Paid Directory Listings: Think Before You Buy!
Posted by Mike | Filed under Link BuildingI know you’re all excited to get those high PR links to boost your backlink count and your own PR as well, but don’t just click that “Buy now!” button! There are many things that you should consider before buying links from web directories; it’s just not the PR that counts.
Since I’m so kind ( 
) and I really want to help you optimize your site and save money at the same time, here’s a list of things that you should ask yourself to know if the link that you are about to purchase is really worth the money.
Are the directory’s pages indexed very well? Well, this may seem kind of obvious already, but for those who don’t know, you SHOULD check for the number of indexed pages before you get a listing. Check how many pages are indexed, and see if the category that you’re buying a link from is also indexed. If it’s not, then don’t bother buying a link.
What’s the PageRank of the category that I’m after? It’s not really the main page’s PR that’s important, it’s the PR of the category where you are going to put your link that counts! Why? Simply because it’s where your link will appear. Will your link be seen on the main page? NO! It’ll be on the category, not on the home page.
Don’t be fooled by people who advertise their sites and say “Buy cheap PR5 directory listings now!” because sometimes, the main page is the only one with the PageRank. Always ensure that you’ll get what you REALLY want for the price that you have to pay.
Will the directory last for a long time? You should really ponder about this before you buy links… what if you just recently bought a $50 featured link and then after one week, the directory just dispersed? Congratulations, you have just wasted precious money. Be sure that the directory has a good reputation and has been around for quite some time. If you can, research on the owner and see if he’s serious about the directory.
Does the directory get visitors? This may not be that important, but I think that directories are called “directories” because they’re meant to help people find what they’re looking for. In my opinion, directories are not just there to give backlinks, they should send visitors to webmasters and at the same time, give the searchers the information that they need.
Good directories send some traffic to your site. The traffic might not be that massive, but they still count. If the directory doesn’t get even a SINGLE unique visitor per day, then don’t even think about purchasing a link… unless you’re that desperate to acquire inbound links.
That’s it! Okay, my list of questions-to-ask-yourself ends here. In case there’s a question that got a “no” as the answer, think deeply if you really want to spend your money for a listing on that directory. I hope you learned from this post. Good luck guys!
A directory that sells links probably isn’t worth submitting to anyway. If there’s a “Buy now!” button I’ll go find another directory. I don’t mind paying a submission fee to a good directory but a directory that just sells links without regard to the website is not a good thing, imo. Bad sites should be rejected, they shouldn’t be able to buy a link.
Not a bad post. But you should mention why submitters need to check inner-page PRs too. It does not really matter–what is the PR of the page you get listed–what matters is –it must have some sort of PR. even PR1/2/3 will proof that it is a genuine directory –and not a directory installed on dropped domain by internet bandits.
On the other hand -home page PR is very important for the frequency of crawling and indexing. The google technology clearly states that -its bots like reputed sites (read high PR sites) than low PR sites.
Tnx.
John, I mentioned why — it’s because it’s where the link will appear. The link that you bought will directly benefit from the PR of the category page, not the home page’s PR.
I guess people are generally pretty careful when it comes to spending their money. But your post really shows up some of the things every inexperienced user should take into consideration before submitting to a paid directory.
Also, they should use Google and find the best directories out there. They might be expensive of course, but they worth it. Sometimes, by being a cheapskate you’re loosing money on the long run. So don’t go for the cheap directories. Go for the established ones
This is a very nice post. Too many people rush in to buying links from directories that have a certain PR. They don’t care about the directory itself - they just see the pretty PR and get a bit trigger happy! Nice info