I’ve spent some time here talking about how reciprocal links aren’t the best avenue for SEO. A reciprocal link from a site that gets red-flagged will reflect poorly on your own site. This goes the same for one way text links, but one way links do have some added value to two-way links.
First, one way links tell a search engine spider that your site is good enough to warrant a one-way link. A reciprocal link is kind of cheap in comparison because the only way you were able to secure the link was by bartering it away. Still, the same criteria holds for one way links as two way links. Obviously, you can’t control everyone who’s linking to you, so I’m referring to those one-way links that you seek out yourself. Namely in the case of one way directories. I’ll save linkbait in articles or blog posts for another time. Here’s what you should look for in a one way directory:
1. That the site has a decent PR. Just like reciprocal links, there’s no need wasting your time with PR O directories. There are literally hundreds of directories with a PR of 4 or better, so start there.
2. Make sure that the directory is valid. Does the directory organize links effectively? It’s as easy to set up a directory as it is to set up a forum or blog, so make sure the site is well-maintained. Check to see if the directory is human edited and has a good PR for sub-pages, not just the homepage. The URL is also a tip-off: one-way-directory-link-now-place.com probably isn’t worth your time. Also check the number of listings.
You shouldn’t necessarily expect a lot of traffic from a directory, unless it’s a very high-trafficked directory service like dmoz.org. Instead, one directories are purely for ranking purposes, as Google will index these directories, just as it indexes websites and blogs.
Don’t Overuse One Way Links
As I’ve mentioned, you should never use a reciprocal link generator because the quality of these links will be in question. You’ll see countless ads for: “Submit Your Link to Thousands of Directories!!!” Don’t do this. If your link shows up in too many directories all at once, it will be read as spam – which isn’t far from the truth, as you’ve used an automatic bot for link submissions.
As painful as it is, your best bet is to submit your site to these directories manually, one by one. Have some things at the ready:
- A site description. Including a longer site description if the directory allows a 500+ word description. Ideally you’ll have a different description for each directory. Yes, really. Duplicate content is duplicate content, even in a site description. Having 5 descriptions at the ready is a good idea.
- Keywords. Sometimes 10 or less, sometimes longer. Keep a short list and longer list to cut and paste.
- Your email address and URL ready to cut and paste. You don’t want to type this in anew every single time.
- Your RSS feed (necessary for both site directories and RSS directories).
Here’s the best site for one way directories. I’ve linked to the free directories, but there are paid directories as well. Literally thousands of links. On the first page alone, there are 200 directories with a PR of 4 or better. This is a good place to get started. But give yourself a few hours and the possibility of getting carpel tunnel.
