• Small Business SEM, Tuesday, September 9, 2008 2:01 PM

"It's been a while since I've gone out on the hunt for links from quality directories, and the experience these past few days hasn't been good: There's a lot more junk out there than not," Matt McGee says. "This can be a problem for the small business owner who may struggle to know how to tell a quality directory from the rest." So he offers some tips for deciding whether a directory is even worth your time.

The first red flag should go up if a directory requires a reciprocal link--as it means the company is likely more concerned about growing its own footprint than delivering high quality traffic. Similar alarm bells should go off if the directory promises a full refund (if your site isn't "accepted'), or offers extra links for an additional fee. Both conditions reek of a paid link scheme. "We can debate paid links until we're blue in the face, but it's reasonable to assume that search engines don't consider this kind of arrangement to be a sign of a quality directory," McGee says.

Other warning signs include pages overrun with ads, as well as poor indexation within the engines. Do some research and see how many of the deeper pages are being indexed, as poor indexation means that visitors may not even find your link during a routine search. Lastly, check to see who your company will be, if you do get a link from said directory. "Search the directory for spammy phrases like 'buy Viagra' and see what results show up," McGee says.

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