Paid Search Directories

Lots of webmasters wonder about the cost vs. benefit of paid directories. Certainly paid directories have been a bit on the decline over the years as evidenced by the number of entries in the Yahoo directory. At one point, the Yahoo directory was a huge part of search. Just getting in was a big deal, and you actually got some real traffic from it. Now, there’s only a fraction of the sites. And Yahoo even went so far as to recently “bury” the link, by making it two clicks down, so there’s no visible link to get there for Joe surfer.

What does this mean? Well if the guys who actually own and run the directory don’t even prominently display it to their users, that’s all you really have to know.

However, there is still the fundamental question: Are paid directories worth it? A good rule of thumb in this debate is to take a look at the age of the site. For new sites, it’s all about gaining some links and visitors to begin to breathe some organic life into it. One place to start to get some links to this new site, are paid directories. Furthermore, a link from a legitimate paid directory, such as the Yahoo directory or Business.com, is a good link, relative to one from John Doe’s blog. However, if you have an older, mature site, that link is going to have less impact, when it comes to helping it gain ranking and traffic. The cost is the same, so you get a lot more benefit out of the $299.00 it costs to join the Yahoo directory for a new site, than you would for an older site.

Paid directories can be worth the money, but you want to understand what impact that link may have on your ranking, and what type of traffic you will get for it. So to use the example of the Yahoo directory, that $299 link isn’t going to impact your rankings much; and given the way Yahoo has it set up now, you won’t get any traffic. So, in that case, I might forgo it. However, for a new site, that link could very well be the best link you have for the first few months, and will help establish some trust in the eyes of search engines.

 

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