Are directory submissions (like buyersguide.plastics.com) of value?
Morning,
Today I'm mentioning the value, or effectiveness, of directory submissions to a sites google rankings.
Some SEO'ers (especially those that are selling stuff) will tell you submissions are no longer valuable, you should just use (insert SEO tool or service here).
It's bull. Now lets bring this to relevance to the plastics industry.
The directories we are discussing are business directories where one can go in and submit their web site to be included in that directory.
Examples of such directories include:
- http://buyersguide.plastics.com
- http://www.polymerdirectory.com/
- http://www.plasticsnewsdirectory.com/
and so on...
The question is, "If I take the time to enter myself in relevant directories, will it do me any good regarding search engine optimization (SEO) for my site, www.acme-molders.com?"
Some experts, as mentioned above, say don't bother. They couldn't be more wrong. First, most relevant directory sites will have MUCH high google rank relative to plastics terms than your site and that link back to your site is probably worth dozens or hundreds of links from weaker sites like your own.
Link rank by google is among the highest parts of the google algorithm, and directories ARE including in that ranking. There is likely no more valuable SEO you can do. By value, I mean what you're getting in SEO versus the minimal time it takes to do it yourselves. This is something any junior staffer can be trained to do. No software to purchase, no experts to source out to. One of our SEO staffers read this SEO blog and brought this to my attention:
Is This Proof Directory Submission Still Works?
In it he discusses how even SPAM words/links entered into some generic directory and being registered and ranked highly on google as of now. And if SPAM is ranking highly, than certainly relevant words/links will rank even higher.
So again, the relevance of this to plastics companies is this: Enter your site into well known directories relevant to plastics and YOUR site's google rankings will increase. That simple!
And, as mentioned above, plastics.com has such a directory and provides free links to industry businesses, and even has a program where you can get a premium link at no-charge!
So, if you care at all about your google traffic, get out there and start linking your site as much as you can!