Submitting to Paid Directories… Yay or Nay?

Being a web developer I have a bit of an obsession with SEO. Getting my site noticed on search engines is a high priority as it gets me more leads, and can put confidence in my clients that I can do the same for them.

On the topic of SEO, I have found myself at the stage of getting quality inbound links for my site. The easiest way to get links is to use directories. Some directories are FREE and others charge you a hefty feed.

Submitting to FREE directories can be of help, but most times you get what you pay for. DMOZ.org is a rare example of a highly regarded directory that is FREE. You know what FREE means? It means waiting months or even years to get your listing included. I still haven’t got in DMOZ and sometimes wonder if they are even accepting submissions.

Using the pay what you get for idea, Yahoo.com charges $299 US to get listed in its directory! WOW… I don’t know about you, but for a small business this is a large chunk of change. Business.com and Best Of The Web are two other paid directories.

My question to you is:

Do you think that it is worth paying the big fee? Or are their better ways to get highly trusted inbound links?

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Written by Brenley Dueck

3 Responses to “Submitting to Paid Directories… Yay or Nay?”

Boon Says:
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I think paying to get included into directories shows just how absurd our dependence on Google and their pagaranking algorithm is.
Everyone is searching for that mythical first page, and every month that passes more and more webmasters are trying more tricks to try to boost pagerank, most likely through getting more links to their site.
I think what is needed is a radical overhaul… another credible competitor to google in the search area will help, especially one who will use a different search algorithm that de-emphasizes links.
Mergen from WEBGURU-CO.COM Says:
May 11th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I’m not a big fan of paid directories. I think similar results can be achieved without having to fork out money.
DMOZ in my mind should be devalued to almost nothing. They are a pain in the rear to work with. Numerous attempts to get listed can simply go unnoticed without even a courtesy reply. There is no accountability there.
Boon, if you take out links, how else can search engines place more weight to a site?
Keith Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I submit to some free directories if they have listing pages relevant to my website and don’t appear to be “bad” links. I refuse to pay yahoo for anything.
I was taught that content is #1 when it comes to getting links, pagerank, and SERP’s. Writing content that other people want to link to is the key. The problem is in my field (fence products), nobody really links to me. So I have expanded to DIY and home improvement areas and have networked with bloggers in that area (many more options). It worked for me with my last website that I recently sold to start my new one a couple of months ago.