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We all get invitations here and there by email to be included in directories of some type. Should we look upon and treat those requests the same as we do reciprocal link requests, or are they spamming us when they contact us? And have we seen any telltale signs of which ones are good and which ones aren't?
As an afterthought, for those who want to put together and promote directories or portals of their own, what are some legitimate ways to promote them, and what are some ways to offer legitimate benefits to people for being included.
For those possibly looking for some revenue, are there any successful business models where directories are concerned?
Promoting a directory is in many ways a lot different from promoting the average site because a directory is in it's self a promotional tool, exept it does not promote it's self.
I do not engage in activly seeking out listings because my listings are given free. To be honest I find this helps. If you offer free listings then sites are a lot more likely to link back to you, as a good will gesture. If you take money from them then you have provided a service money for listing and nothing else. The inward links obviously have many advantages.
In terms of promotion I just make it as easy as possible for people to link to me by supplying graphics "we are listed at [my site]" I also include this in the email I send out, once a site has been reviewed and listed.
I was once thinking about going PFI where new sites would be listed for a one off fee. But because my directory is a small scale project I did not think the uptake would be enough to justify the slowing down of the directory egrowth. This is however something I will have in mind when I reach a level where I feel it would be viable. One thing PFI woudl do is reduce the amount of spammy submissions that are received.
When will it be viable? For me this will occur when I feel the directory is providing good results. At this point the growth can slow down. But I still feel that free listings should be available for non profit and information sites.
To an extent directories are good for aracting traffic. A lot of my referals come directly from google and other SE's searching for a subject and finding a category with listings on topic.
So what is in it for site owners? Genraly the answer with all small directories lies in pagerank. I do pass on some traffic to sites that are listed but I would say the main benefit is still pagerank.
To make it really beneficial to site owners idealy a directory should syndicate their content on other sites. This is something I feel is possible and I have been giving it a lot of thought lately.
What I am noticing a lot of lately is smaller directories (some vortals also) requiring you return a link back to their site before they will list yours. This is just going back round the link farm road. This form of promotion does not work. If you want people to link to your directory then you need to give them a reason to do so.
Hope this is of some help.
Mack.
Do you know wich one was talked about? I heard there was turbo10... I read it somewhere- I have no idea if it's good or not.
I would go along with the reply you got
>>I do pass on some traffic to sites that are listed but I would say the main benefit is still pagerank.<<
I run a lot of individual hotel sites, and hance know from log file analysis where traffic is coming from. Very few directories (excluding Yahoo and Google) will ever send more than 100 visitors per year down a link to a hotel's own web site. Not worth the effort.
When I get emails asking me to add a hotel to their directory. I do two things.
1.I take a look at the directory to see if it is any great leap forward in terms of presentation/layout/navigation, or whether it is the "usual" list of hotel web sites that no browser would ever find of interest.
2. I Look ats its PR for a typical hotel entry.
Unless one of these two points comes up with a green light, it really is not worth adding to the directory. It is not worth even the few minutes to submit. (and chances are it will generate spam!)
Mack.
My experience may not apply to commercial ventures.
I've been running several niche directories since 1999. I give free listings and politely ask for, but never require, a link back. Like mack, I make it as easy as I can for them and supply a Ratings/Vote code. Since it goes through cgi i'm not sure that a vote code transfers any PR back to me and that is fine. But they do provide traffic and branding.
Of course I supply search boxes, buttons and more. These things work in the hobby web were many webmasters will already have a link up before I even review the site. Commercial webmasters almost never link back.
I often drop a note to webmasters if I have spidered in their site just to let them know I have _already_ linked to them.
Reviewing sites for inclusion within 24 - 48 hours is very important. Hobby webmasters are on the edge of their seat waiting for the first few visitors to their new site, when you get them listed and send them their first few visitors fast they tend to remember that. And tell people.
Dead right. You also mentioned that fast inclusion is the key in the hobby sector. I find this also helps with general or info sites, specificaly sites that are run by one person, if you list them fast they are more likely to remember yout site when they receive the acceptance email. This may perhaps make them more likey to return the link. If it takes weeks then the chances are they won't haver a clue what the email is about.
Mack.
