Is Link Building with Directories Dead?

I recently read a post from a blogger who slammed directories and went as far as to say that submitting to directories is for dumb-dumb's.

I've said this before and I will say it again, DON'T FALL FOR HYPE! The best thing you can do in your Internet Marketing efforts and especially for Search Engine Optimization is to test and analyze what is working and what is not.

I have two sites, Site 1and Site 2, and for both sites I used the EXACT same link building strategies EXCEPT on Site 2 I did not submit to directories and guess what? In this last Page Rank update from Google, site 1 went from PR0 to PR2 and Site 2 PR0 to PR1 and the only difference between them was about 800 backlinks from directory submissions.

It is true that Directory backlinks are not the best backlinks, but they are still a vital part of an overall link building strategy. When your site is new you need all the backlinks you can get, until you have a high PR site link building needs to be aggressive and diverse. So, while the clueless are sitting around bitching about what doesn't work, I am building links!

Remember the Time Formula for Link Building:
40% - Article Marketing
25% - Reciprocal Link Exchange
25% - Social Bookmark Links/Forum Sig links/Blog comment links
10% - Directories

Also, this blogger went on to say that the only directories that matter are Yahoo Directory, Best of the Web and Business.com

Okay, let's see...

Yahoo Directory - $299.00 per year! NON-REFUNDABLE and NO guarantee of approval.

Best of the Web - $99.95 per year! NON-REFUNDABLE and NO guarantee of approval.

Business.com - $299.00! NON-REFUNDABLE and NO guarantee of approval.

(BTW, go to work.com and write a guide, work.com is the sister site of business.com, the guides rank high in G and if your guide is really popular and good it could end up featured on the business.com front page and then you get that $299 backlink for free!)

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't have THAT kind of money to spend on link building. Most of us, Affiliate Marketers are a one man/woman show, some working around day jobs, sitting at our computers and trying to grow an affiliate marketing business. We are not Donald Trump or Shoemoney.

How feasable are these costs if you have 2, 3 or more niche sites? Get Real!

Now, there are good and bad directories and yes Google did blast several bad directories in the past for creating directories for the sole purpose of manipulating SERPS. BUT, this does NOT mean that you stop submitting to directories all together, just be a little more selective of the ones you submit to.

The True Meaning of a Directory:
Main purpose of directories is to help people find something on the web, and they are supposed to be built for humans and not search engine manipulation. The main value to a webmaster to add their url is for traffic.

What Makes a Not so Good Directory:

• They blatantly advertise and promote that adding your link will boost your page rank and SEO and not the actual listings for visitors reference.

• They require a reciprocal link, many will suggest, but the good ones usually do not require.

• Bid for link placement. You have to bid for a higher placement of your link. Run for your life!

• They offer multiple links with your choice of anchor text, obviously this reeks of search engine manipulation and not a directory for humans. Run faster!

Also good directories do not allow adult and porn sites and they ask for your email address to have you verify your submission, this means they are vigilant about and monitor for spam.

Here are Some Good Directories:

• worldweb-directory.com - DA 20
• elitesitesdirectory.com   - DA 27
• web-catalog.gr              - DA 13
• exactseek.com              - DA 44
• huludirectory.com          - DA50
• usgeo.org                     - DA 25
• csslight.com                  - DA 39 - This is not really a directory but is a site where you submit your sites and other members vote for best designs, gives a powerful permanent backlink.

Also, bad-neighborhood.com is a tool that checks backlinks and alerts if any of them are coming from penalized sites and other bad neighborhoods, which Google strongly advises against.

Now don't panic if you see the Blog Spam warning, these come up a lot when you link to and have links from blogs and it does not mean it is a bad neighborhood. Also warnings, like sexuality and gambling anchors may be flagged BUT look at the source of those, for example, Ezine Articles gets flagged as possibly bad because of Articles about Sex and Gambling, but we all know that Google certainly does NOT consider Ezine Articles a bad neighborhood!

Build Links! Build Links! Just build links everyday!

There will always be rumors and hype in the world of Internet and Affiliate Marketing. It is important to follow correct guides and it's just as important to keep testing and analyzing!

What do you guys think? What has been your experience with directories? What do you think about testing?