Recently, a client told me that a well known UK business directory, who do a physical directory & an online directory (you can probably guess who, if you’re in the UK) sold them an online ad, based on the SEO benefit this ad would have as a backlink.

So, you can imagine their anger when I highlighted the fact that the backlink they had been given, would provide no SEO benefit whatsoever!

Most of the directories who’re selling ads which include a backlink to your website, use the “NoFollow” attribute. Which means that visitors may follow the link to your website, but search engines will not.

Backlinks to your website which include the NoFollow tag, have absolutely no search engine optimisation benefit, no link juice can flow via a NoFollow backlink.

This isn’t to say that a NoFollow link is of no value – it may well be of value in terms of direct traffic, but many advertising sales people will try to increase the perceived value of their offer by selling also based on the SEO benefits of a backlink.

Even if they don’t use the NoFollow tag in outbound links, a backlink from a paid directory may pass no linkjuice anyway, it depends on whether Google trusts the directory.

If you’re selling backlinks, Google expect you to use the NoFollow tag. Directories who blatantly sell inclusion without using the NoFollow tag,  may well lose their ability to pass on linkjuice – so even if a directory doesn’t use the NoFollow tag, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be any SEO value from the backlink.

So, once again I’m not saying don’t advertise in paid directories – but only do so based on the direct value from the backlink in terms of the traffic that you will get to your site as a result – don’t count on any indirect SEO benefit from the link, as the chances are there isn’t any, regardless of what the sales person says.

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Filed under: SEO General

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