39. Why does adding my business to local directories help my SEO?
In the early days of SEO, web directories were the thing. If your site was listed on a ton of online directories, it must be pretty dang special – or at least, that's how the Google algorithm saw it. The number of directory links you had positively influenced how well your site ranked in the search engines and marketers used this to game the system. Today, Google's algorithm is a lot more complex. While links are still one of the top ranking signals, Google no longer views all links equally. Links from a web directory listing are a lot less influential than a super relevant contextual link from a high-authority site in your niche.
