Before search engines got smart, a site’s page rank was based on keyword matches. When webmasters ranked their sites with keywords, the wrong sites got too much attention. Google decided to focus on the “popularity” of a site instead. The number of incoming links became the focus of the public relations criteria. The theory behind this system was that if many sites linked to another site, that site would have valuable content.

But then again, webmasters got sneaky. With this trend, we began to see the evolution of “Link Farms” and “Free-for-All” (FFA) sites. These pages were essentially a gigantic collection of (often) useless links. In most cases, the sites were not categorized or descriptive. They became a place for webmasters to dump their links to make their site appear more popular.

This strategy worked for a while, but soon the search engines took notice. The “Link Farms” and FFA sites served no purpose for web users. Since Google prides itself on serving web users (and NOT developers), a solution had to be formed. “Link farms” cluttered the web and made it difficult for users to find valuable resources online.

Google soon began rating the quality of the links that determined the “pop-up link” of a site. Link Farms and FFA sites were classified as spam and therefore added no value to a site’s link popularity.

Today, submitting to a “Link Farm” or FFA site can be detrimental to your website’s reputation. Google takes a strong stance against these types of link pages. At best, “link farm” will lower your rankings and make it harder for valuable sites to work in your favor. In the worst case, your site will be completely BANNED for using spam sites to try to generate traffic. This is a very real possibility.

Link Farms and FFA sites present very little value. Although it sounds tempting, users will not get relevant or quality links from the submission. Besides, who wants to see your link between “trash” adult entertainment websites, dating sites and casinos? Submitting to “Link Farms” does not add to your credibility and is simply not worth the risk.

Instead, spend your time submitting to trusted directories and exchanging links with other relevant sites. The process can be time consuming, but it is the only way to generate safe and targeted site traffic.

For an easier approach to the tedious process of directory submission, and to submit your website to over 300 link directories quickly and easily, we recommend Directory Submitter.