SEO

Can “Start page directories” be valuable?

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startpagina

startpagina logoIn The Netherlands, there is an extremely famous website called “startpagina.nl“. It’s a website that does very little other than listing a bunch of links on very specific topics, managed by editors for each category. Yes, we know directories in the rest of the web too; but in The Netherlands these are actually quite unique. A large portion of the backlinks for most domains are comprised of links from “start page directories” like startpagina.nl, and they have a great deal of impact on the Dutch (and Belgian!) SERPS.

There are literally thousands of other directories very much like this. Some are general like Superstart.be; some are very specific to a micro-niche.

Now, can this work in the American SERPS? Is this an outdated method, or can it still work? We think the relatively weak link profiles in the Netherlands and Belgium allow these kind of websites to still have an impact; but honestly, we don’t think this is still viable in the US or the UK. Some high-level directories might still be effective; but it should always be a very small part of your linking profile if you ask me!

What do you think? Do you use these type of directories?

Tips to help you succeed in guest blogging

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The Internet is full of bloggers, from industry leaders to your neighbors, and everyone has something to say – if you want them to lend you their platform, you have to do it the right way. Want to get your foot in the door? Here are some strategies that will help you do guest blogging to help your SEO efforts.

Write well

This is very important. There is a lot of bad writing on the internet and adding more of it will not impress anyone. Practice your writing, improve your skills and make sure you have access to a good editor or that you are a good editor yourself. Getting a guest post is hard enough – don’t make it harder on yourself with bad writing.

Make yourself known

guest bloggingWhen it comes down to it, the goal of guest blogging is to get your name out there as someone who has useful things to contribute. Whether you’re contributing to a controversial discussion, suggesting a solution to a problem, or just contributing to general knowledge, the important thing is to show people that what you have to say is worth reading.

What many people don’t realize is that you often need to do this before you start blogging. If you want to have a guest post on someone else’s website, you need to show that you care about the topic and have interesting, useful things to say. One of the most natural ways to do this is to become part of that blog’s community.

By commenting regularly on the bloggers, you can show that you are interested in their environment, that you value what they say, and that you have interesting contributions to make. If you engage a blogger in conversation through the comments on their blog, you’ll go a long way toward receiving an invitation to guest post.

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