If you do directory link submissions, you probably have seen offers that looked something like this: ‘Submit your site to over 300 other directories instantly!’ or ‘Let us do the directory submissions for you!’. I have to admit that, at times, I’m tempted to take advantage of this. Why not get it done quickly and easily? Especially if I can fill out just one form and send that out en masse. It makes sense. Actually, it might be a very bad idea.

Link building has become more and more complex in recent years. You’ve got Google taking a hard look at how a site’s backlinks build up. Are they getting too many too fast? Are they coming from ‘good neighborhoods’? Most recently we’ve seen Google take on sites they believe are selling links on their sites to the highest bidders. That seems to include directories that used to be free, but now charge for submission. What’s a link builder to do?

The 2 Things You Must Do For Successful SEO Link Building

First – as I’ve written in previous articles – don’t try to build Rome in a day. In other words, work consistently over time on your links. A growth spurt of 500 link in one day is going to raise flags to the search engines.

Secondly – and this applies directly to those mass submission offers – you must vary the actual text that makes up the link to you. If you use that one form to hit all those directories, you will only have one link text as well that all of them will use. Again, that tells Google to take a closer look at your site. And that’s not the kind of attention you want from them.

As attractive as those mass directory submissions are, think twice. Varying the link text is important. Not only to give a more natural appearance to your links, but also because you want to hit more than one keyphrase in your links. At the very least you would be smart to try variations (plurals, synonyms, etc) of your main keyphrase. This will strengthen your ‘whole site’ SEO.

SEO Rule of Thumb: There’s Always a Wrench in the Works Somewhere

Now, there are some of you reading this who are thinking: ‘My competitor uses the same link text over and over in his backlinks. And he’s been #1 for over 2 years!’. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule(s). It’s also true that we live in an imperfect world. And, most shocking of all, Google’s algorithm isn’t perfect either.

There are those who go against all the conventional SEO knowledge and still somehow succeed. It’s just part of the wonderful world of search engines. What I am giving you here are the guidelines for long-term success online.

They may not produce instant results, but you can be confident in the knowledge that this will pay off. And you don’t have to worry about being caught for Black Hat SEO. Patience is a virtue. In Google, it’s the path to sanity.