5 best online directories for high quality DoFollow backlinks
What are DoFollow backlinks?
Backlinks are links from other websites that point back to your website. There are several ways to get backlinks and one of the easiest methods is to add your website to online directories. There are two main types of backlinks, ‘NoFollow’ and ‘DoFollow’. The aim is to get as many ‘DoFollow’ backlinks as possible as this will help increase your website’s position on Google. ‘DoFollow’ means that when Google crawls a website they will also follow all outbound links. As many websites were getting penalised by Google for linking to low quality websites, many webmasters changed the outbound links to ‘NoFollow’, which means that their website is not associating with or endorsing a particular website.
Backlinks are essential for organic SEO if you intend to appear on page 1 of Google for a competitive (or even mildly competitive) keyword search. Whilst it is possible to rank a new website with no backlinks at the top of Google, it would only be for a very specific search term which no other websites offer relevant information for. If you have a business with competitors in your local area, you are going to need backlinks to rank above your competitors.
Unfortunately more and more websites such as online directories now only offer ‘NoFollow’ links which makes it a lot harder to build backlinks to your website. There are still several free business directories that will give you ‘DoFollow’ backlinks but they are not always high authority websites. A site’s authority can be measured with a domain score. Anything above 70 is pretty authoritative. There are a number of factors that determine the domain score and one of those is the age of the site. It shows they have stood the test of time and are reliable sites. By having high authority websites linking to your website they are essentially passing on some of that authority to you, which moves you up the ranks on a Google search.
If you think of a website as a car, backlinks are the fuel. The more backlinks you have the further your website will climb google (of course, keywords and good content is equally as important). With backlinks quantity isn’t everything, backlinks from high authority websites are way more important than a load of backlinks from low authority websites. In fact, too many backlinks from low authority websites can be bad and have a negative impact on your website’s appearance on search engine results. With that in mind it is crucial to get backlinks from the right sources.
Which online directories are high authority?
Through my research I have found that the following 5 directories offer great high authority backlinks which will really help push your website up the ranks on a Google search (and don’t worry there is a free directory amongst them too). I have ranked them in order of domain authority for your convenience:
Best of the web
Website: www.botw.org
Domain score: 79
Established: 1994
How to submit your site to the directory: Visit the website via the link above (or button below) then click ‘Submit site’ on the top right navigation bar.
Pricing: Although it might sound expensive, there is a one off payment of $299 for a lifetime listing of your website. There is also an annual payment options for $149 per year which obviously works out very expensive. If you are serious about building high quality backlinks the one off payment of £299 might well be a good investment from this high authority website.
About this directory: This high authority website is almost as old as the internet itself. Established back in 1994, Best of the Web has a domain score of 79 making it a high authority website that can offer high quality ‘DoFollow’ back links. In fact Best of the Web claim to be the most authoritative online directory in the world, so with that in mind, a ‘DoFollow’ back link from them would be a fantastic addition.
Abilogic
Website: www.abilogic.com
Domain score: 77
Established: Unknown
Pricing: One off payment of $19.95, $24.95 or $34.95 depending on which option is chosen.
How to add your website: Click the orange submit button top right and select the listing option you would like.
Aviva Directory
Website: www.avivadirectory.com
Domain score: 77
Established: 2005
Pricing: One off payment of $149.95 for lifetime listing
How to add your website: Click ‘add website’ top left.
Go Guides
Website: www.goguides.org
Domain score: 73
Established: 2001
Pricing: One off payment of $39.99 for lifetime listing (or $69.95 for guaranteed listing or a refund)
How to add your domain to this directory: In order to pay $39.99 for your listing and not $69.95 click on the category that you want to list your website under and then click the ‘Express Submit’ button at the top on the right hand side. If you click the ‘Add Url’ link from the home page or the ‘Easy Submit’ button you will end up paying $69.95 instead. Edit: The ‘Express Submit’ option does not guarantee a listing and you may end up losing the $39.99 if your entry is declined. The ‘Easy Submit’ option however lets you receive a guaranteed listing or receive a full refund. I would therefore recommend this despite it costing nearly double.
Curlie
Curlie is a 100% free directory formerly known as the Open Directory Project and DMOZ.
Website: www.curlie.org
Domain score: 73
Established: NA
Pricing: Free Yay!
How to add your listing: Curlie doesn’t always allow you to add a new listing depending on the category you’re attempting to add it to. When they are taking on new entries in your chosen category a clipboard icon will appear. To add your website to the directory, navigate either via the search bar or by clicking the category icons. The process is a bit fiddly but you will need to keep clicking the different categories and sub categories that apply to you. Eventually you will see a clipboard icon next to the breadcrumbs. Click the icon and enter the details for your website.
What about ‘NoFollow’ links?
I have listed 5 great online directories that offer ‘DoFollow’ back links but what about ‘NoFollow’ links?. It is a topic of much discussion but it is often agreed upon that even ‘NoFollow’ links have their place. So it is still worth listing yourself on as many free directories as possible regardless of what type of link they offer, this will allow you to build an online presence for your business.
