Is it OK to disavow directory submissions?
-
I'm currently working on a website that has had a load of spammy links built in the past.
From what I can see, it would be most efficient and effective to disavow everything that's there as all work performed previously is low quality, except for some local directory submissions.
These local directory submissions are likely "no follow" and therefore, I'm wondering is it OK to disavow everything including these local directory submissions, seeing they are no follow anyway?
-
Hi,
As everyone else has mentioned, nofollowed links are not passing PageRank and therefore should not be influencing search visibility as assessed by the Google Algorithm. If there is no manual action in place then there should be no reason to disavow them.
However, I look very differently at nofollowed links in the backlink profile of a site that has a manual action in place. In that case I ask two questions:
-
Is the site one that is in any way undesirable?
-
Are the nofollowed links part of an obvious large-scale manipulative effort?
If the answer to either or both of these questions is yes, then I choose to both attempt to get the links removed and also disavow. The reason for this: of course I don't want links from dubious sites which even though not passing PageRank could be doing damage to my brand and reputation and; when asking for reconsideration (judged by a real human being conducting a manual review) I believe that ignoring links that were obviously placed with the intention of manipulating search rankings simply because it didn't work, hardly shows a commitment to the "good faith effort" expected by the Webspam team. So, I go to the extra effort to try to remove and also disavow.
Marie is quite correct in suggesting that there are cases where links on some pages are followed and on other pages nofollowed - in fact we see instances at rmoov where URLs that contain multiple links to a site are actually a mix of followed and nofollowed links as well. As suggested ...you have no control over those links at all, so once you have decided which ones really need to be dealt with disavowing is the safest option available unless you can actually get them removed.
Again, I think the point has been fairly well made above ...Local directories are not all bad. Check for compliance with the Webmaster Quality Guidelines (which for paid directories includes a clear statement in their terms of service which indicates that you are paying for a site review and not for inclusion). The most relevant Guideline is the one about what Google views as "Link Schemes"
Hope that helps,
Sha
-
-
There is no need to disavow nofollowed links as they are not passing pagerank. However, there is no harm in doing this if you want to be sure. It is in theory possible that a site has nofollowed links on one page and followed on another. Or, in some cases, they could decide to change their structure and follow their links. But, in general I ignore nofollowed links when it comes to doing an audit.
-
To stay ahead of any future Google algorithm changes, I would disavow any links now that could seem questionable and hurt you in the future. But what is "questionable" is a complicated question. I would ask yourself these questions for every directory link you have gained:
1. Would I want this link if Google did not exist? (i.e., would the link send me valuable referred traffic anyway?)
2. Is this link curated by a human who is an expert in the field and who does not accept each and every submission?
3. If this link is being paid for, does it not pass PageRank (i.e., is it a no-follow link that adheres to Google's guidelines as such)?
If the answer is "yes" to all three questions, the link is usually safe. Since this is not the case with nearly all generic directories, I would likely want to disavow nearly all of them.
Note: You say that the links are no-follow, but that tag is still under the control of the directory websites and could change in the future (though likely it won't). I'd still disavow them just to be safe because you have no control over those links or what those sites may do in the future. However, this is a low priority since the links are no-follow -- I'd focus first on disavowing worse backlinks or doing your own positive online-marketing work to build your site further.
-
Unless you know you have had a penalty, or suspect you have, then I would be tempted not to disavow.
You say a lot of the links are low quality - what are you using to determine what quality the links are? As Chris said, directories aren't all bad, and some can be a real plus, so evaluate what you have before just removing them via disavow.
Tread a little carefully as I have seen sites get disavow-happy and kill all links, with a resulting drop from the SERPs.
-Andy
-
Hiya Gavo,
When you disavow you're essentially turning any links into no follow links so there isn't much point in disavowing no following links as it just makes more effort. You can however disavow as much or as little as you want but if you've not had a penalty it's best not to get too merry with that disavow list as you may find your position will drop (unless you counter it as you disavow).
Remember Directories are not all evil sometime they are okay, e.g yahoo & yell etc. if your niche finds you through a directory then in fact its good. Its the spammy directories Google's not keen on, so bare that in mind if people are finding you through the local listing.
So the things you want to ask your self is:
Do I have a penalty?
If I do what's caused it?
If I don't can I prevent one by removing links?
Am I getting referrals from these links, would be be better to keep the links and no-follow them ?
Best of Luck.
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
-
Directory listings for a new site and it's implications on SEO
Hi all, In classic newb style I have submitted my new site to several uk directory listings after seeing these listings used by competitors, both local and national. I chose ones with a low-spam score as shown on the Moz site explorer. Now my domain score has jumped up several places over a few days, as has my search position, but will these listings "hurt" in the future? I fully intend on chasing and gaining non-quick'n'easy links in the future for he record. Many thanks!
Link Building | | UkPod0 -
Directories and Bookmarking
Our company has a wide range of linking strategies. Currently, our SEO team members are linking to directories more than anything else. Are there any advantage to this or should they put there effort elsewhere? My views on directories: these links are easy to acquire and offer little push to our SEO efforts. It appears that Google is no longer taking directories in consideration and essentially they could be hurting our rankings. What should our company do; should we stop linking to directories all together or keep it to a minimum. Also isn't bookmarking on the same lines as directories? What is the best way to handle this?
Link Building | | WebRiverGroup0 -
Which Links to Disavow!
We just took over SEO for a new client who is being penalized for a bad link profile. They've asked Google to reconsider multiple times, and Google still claims that the links are bad. Because of this, and because I don't have direct access (logins, etc.) to what the former SEO did, I am considering using the disavow links tool. The most obvious links to disavow are a group of almost 1000 links that come from the same forum. However, when viewing the links on this forum they actually seem natural. People are reviewing the product (ipod cases), both negatively and positively. While this could have been an SEO tactic for link building, I don't want to disavow these links if they're not the problem, even though this domain is the source of almost all the low-quality links. Another site that has more than 200 links is Askives. Do any of you have experience with links from Askives, or removing these links? Thanks again!
Link Building | | newwhy0 -
Performancing.com guest blogging service ok?
Hi MozFans, A client is interested in working with the guest blogging service of performancing.com. They seem to have a lot of good contentwriters and post on (most) niche blogs. Guestblogging is a good thing for seo, when it's on relevant sites with a quality article.
Link Building | | MaartenvandenBos
The client hasn't got a lot of time to write and find blogs himself. Any positive or negative experiences?
Or other options 🙂 Thanks!1 -
Low page rank directories but high domain authority?
I just paid someone to submit me to a few directories and I saw were I was listed on one of them today. The url page authority of where I was listed was a "1" with zero moz trust and zero moz authority. The root domain authority is a "69". Is page authority or domain authority the most important for links? I believe all the directories I was submitted to have url page authority of "1". ( I watched a video yesterday and I think the head guy said that page authority was most important but I am not sure.
Link Building | | Boodreaux1 -
What do the "best" backlink profiles look like, in terms of percentages from quality content, bookmarks, social media, directories, etc?
I recognize that there is no such thing as one ideal link profile, per se, but I am curious, if you sampled 100 high authority sites, what would their inbound links look like on average, broken out by source type? Some sites would have a ton of social sharing due to their funny pop-cultural content, while others might be quoted and linked in context for their brilliant insights. A very technical resource might gain a lot of links from forum discussions. If I can complete this exercise on my own, I welcome your advice on how to do that with OSE or the like.
Link Building | | withoutthestress0 -
Abusive links submission
Hello, I wonder how many links you can submit to web directories without Google realizes that there is something fishy?
Link Building | | webit40
I know that sending a massive amount of in a short period of time is not recommended, but I am sure there is a limit not to cross what would it be? Thank you in advance for your attention.0