A few months ago we started testing the effectiveness of directory submissions vs.  blog commenting. And, for same time spent on each methods (blog commenting and directory submission), the results are clear : blog commenting is more effective than directory submission.

Let me be clear, I’m not saying that directory submissions are a total waste of time; there are still some very relevant and active directories worth getting listed in. I’m saying that, you need to be leery of companies making claims such as “we submit your site to 1,000 of directories” as they are a complete waste of time and money. If you’re interested in getting fast and effective links, you should focus on blog commenting because it produces better results and can build community awareness around your product or service.

But let’s get back to the test results:

After 3 months we achieved a PageRank of 1 for the website which had links built from directories and Page Rank of 3 for the site with blog comment links. Why is that ?

Observation 1 : We received a 30% submission sucess in directories vs. 80% in blogs.
Why ? Because most directories (the free ones) are dead and no longer updated. We had better results in newly launched directories but those back links don’t have as much weight because the directories are new.

On the flip side we were able to select active blogs which had previously approved comments in the last 48 hours, and 80%+ of our comments produced a back link.

Observation 2 : Links from directories are 10+ per page vs. Links from blog comments are usually more limited. If our link was approved in a directory it always had  another 10+ links on the same page.

Since we were able to easily find blog pages with recent comments and relevant, highly targeted topics, we were ably to place backlinks on a page with only 3-4 out bound links.

Observation 3 : Directory categories are not very exact in describing our site topic with most directories having general categories. Blog posts are usually in the same niche and made on very relevant topics.

Observation 4: Blog commenting lead to higher Click Thru Ratios and further interest and social buzz about our site’s topic.

With blog commenting, you are able to leave very personalized messages that can easily create social proof among your online community.

Conclusion : Blog commenting has a better return on investment in all sections : quantity of back links, link juice and relevant content.