Practice · Knowledge
How do I handle link lists and directories?
Link lists live on both sides of the fence: the ones you host on your site, and the directories out there you could be listed in. The same quality rule governs both – curation decides everything.
A hand-picked resource page with descriptions is content; a wall of submitted links is a spam magnet. The attribute policy follows that line.
Hosting lists, being listed – the rules per direction
Direction one, the list on your own site. The curated form – a resource page where every entry was chosen, described and is periodically re-checked – is legitimate content and may carry follow links: you demonstrably vouch for each. The open form – submit-your-site pages, partner walls, anything strangers can enter – belongs under the nofollow/ugc net without exception, because the moment follow links are available on request, requests industrialize (the comment-spam economics apply one-to-one). A Joomla practicality: link lists are exactly where old pages rot unnoticed – dead targets, domains that changed owners into casinos; an annual re-check protects readers, and a site-wide tool with whitelist (ours included, labelled recommendation) makes the two-tier policy enforceable: net over everything, whitelist for the vouched-for friends. Direction two, being listed out there. The honest hierarchy: a handful of curated, topical directories – industry associations, regional business registers, specialist catalogues real people browse – are worth an entry for visibility and legitimacy, whatever the attribute; their value is the audience, the link is a bonus. Mass directories with thousands of unrelated entries were devalued long ago – submissions there buy nothing and, in bulk with optimized anchors, form exactly the footprint link-scheme detection trains on. The test for any listing opportunity fits in one question: would you want the entry if the link were nofollow? If yes, it has audience value – proceed. If no, you were buying a vote, and that market closed years ago.
Key facts
- Own curated resource page: chosen, described, re-checked – may carry follow links.
- Open submission lists: always under the nofollow/ugc net – or requests industrialize.
- Maintenance duty: link lists rot – annual re-checks protect readers and reputation.
- Being listed: few curated topical directories yes, mass directories no.
- The one-question test: still want the entry if the link were nofollow?