High Quality Links categories

You can divide all High Quality Links into three categories: Yahoo! Class, CNN Class, and Business Class.

Yahoo! Class Links:  Yahoo! still operates a directory, I hear.  Most of the links are commercial links, which means they are paid links, but supposedly they still help.  Why is that?  Probably because Yahoo! has been known to take people's money and not list them anyway.  They warn you explicitly, "Paying us an outrageous fee does not guarantee you will be listed" (my wording -- they may actually say something else on their site -- see Yahoo! for full details).  So, Yahoo! may be showing lots of bought links, but they are editorially selected bought links.  That's called editorial control.

DMOZ operates a directory, too.  DMOZ listings are currently free, may always be free, but the most common complaint about DMOZ is that it's so hard to get in and once you do get in you have virtually no control over how your listing looks.  Hey, that sounds like editorial control.

SmartPages.  SmartPages.  You heard me.  SmartPages.  The service is designed for brick-and-mortar businesses with Web sites.  It's not a Web directory and therefore it provides some filtration.  It's selective. That sounds like a form of editorial control.  In fact, MSN recently announced they were going to drive their local search with SmartPages.

So, what's the common factor to Yahoo! Class Links?  Editorial control.(Your mileage may vary.)

CNN Class Links: CNN, ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, the BBC, and many other news organizations all cross-promote their sister companies, but they also sell advertising.  Nonetheless, many news organizations embed unfiltered links in their body copy.

What's the common factor to CNN Class Links?  Editorial control.(Your mileage may vary.)

I don't care what universe you're from; when you're hunting links, that's gotta hurt.  So let me make this as painfully obvious as possible.  The third class of links, Business Class, hurts even more.

Business Class Links: Many of these links are bought and paid for, you just don't pay for them directly (or solely).  Think of any professional organization.  Think of your local chamber of commerce.  Think of the government Web site that lists all the vetted contractors.  Yes, your tax dollars are busy at work paying for links to business Web sites.

Of course, these sites won't link to just anyone.  They'll only link to bona fide members or professionally certified or accredited organizations'  Web sites.  That sort of excludes most of the online retail store Web sites, doesn't it?  The people trying the hardest to make money off the Internet (and there are a fair few who make in excess of $100,000 US per year) don't waste their time going for quality links.  They know they won't get them.

Well, that's not entirely accurate.  The directory sites often have categories for online stores, Internet resellers, etc.  There is no reason not to get those kinds of links.  But the next time you're out link-hunting, be absolutely sure you're about to shoot a deer.  That is, if you want a Yahoo! Class Link, you will only get it from a directory that is about as selective as Yahoo!.  It doesn't matter if they take your money. What matters is if they exercise editorial control.