Directory PR Analysis

[branica]

There was this interesting set of statistics of directory PR over time published here and the here in DP.

I think the assertion was the directory PR was "holding its own". Here is part of the post:

Some of the statistics are interesting. Overall the PR number for directories have increased. On the other hand, the number of PR0 and -1 (NA) directories have also increased. Over the long-run, I would say that PageRank has been pretty stable over the last year.

Factors that may affect these numbers:

• Most of our submissions that we get come from brand new directories, meaning that we are constantly adding new PR0 and N/A to our database.
• I often go out of my way to add large networks of directories that are stored on the same IP (so that I don’t add them later without knowing their IP associations. More often than not these directories are still N/A or PR0 years after being created. I’m not sure if it something Google does or if it the fact that each individual directory is not really marketed much. It looks like Google is cracking down on these as I often see large blocks of NA PR when I do the updates.
• Since many of the directories are add by the editor of this site, the results cannot be considered random. The results of any given date can be skewed by the types of directories that were added in the previous 3 months. These statistics are more useful when looking at a long-term trends.

Looking at the weighted averages and by grouping sets of sites. I think it is clear to say the the PR of directories on the whole have been decreasing. And he does hit on part of the reason - lots of new sites. However, I think Google has been very "strict" in looking at directories - anything of dubious quality has been hit hard through automated penalties and well as manual reviews. The only aspect is that many directories are created from dropped domains that had PR - eventually Google drops the PR on these sites or dramatically reduces it.

Here is the weighted average from the data to show the downward trend (note: directories with a NA PR are factored the same as PR0 - so the trend is actually a bit worse):



And another chart to show the dramatic rise of low Page Rank directories either new or directories that received a lower PR over time.



It is hard to get too much from this data since we do not know how a directories particular PR changed over time versus new sites - that would be interesting. I would venture a guess that on average most directories PR decreased over time except those of high quality. Those directories that have low editorial guidelines and just selling PR typically will most likely get their PR adjusted lower over time. My advice would be to submit to directories that are relevant, add value and drive real traffic.

[bettsnirvana]

thanks for the information, what most important is the quality of directory you get.

[doctorweb]

thanks for your sharing,
I think that it is important with Admin
^^ good luck

[dvduval]

I believe one of the major issues with directories is their PageRank Sculpting is lacking. This could be one of the big reasons we are not seeing pagerank spread to category pages as much as we would like. I wrote on this topic here:
PageRank Sculpting, No Follows and Directories

[briangillet]

Thanks for sharing great analysis

[danielbrown]

Google believes a site to site B from the link as a vote for or site B, suggests that the site B contains good content. This also seems to include a return if the site B links to Site A, decreased the weight of the original ticket. It is thought that Google looks bad broad interrelated.

[thpalex]

Thanks for this analysis, I keep looking for this kind of stuff.....

[John Popes]

Many people do not think so. I do think that Google will eventually make Web Directories useless in providing one way links and PR unless these directories can show that they are different. Google has already changed their ranking algorithm such that PR becomes devalued. One way links have to pass through strict filter to really make any impact.

[moduleserver]

That is some precious information. Many thanks

[madmind22]

1)get links from sites with similar or related topics as your site. 2) Social broadcast your blog with tools like Links Alpha pr Ping.fm or 3) put everything possible in RSS Directories. 4) Social Bookmarking still works.