Posted by Cyrus Shepard

Good news to all you link builders out there. SEOmoz just updated the PRO SEO Web Directory List. The long overdue update includes over 400 directories (up from 180) separated into three categories – Web, Local and Social.

Wait, aren’t link directories dead?

The practice of obtaining links from online directories has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. The stereotypes of the past are both true and dangerous. Spammy, low quality directories flood the lower cesspools of the Internet. An unbridled strategy of obtaining links from these non-discriminate directories can actually hurt your SEO.

But times have changed, and strategies have become more evolved.

Rethinking Directories

We can move beyond thinking about directories as nothing more than paid links. For webmasters who use this approach, the links they obtain may not be worth the effort. An intelligent directory strategy provides depth to your SEO campaigns and offers tangible benefits including:

  • A more diverse link profile
  • Qualified referral traffic
  • Citations for different vertical ranking algorithms
  • Trust/Authority Signals
  • … and, of course, the link.

If you use different directories for different purposes, you can achieve this and more.

A. Web Directories

rise of Social SEO means sharing your content on sites like Facebook and Twitter can have a positive impact on your site’s traffic. But far too many people limit sharing to the big three (Twitter, Facebook and Google+) without considering other social sharing sites. The plethora of specialized social sites offer several benefits.

1. Member Profiles – Here’s a Web Directory

I encourage you to check out the new PRO Directory list, it’s an awesome resource. That said, any SEO can take advantage of the tactics in this post. Even with a curated list, using Web directories takes time and research.

There are no shortcuts in link building, but the effort is worth it.