About.com

No luck with contacting guides..

[mona]

I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with getting their sites added in About.com.

I've emailed two different guides almost two months ago. I was very polite and direct in both emails requesting that they consider adding a site.

Neither of the sites have been added and I haven't received a response from either one.

I'm sure they receive several requests a day, blah, blah,blah.

I've read that this is the only way to get a site added in the directory and I'm wondering if I can do anything else, if I'm going about it wrong, etc.

It looks like their traffic is increasing, so I would like to get my sites listed with them.

Any input would be appreciated.

BTW, I know that Sprinks and Inktomi
supply results as well and I am working that angle also.

Thanks,
Mona

[JamesR]

Some of the editors kind of just let their sites rot and don't respond. About.com is one of the toughest places to get listed overall (sometimes you can get a good editor). There is no other way I know of to get added to their network.

[mona]

I must have run into a few of those rotting types, I guess. Thanks, though.

[WebRookie]

I've had sites and books added periodically. Yes, they often do not respond. Sounds like you are taking the right steps. We offer to send a complimentary book for review which seems to interest some of the guides. Even if a listing does not result, it's good PR and a nice thing to do.

I'd say try again after a period of time and see what happens with a second request. Or if possible look for another guide section close to your original section submission and submit there.

[mivox]

I'd send a polite follow-up letter, along the lines of "Wondering if you'd gotten a chance to look at mysite.com?"

I've always been lucky in picking categories with responsive guides, I guess... and I've even had one site added without having to submit it.

[mona]

Thanks for the ideas, I'll give them a try:)

[austtr]

Ditto Mona....

I have also politely requested a review by the editor of my site which is a Cool Site in ODP, editors choice in AOL, (was) a 3 star in GO.. blah... blah... blah..... suggesting that it would add value to their directory.

No response from the editor (on 2 occasions many months apart). Is is possible that About does not consider sites that target advertising dollars in the same categories that About targets with its paid listings?

A "we don't promote the competition" thing?

Just a thought, nothing more.

[mivox]

Well, my employer's site is commercial, and the About category guide who gave us one listing has gone on to give us extra listings on his site, and is going to start posting selected articles from our newsletter (with linked byline) on his site as well, all without our asking... the 'no competition' thing certainly isn't a company policy.

However, an About guide is going to look at adding links to their topic sites more the way someone would look at adding links to their personal home page. That's the way the system is set up (more or less), so if a guide just doesn't care for your site for whatever reason, you probably won't get a link.

With a general directory (like ODP), the editors have guidelines as to what constitutes a good submission, and I'd think there's less personal leeway as far as rejecting sites. You can always request a review from a higher-level editor...

At About, the guides seem to have much greater personal discretion about their content. They're not trying to build a comprehensive directory to every relevant site on the web, they're trying to make their own content area a good resource by their own standards.

[John_Wake]

If worse comes to worse, you can always buy a sponsored link through Sprinks. It's a pay per click deal like GoTo. Audience is nicely targeted. Can be good quality clicks. You need to be on the first page, though, to get many clicks.

Guides in my area of interest don't link to many commercial sites so I had no choice.