Craigslist.org looks like a link farm... but no penalty

How does http://www.craigslist.org/ get away with having a home page full of links and no content, and still rank well in Goolge?

If I put out a site using the same format, wouldn't my site get banned as a "link farm"?

i think you dont know what a link farm is

& its an institution.....but as the above poster states, its not a link farm just a very functional site that does what it says on the tin....

I see a ton of organic results from craigslist in Google, where all the page is is a title/description and a bunch of affiliate links. Obviously being abused, but Craigslist seems not to do anything about it.

I think that's what he may be referring to...

What I meant was that a page like www.craigslist.org may "look" like a link farm to a search engine.

I just read the definition of the term "link farm".
"link farm" is the wrong choice of words, my appologies...

Let me re-phrase:

How can a page like www.craigslist.org that is comprised entirely of 100's of links with no actual content not be penalised in Google?

I was thinking about using the same format for a website, but I have been advised against it by many on these forums.

I'm wondering why www.craigslist.org is not penalised for using the above mentioned format, whereas mine or your site would most definitely be penalised in the big G... if not banned.

Craiglist has GOOD HISTORY and HIGH AUTHORITY (many many years) - even if they looks little fishy - Google will "forgive" them - not like any "startup" spammers who will be banned right away.

I can't see anything that I can see that contravenes Google's quality guidelines that could lead to a penalty or ban. In essence the site is just weird directory/forum hybrid with a quirky navigation.

Well when some joker uses a Craigslist page like this:

halifax.craigslist.org/inkjets or whatever, then repeats the different cities in Canada and has affiliate links to U.S. affiliate companies... no content, nothing meaningful except an authority site doorway page to affiliate links. Their directory system is being abused. There is something wrong with that...

Yes, it's open to a bit of abuse, but most of what I see on a quick scan round looks pretty legit. Looks to me like it's offering a valuable service.

I can't see any ads so how does it pay for itself?

From a search engine's perspective, craiglist looks like a directory. DMOZ and Yahoo's directory pages have ranked very well for years. Why shouldn't craigslist?

Most people focus WAY TOO MUCH on tricks and techniques, both to use and to avoid because they are "good" or "bad" for SEO. In general, creating a site with nothing but a bunch of links to other sites is not going to do well in the SEs, but that does not mean that EVERY site with that set up will be penalized. Start by creating a VALUABLE site. If it really is that valuable, other trusted sites will link to it, it will gain trust and authority and it will rank well.

SEO tips and tricks are all good and fine, but don't take your eye off the ball. A high quality site that lots of people find of high value will almost certainly rank well in the long run regardless of how it is "optimized". Craigslist is a great example.

Good question. I was wondering the same. Here are some answers:

"Q: How does craigslist support its operations?
A: By charging businesses below-market rates for help wanted ads in SF, NYC and LA"

"Q: Is there a connection between craigslist and eBay?
A: eBay acquired 25% of the equity in craigslist from a former shareholder in august of 2004."

and here's a fact that blew my mind:

"Q: How much traffic does craigslist get?
A: More than 3 billion page views per month"

No wonder Ebay bought into this site.

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In defense of the OP, both of those are affiliated with large companies, while Craigslist initially was not.

Additionally, Craigslist is incredibly sloppy and contains little to no actual content text as previously said. I don't see a site of similar nature doing very well in SERPs unless it had the reputation backing.

in case any of you are wondering, they charge the following for help wanted ads:

SanFransisco area: $75
NY: $25
LA: $25

OK, so the concensus seems to be that Craigslists gets a pass from Google because of it's history/reputation.

That leads me to the inevitable question:

Does G's algorithm have "www.craigslist.org = OK" hard-coded into it? How does another legitimate site using craigslist's format not get immediately rejected by the Google?

Nope. Everyone gets a pass from Google unless you're bad enough to get banned. They're not.

No need. Their volume and quality of their inbound links will give them a good Trustrank score (or whatever measure of authority Google are actually using).

A new entrant would struggle to get 21 million pages indexed, as they have.