Business Directory Listings

PowerPlantPat

New Member
How do you determine which directories are credible or not? Which are the most popular directories that people actually use and are converted from?
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
How do you determine which directories are credible or not?
Assume they are not, until one actually does send real visitors.


Which are the most popular directories that people actually use and are converted from?
Do you actually use a directory?
Do you know anyone that does?

Personally I've never used a directory to find anything, ..... Ever! And in the almost twenty years I've been looking after and monitoring websites for myself and others, I am still waiting to see that first convertion by a visitor from a directory referral.
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Though to be honest it has been over twelve years since even bothered 'submitting' a website to any directories.
 

PowerPlantPat

New Member
I personally don't either... If I'm looking for anything, I start with google. Why is creating directory listings considered a strategy that people suggest? Not necessarily the only strategy, but A strategy to create back-links. Is it possible to even track the traffic from a directory site?
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Why is creating directory listings considered a strategy that people suggest?
Search engines weren't really around in 1993 - 1996, and the ones that were there were not sufficiently comprehensive, so the only way for sites to be found was via a directory with 'categorised' listings. Unfortunately, the SEO "experts" and the 'Eastern Mystics' haven't caught on to the fact that the Internet has moved on since then and that directories have become the downtown slums or the "Shanty town" side of the Internet.
Every body knows it exists and where it is, but no one really wants go "window shopping" there.

Then there is the "it's a one way link" pundits. Certainly, it is that, but it's just one link that people will never find and search engines have been discounting or ignoring for years.
 

PowerPlantPat

New Member
Then there is the "it's a one way link" pundits. Certainly, it is that, but it's just one link that people will never find and search engines have been discounting or ignoring for years.

Is there a reference you can link me to that shows the search engines are discounting or ignoring these links? It's not that I don't believe you, I would just like to show my colleagues.

Just so I'm clear we're talking about the same type of directory listings, say for example Yelp, Merchant Circle, Foursquare, etc.
 

bermuda

New Member
Look, there is a theory in SEO that certain directories can offer value, but the number of such directories in each niche or field should be like a few. Even top SEO companies purchase only a few directory links for their customers, this shows that links from relevant directories can still help but the bad thing happening now is that there are hundreds of low-quality directories out there which look like link farms, rather than decent collections of web listings which should have been gathered with care.
 

02rahman

New Member
Assume they are not, until one actually does send real visitors.



Do you actually use a directory?
Do you know anyone that does?

Personally I've never used a directory to find anything, ..... Ever! And in the almost twenty years I've been looking after and monitoring websites for myself and others, I am still waiting to see that first convertion by a visitor from a directory referral.

Directories usually don't send direct traffic but some of those are having a lot
visitors from search engines that alone shows their credibility of their site.

I happened once to see a stat from one the biggest site directory in my local
country that changed my mind about such sites. The site was getting
more than 1000 visitors from Google. So that seems we should take them
as part of our seo.
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
The site was getting more than 1000 visitors from Google.
Per hour, per day, per week, per day .... or since the day they launched.
Such statistics are meaningless with being qualified.
Those 'visitors' might be just to the 'home' page or to the "submit" URL which means the URL where you link is is NOT going to see ANY Google traffic


So that seems we should take them
as part of our seo.

SEO is NOT about getting traffic from "Google". Never has been, never will be.
 

RDB

New Member
Directories have had their day tbh. They where useful before Google, now they are not really required. I would not use them as they may get some traffic but does that traffic convert into sales. I doubt it.
 

Phreaddee

Super Moderator
Staff member
Site Experience Optimisation!

That makes heaps more sense...

and it's about getting users to your site and staying on your site, and enjoying your site and buying from your site or interacting with your site. It does have very very little to do with search engines at all. :p
 

Lou Neri

Member
Site Experience Optimisation!

That makes heaps more sense...

and it's about getting users to your site and staying on your site, and enjoying your site and buying from your site or interacting with your site. It does have very very little to do with search engines at all. :p

Your partly right :oops::oops:

But its not SEO.. its UEO (User Experience Optimisation). :rolleyes:

Just to clarify (for other members that might misunderstand).

UEO and SEO are both branches of Digital Marketing.

They are totally different from each other.

What most member here doesnt understand is that SEO is only a piece of marketing.

They only rely in SEO which is entirely wrong.

(sigh)


Lou Neri
 
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chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
What most member here doesnt understand is that SEO is only a piece of marketing.

They only rely in SEO which is entirely wrong.

Absolutely right, SEO has always, ALWAYS, been a misnomer.

Right off the mark, right from day one, it was ALWAYS about the USERS of search engines. No one in the [short] history of Internet marketing has ever been been marketing to a search engine they have ALWAYS been trying to reach the search engine users.
 
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