Do the bots crawl the top of the page first - directory listing question
-
Hi all,
I've purchased a link from a good PR4 website, but they added my link to the bottom of a lengthy page. They offered to up-sell me to get to the top of the page, where I'll be 10 or 12 links down.
One of my direct competitors is at the top, so I'm happy with the directory choice (they spank me in rankings). The only reason I'm on this directory is to purely capture link juice.
So knowing all of that, my question is, should I go ahead and pay to be on the top, assuming that Google bots crawl a page from the top down? It's important to me for the bot to log this link quickly. Or is paying to be at the top pointless, because the bot will just as quickly crawl to the bottom of the page and pick up the link anyway?
Thanks!
T
-
Hi Thomas,
It's highly likely that a link from a page like this is useless no matter where the link is placed, I'm afraid. Unless the directory is highly cited from other reputable sources, closely edited and genuinely listing the best in a particular business (which I would say it isn't, since it's selling link space and is very long), Google will understand not to pass authority to the sites listed. If there is any boost from having a link on a page like this, it will be temporary and may well carry much higher risks in the long term than it does short term benefits. You may spur on indexing of your URL by having it listed there, but you are also likely adding it to a bad neighbourhood. Do you trust all the other sites the page / site has linked to, most of which will also have paid to be there?
The issue is also that if you are well aware that you can pay to be listed, Google is probably aware of this too. It should be very easy to crawl for terms like "submit your site" and look for £, $, € values listed by submission request forms. I would honestly consider removing your site - your competitor likely does not beat you because of this one listing or listings like it (especially if their site has been on this page for quite some time). For context, when we do link clean-up operations for new clients who have a lot of poor links or whose sites are under penalties, we remove all links on pages like this.
I hope this helps,
Jane
-
Just want to make sure that you know Google's guidelines are against the buying of links to pass PageRank.
-
It used to be that Google would only crawl only so much of a page or only the first 100 links, generally speaking, I do not think this is an issue. Your link will most likely get found at the bottom. Here is a reference to articles and videos on this. http://www.seroundtable.com/google-100-links-17727.html If you want, you can go down the rabbit hole of if this is a site wide link or note (pros and cons) and if this link is less valuable as it is in the footer or header or sidebar vs the middle content of the page..
The reality in today's SEO world is that buying links is a short term gain and a long term loss. It is against Google quality guidelines as well. I am waiting for EGOL to pounce on this one, but your money would be better spent generating quality content to generate links that are earned on the merit of your site.
Cheers!
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Page not Ranking I feel helpless!
Hi there 🙂 I have been working at SEO for quite some time and I am such a noob. I have even done an online course. I am at my wits end. My website is https://www.urbani.com.au. I changed to https about 1 month ago. I want to rank for "outdoor furniture perth". Recently my homepage has stopped ranking for this keyword, and a useless blog page started ranking instead (www.urbani.com.au/tag/outdoor-furniture-perth/), on page 5 of google. I got rid of that page and redirected it to my homepage. Do you know what the problem is? Why won't google rank my homepage for "outdoor furniture perth"? It is ranking for "outdoor wicker furniture perth", but for "outdoor furniture perth" it has disappeared from the face of this earth. Thank you so much, if I can get help for this it would save my business! Whitney
Link Building | | vhitnah0 -
Where can I find a list of the top DA websites on the web?
I'd like to find a ranking of the top DA websites on the web. I'm mostly interested in US websites. I'd like at least the top 10,000 or so but the more the better. Is there a way to get this data from OpenSiteExplorer or another source? The closest I've found is Double Click's listing of the top 1000 most_visited_ (not DA) websites: http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/ Thanks!
Link Building | | Thumbtack0 -
How to identify page authority and authority link to it?
Please help me to identify if joining ASTA - American Society of
Link Building | | NadiaFL
Travel Agents will be beneficial to me. One of the benefits ASTA offers link from their site with logo. http://www.asta.org/ How I can identify if this link is authorative? Thank you!0 -
Directory submission after Google panda update
I am very much concerned about directory submission after Google panda update. I have few questions in this regard 1- Should I submit the home page URL or deep links in directories? What is better practice? 2- Can I submit more than one link in one directory? What are the consequences of submitting both (home page and deep link) in same directory? 3- Should I start directory submission aggressively or I need to take care about the quantity? Regards
Link Building | | shaz_lhr1 -
Submitting to Directories
What do you look for when submitting to directories? I'm going through the Web Directories list that SEOMoz has put out and trying to decide which are the best. I'm just wondering if anybody has any suggestions as far as what to look for before submitting. I know PageRank is kind of an old metric but I do seem to see a correlation between PageRank and directory cost. If I submit to a directory category with a PR of 4 or 5 it seems like it will cost me anywhere between $50-$300.
Link Building | | TRICORSystems0 -
Page with PR3 but no authority
Hello! I have been offered the possibility of having a link to my site included in this page, but I am a bit confused with it's metrics and I was wondering if you could help me cast some light on the matter. Why does it have Page and Domain authority 1? And why does it have page rank 3? Is it dodgy or should I go for it? Thank you! PS: It's not a paid link, it would be a partnership that would imply a link in this site.
Link Building | | inmonova0 -
Looking at Page Authority of a link to our website... what Page Authority number should we use in deciding the link is junk?
What are the Page Authority ranges? 1. Excellent link 2. Moderate 3. Total junk link Of course you look at the anchor text you can use, how many links are on the site, how often it is cached. Thoughts?
Link Building | | RezStream80 -
SEO value of expired Pages
We run a classified site and after every day there are thousands of ads/pages that get expired which has no use to visitors. What is the best practice to deal with them keeping SEO factor in mind? Should we keep them as they are linking to home page. redirect 301 to existing, 404 to home page or any other practice. Please advise.
Link Building | | razasaeed0