still shows up as "Fortenberry Law Group" in Google. When I search for "Fortenberry Law Group," that shows up in Google with a full set of site links. When I search under the new name (Fortenberry Legal), that also shows up in Google but without the site links. Any thought on what could be causing this?
On-Page Optimization | | Falconberg0 -
Moving a site as a folder of existing one
We have the following case: Site A with domain authority 65 and 2,750 linking root domains (139K total links) and Site B with domain authority 68 and 1,336 linking root domains (38K total links) There's a suggestion to move Site A as a folder of Site B so it becomes something like this: domainB.com/domainA using 301 redirects for the existing domain A. We'd like to better understand what such move will result in. I imagine at first Site A will drop in rankings, but after that will it be better for it to be under Site B domain? Also, moving all the pages a step behind in the URL path may slightly affect their rankings. What do you think? Would you move Site A or leave it as a separate domain? I understand there can't be an exact estimation what will happen, but I'll appreciate your thoughts.
On-Page Optimization | | lgrozeva0