Medium size directories that charge to be listed?

We'll pay up, as long as it's a one-off charge

[litmania]

OK, we've paid to listed in Yahoo, Looksmart etc. Also paid to be listed in some PPCSE's.

I've got a few hundred dollars more I'm willing to spend to promote an American site of ours.

I was wondering if there were any medium-size directories or search engines that had a one-off charge to consider a site for a listing or give an enhanced/priority listing.

I'd much rather pay someone $50 once-off for a listing that reap me traffic for years than a pay per click search engine 10 cents a click for a top ranking and keep on having to top-up my account as my credit dried up.

[Marcia]

Hi, litmania. The URLs were edited to avoid having a whole list of promotional URLs dropped downstream in this thread. It can happen. ;)

I looked at both. With one, it pretty much served as a venue for adverts of hosting companies. The focus of the other was unclear, but it did not appear to be a directory.

On one, the toolbar was greyed out, so any chance of it delivering traffic is diminished to where it's doubtful it's worth paying anything at all.

With the other, the one with the hosting adverts, the main page has some Page Rank because of the links back to them, but the directory part is greyed out, and therefore also completely diminished in any potential for value.

A reciprocal link with any on-topic, relevant site would have far more value than either of those. With minor directories we always have to look at their own potential for getting traffic, and not just links from participating sites that link back to them. We also have to be very careful about linking to any site that could potentially be considered a link farm, no matter what they're calling themselves.

[litmania]

Thank you Marcia. I had a look at both and couldn't see what you meant by the toolbar being "greyed out". Could you explain please?

Thank you :)

If you're going to delete the URLs of any directories that anybody mentions, then I suppose you might as well close this thread.

[bird]

One of the two was an outdated ODP clone, similar to about a thousand others out there. I have two listings with them, and for all the time they existed (something more than a year) this resulted in exactly four referrals. You can expect similar numbers from most such sites, so you should think very carefully before pulling your credit card.

[Quadrille]

I regurlarly get spam about hundreds of directories; I don't even bother with the free ones, let alone the 'paid for' - seems to me that they are just 'lists of suckers' - the few I've looked at are pretty useless (usually diluted ODP plus banners).

If no-one uses them, how can they bring visitors?

Get in the top 6, you'll get your time & money's worth - all else is probably only if you have "a few hundred dollars" that you're willing to "give away".

[Macguru]

I use to suggest my clients with B2B sites registering to vortals and trade directories. I carefully select them with criterias like cost, Page Rank and site pop. (site pop can be measured with Alexa)

We take the best ones my client can afford.

It is surprising how much traffic specialised and business directories can bring good quality traffic when carefully selected.

[IanTurner]

Yes but the words 'Careful Selection' are the key.

I like the tip about using Alexa to look at the traffic rankings, though many sites ban Alexa so if a site doesn't appear it doesn't mean that it isn't getting the traffic.

[Quadrille]

[adding to my previous comment]

Yes, there is a place for 'specialist' or niche directories; but if it's your area, the simple test is "have you heard of it", as there are probably more directories than B2B sites!

Also, many smaller directories - including some 'paid for' - are a means to get targeted email addresses - sign your client on, and they may get so much spam, that you lose a client. :(

As always on the web, word of mouth and great care are the secrets of success! :)