Thread: SEO question...

I manually submitted my site to like 400 free directories in my link building campaign. Since I was going the free route, many of them requested Reciprocal links for them to consider listing my site. Due to the number of reciprocal links, I made a Directories page in my References section. Will this adversely affect the SEO design of my site if I have a page with a bunch of free directory links?

Should I only give reciprocals to certain PR Directories or should I just scratch the whole page?

Here's my WEB DIRECTORIES page.

For now it is published but is subject to the outcome of this thread.

Thanks for any advice.

Where's all my SEO peeps when you need them?

Be patient - we all have lives, you know :)

Be very careful what directories you are submitting to and linking to/from. Some are legitimate, many today are link farms and can actually hurt you.

Personally, I don't submit to any directory which requires a link back. Link trading with relevant sites to MY customers is another story. Anything that is NOT relevant to the people who are coming to my site will not get a link.

If the links are relevant to your site then they should not affect the seo of your site. However as Bethers says, it really depends on the sites as if any of the sites you link to link to sites that Google deems to be inappropriate i.e spammer sites or crack sites this this can hurt your seo campaigns.

Thanks... i just used rel="nofollow" on all of them, so i guess that shouldn't affect me anymore right?

By using "nofollow" you are breaking the spirit of reciprical linking and its posible tht you will get a lot of emails to that effect..............

David is correct.

If you are going to manage a link page and bother to put it up, shouldnt be a need to use NOFOLLOW ever.

NOFOLLOW should be used for example if you post an article, a link to a charity site, or sites that change their content frequently depending upon their purpose or current interests, a paid ad, a blog, etc where you cant control the quality of the link. If you have a reciprocal linking page inviting links and vice versa, and use nofollow on those links youve just admitted you will link to anyone and its just a link farm. Would you want the reciprocating link to you listed as NOFOLLOW? Saying well heres a link but I dont trust it, or suggest that you go there?

The idea of reciprocal linking is to assist your customer number one, boost your popularity and raise your rank and relevance content. If you think a directories listing is a good resource, then list it as a normal link or reciprocating link. But if its NOT a useful resource, and you just want the link make sure its not a link farm as Beth has said!

Karen