The quest to build links, improve site or page rankings, dominate standings in search engines etc. is something no online marketer, webmaster, or site owner ignores. Needless to say, these days competition for online niche dominance is fierce with everyone searching and using every bit of tip or technique there is to forge ahead. However, many have forgotten or perhaps ignored one technique that has stood the test of time. In that regard, I’d like to ask you this:

 

When was the last time you used a paid directory?

Seriously, did you ever consider this? do you submit your site(s) to directories?

If you do, let me know comments below, if you don’t, let me know in the comments.

You see back in the early days, link building was easy all you had to do was list your business or website on a few high profile directories or if you took it to the next level, you submitted to a myriad of directories and boom that was it. Like a tree up the hill, you had quickly spread your roots down the stream in the valley.

Well, that was good up until the point when Google started devaluing links and stopped indexing certain directories due to abuse of the system. In short, webmasters became too clever for their own good and Google took notice.

 

So are web directories still useful for SEO?

A simple answer will be Yes, but unlike before it is not that straight forward. It needs more work.

Although, there are people who still believe that web directories are not good or useful. Based on their experiences there could be some merit to it but according to Ashrefs, directories are still a low cost and effortless way of building links.

In other words, if you were preparing for a marathon and someone told you that you will run comfortably and faster if you added a softer pad to your running shoes. won’t you try it?

Same thing with web directories. They are very important and should be included in your overall SEO strategy.

So in effect, web directories are very much necessary for improving your local SEO.

However, as John Romaine would say “it depends on which web directories you submit your websites to, how you go about submitting it, your intent, and the approach you take”.

While paid directories can be somewhat expensive I reckon you use them and even though there are reputable free web directories out there, take the time to check out sites that offer free listings as not all free listing directories are created equal.

Besides nowadays many people turn to web directories to search for businesses with reviews. This automatically tells you how valuable listing directories still are.

Bottom line, SEO techniques change over time, but one of the pillars of SEO is link building, done either through video or written content still remains the same.

So get out there check out paid web directories, make submissions. See the benefits of using paid directories

That said, with web directories, you can very much build a valuable link profile but how you increase your page ranking, Domain authority, Click through rate etc. depends on you.