Welcome to the Q&A Forum

My valuation is based primarily on page authority with consideration given to domain authority (both SEOmoz metrics).

I usually discover about twenty potential links without buying any and create an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns:

• URL
• Page Authority
• Domain Authority
• Price per Year

With this information you can easily tell which are a good value and which are not. Make sure to keep track of the links you pass on because they may become more attractive when you've already picked all the low hanging fruit.

Recently I started using Raven Tools to manage this process because the spreadsheet starts to get out of control:)

My Unqualified Opinion:

I think directories are the easiest way to get quality links as long as you use common sense when you submit. In some niches, they are the only readily available source of links.

Unfortunately, this type of link building is also the easiest strategy for your competition to copy because the barrier to entry is so low. Like most link building activities, directory submission has value when combined with other methods.

How to Find Good Directories:

Fire up Open Site Explorer and look at your competitor's links. The links with high page authority and high domain authority are the one's you want to pay attention to. Many directories contain the word "directory" in the URL or domain name.

Things You Should Check Before Submitting:

• Do a search for the domain name in Google to verify that the site is not penalized

  • You should see many results for the domain. If not, you are probably looking at a site that is penalized or delisted - stay away!

• Check the historical page rank with the SEOmoz historical page rank checker to further check for an indication of a penality

  • A sudden drop in PR is an indication of a penalty

• Check the page authority of the page your site will be listed on!

  • I blindly submitted to the Yahoo Directory and DMOZ only to discover that the pages my site is listed on were totally weak and not worth the money (Yahoo).

Directory Rant:

There is no such thing as a universally great list of directories mainly for the reason that some verticals are listed on low authority pages. Do not accept recommendations that are not specific to your vertical.

Also:

The Aviva directory is a good buy with a PA of 36 for the page you mentioned. For your vertical, I recommend you check out the following:

http://searchengineland.com/a-link-building-blueprint-the-foundation-62784

Hi There,

I've been tackling this same issue with my site, and I think I have your problem diagnosed - It's your domain relevancy and authority. You have modest authority, but low relevancy.

It looks like you're trying to rank locally for the following terms (or variants):

• Toronto Storage
• Etobicoke Storage
• Mississauga Storage
• Scarborough Storage

But, here's a breakdown of your (relevant) anchor text:

• Toronto Storage - 5 Linking Root Domains with Anchor Text
• Self Storage Toronto - 4 Linking Root Domains with Anchor Text
• Storage in Toronto, Scarborough & Mississauga - 2 Linking Root Domains with Anchor Text
• Storage Toronto - 1 Linking Root Domains with Anchor Text

Besides "Toronto Storage", your links are providing you with very little relevancy in regard to the terms you are trying to rank for.

According to David Mihm's Local Search Ranking Factors, citations, domain authority, and quality of inbound links are the most important factors that you can actually use to set yourself apart from the competition (assuming most people are smart enough to include relevant addresses, categories, etc in their place pages). You are currently doing the equivalent of trying to rank for "dishwasher" with links that only have "kitchen" in the anchor text.

Conclusion:

Build links with the terms you want to rank for as the anchor text. I just experienced the exact same problem and the link building shot my places traffic though the roof for a very competitive space.

How:

Fire up Google and do a search for a phrase you want to rank for like "Toronto Storage." Make sure the MozBar is installed and explore the links of your top competitors. Copy the links that aren't junk using the terms you want to rank for as the anchor text. This is somewhat time consuming, but you currently have so few links that you are going to discover a goldmine of opportunity with about two hours worth of work.

Jay,

I'm not an expert, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt.

If you legitimately have two business locations then you should by all means list all of them - with an accurate description of what they are. This includes warehouses, retail locations, etc. If a customer is looking for your warehouse (for example) I don't see how listing it in Google Places is manipulative. Just make sure you describe the location accurately.