August 2,
2006
In This Issue:
1. Using Directories for Quick Link Quality
2. In the News - Matt Cutts videos, Andrew Goodman
interview
3. More News Headlines
4. Wrapping It Up
_________________
Using Directories for Quick Link Quality
Directories take so much flak in the SEO/SEM industry,
and sometimes deservedly so. But directories can
still provide an inexpensive way to get some immediate
"link quality", which is helpful if
you're launching a new site and don't want to
wait weeks or months for links to come in from
other sources.
So the question, then, is this: What directories
do you use for a quick burst of quality inbound
links? Well, first things first -- you don't want
to overdo it. Remember that it's imperative to
have a "natural" look to the inbound
links your site gets; if a search engine sees
your site go from zero to several dozen (or a
couple hundred) links overnight, that's a red
flag. So you want to pick and choose only the
best directories for your initial effort, because
quality is more important than quantity.
With that in mind, here are the directories I'd
use:
Yahoo! Directory
Business.com
Best of the Web
Microsoft Small
Business Directory
That's it - just four. Yes, there are other directories
where you should consider adding your site --
but remember this is for an initial, out-of-the-gate
burst when you need some quality links in a hurry.
Each of these four costs money, but you should
know by now there's no such thing as a free (and
good) lunch.
I didn't include the Open
Directory simply because it can take weeks
or months for your site to be added there. That
said, if you know that you'd be submitting to
a DMOZ category with an active editor(s) and quick
turnaround, I'd also submit there in this situation.
_________________
In The News
Matt Cutts videos
Matt Cutts, the Google engineer who's been quoted
in Net Gains several times in the past, has a
new gig: video star. Rather than answer webmaster
questions in writing on his blog, Cutts has made
six brief videos answering webmaster questions
and uploaded them to Google Video. They cover
topics including "qualities of a good site",
"SEO myths", and "static vs. dynamic
URLs." They're each pretty short, in the
4-6 minute range. And they're probably quite helpful
to those of you reading Net Gains. I recommend
you have a look.
Matt Cutts: SEO
Answers on Google Video
Matt Cutts: More
SEO Answers on Video
Andrew Goodman interviewed
This one goes back a couple months, but if you're
interested in pay-per-click advertising and the
current landscape there, do read Henry Blodget's
interview of Andrew Goodman. Goodman is a leader
when it comes to anything related to PPC advertising
on search engines. The interview covers topics
such as Paid vs Organic Search, Keyword Prices,
Local Search, and more.
Traffick.com: Andrew
Goodman interviewed
_________________
More News Headlines
Here are a few news headlines worth your time
to read. These are just some of the headlines
we've posted to OWTweb.com in recent days.
Blog
advertising: A quick tutorial
August 01, 2006 - ClickZ.com
Google
to offer advertisers click fraud stats
July 26, 2006 - News.com
More headlines: http://www.owtweb.com/news/
_________________
Wrapping it Up
That's all for this week. I'll be gone next week
at the SES conference in San Jose, so look for
another Net Gains in two weeks.
Thanks for reading,
Matt McGee
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