Directory Owners thoughts on iWebtools 4x price increase?

[homepageofthemonth]

I just received an email from iWebtool about their increased prices for Sponsored Text Links.
previous $5/month links are now $20-30/month
previous $10/month links are now $30-40/month

* They are increasing the amount of webtools from 35 to 59
* They are decreasing the number of sponsored links per tool from 20 to only 12
* They say "We have received a few complaints regarding the higher price change. We would like to say the prices have not rised for iWEBTOOL to earn higher revenue. Previously we had 20 advertisement links displayed, now we have halved this amount and have doubled the prices. This makes the outcome merely the same amount as previously."
I have to disagree with the previous quote because:
35 tools x 20 links x $10= $7000/month
59 tools x 12 links x $20= $14160/month

I have to admit, a PR4/5/6 was an incredible deal for $5-10 dollars per month and by no means am I complaining...I just want your thoughts about this. I have seen many DP member directories advertising on iWebtool. Will you still advertise with the increased prices?

Is the traffic/PR boost/backlink that strong from their sponsored Tool text links?

I have not decided if I can afford $40 per month at that site. $480 dollars over one year maybe peanuts for some people, but for that you could list in at least 9 of the best DP member directories for one year...which is probably what I will do.

Just to repeat myself. I am not complaining about iWebtool. I think it is a great website. I just would like to know other directory owners thoughts? Is the price worth it?

Edit: All current sponsored text links subscriptions will be Canceled.

[homepageofthemonth]

Also...Those who already have a Sponsored Text Link will be able to keep it...at the new price.

Just in case you want to contact them about your link, It took 2 months for me to get an email response from iWebtool about updating my link...and that is the response I got.

Oh well, more power to em.:)

[humm]

Every link charge is only not on the basis of PR, sometimes traffic is considered too and the no.of outbound links.

I basically have got nothing to say about them. I guess its their wish :)

[homepageofthemonth]

Well said.

Every link charge is only not on the basis of PR, sometimes traffic is considered too and the no.of outbound links.

I basically have got nothing to say about them. I guess its their wish :)

[homepageofthemonth]

If you currently have a Sponsored Text Link at iWebtool and you would like to keep it, but you have not received the "Pre Booking Email."

PM me and I will give you the URL. - tell me what tool you sponsor so I can verify.

This is so your link subscription will not be cancelled without your knowledge. Otherwise someone else can take your link spot when the new prices are available to the public.

[jl255]

perhaps existing sponsors can share the effectiveness of the ads and whether they think its worthwhile ;)

[aspidov]

Its not a good idea to count somebody else's money (even though we always do it). If IwebTool increased their prices, so be it. I think it will separate those who are serious about their advertising campaign and those who are trying to make ends meet.

[homepageofthemonth]

Thanks for the input.

Just because someone (like me) is trying to make ends meet, it does not mean that I am not serious about my advertising campaign.

Although, Budget (money) is not a measure of Seriousness/Desire/Passion, etc.:)

Its not a good idea to count somebody else's money (even though we always do it). If IwebTool increased their prices, so be it. I think it will separate those who are serious about their advertising campaign and those who are trying to make ends meet.

[alang]

if you think the price not worth it, don't advertise there. Its up to site owner to set the price and we the customer choose what are the best and affordable for us. Complaining about the price won't make them reduce it.

[homepageofthemonth]

You obviously did not read my post...I have been advertising with them...I am not complaining.
:eek::eek:Read Posts Before Replying to them.:eek::eek:

if you think the price not worth it, don't advertise there. Its up to site owner to set the price and we the customer choose what are the best and affordable for us. Complaining about the price won't make them reduce it.

[alang]

You obviously did not read my post...I have been advertising with them...I am not complaining.
:eek::eek:Read Posts Before Replying to them.:eek::eek:
I read your post and you asking for directory owner thoughts, so I gave my thought. If you said you are not complaining, what is the purpose of this thread?

[homepageofthemonth]

Obviously not, if you have to ask the purpose of the thread. I have asked a number of questions, including:
Is the traffic/PR boost/backlink that strong from their sponsored Tool text links?

I advertise at iwebtool, but the price increase has made me reevaluate where to spend money. I was wanting to know some thoughts from some of the DP veterans who also advertise there...that's all...plain and simple.:)

I read your post and you asking for directory owner thoughts, so I gave my thought. If you said you are not complaining, what is the purpose of this thread?

[alang]

I used to advertise there and they did send me good traffic depends on which tool you advertise. So I think its worth the money. And lots of people waiting to grab the spot once you canceled your advertising there

[mikey1090]

I expect they will get a large PR this round. They decreased the amount of external links which makes each link worth more...

[homepageofthemonth]

Yeah, I noticed Romow is popping up all over the site. I will definitely take what you said into account. I haven't cancelled yet, so I get first dibs on many links, but they are going fast.

thanks

I expect they will get a large PR this round. They decreased the amount of external links which makes each link worth more...

[dargre]

I found Link Price Calculator best of all.

Here are some factors for one of my checked websites:

Total Links Found: 207 (real = 124)
Internal Links: 183 (real = 121)
External Links: 24 (real = 3)

Google PageRank: 4/10 (real = 5/10)
Yahoo! Backlinks: 9,365 [view] (real = 156,319 [view])

WHAT A PRECISION ! :D

[SilkySmooth]

I got the emails from them this morning and cancelled all 7 links I had up with them. IMO it is not worth the price increase (especially if you look into the history of how they handle their directory).

The PR is not that high and reducing the out bound links at this late stage before a PR update will not give them much retention, especially as the out bounds will reduce over time. The new tools will not get any PR for atleast another 3 months.

As for the traffic, there is nothing special coming through them. I have been advertising Directory Share on three tools since February and in that time they have sent me a total of 519 unique visitors at a cost of $90 which works out at $0.17 per visitor. For the same period at the new rates it would cost me $360 which works out at $0.69 per visitor.

I can get better value elsewhere. Again, just my own experience.

[vnviews]

I have a sponsor link at article section and got email too, but can't see this kind of links at pre-book page. I sent them an email, actually don't get response. I would cancel subscription if they increase price for this too.

[MeetHere]

Its still worth the money for such a high traffic site.

[dargre]

I did have few links with them but one day PayPal (not me) cancelled 6 subsriptions. I was shocked and so mad :mad:
Some subscriptions were really worth of money I paid and I lost it with no chance for return.
It was all because subscriptions were paid with credit card.
And when credit card expired I changed it to new (old but new number and date expiry).
But PayPal treated subscriptions as payed with old expired card - so cancelled subscribtions didin't even ask me.

So beware when you subscribe.
Be sure you pay from PayPal funds - not with credit card.

[manni]

I too sponsor a tool on iwebtool, at first i was disappointed with the price change to begin with but after consideration i have come to terms that it is relevant for the price. They provide me with a logo of my website. if you put in mind the thousands of viewers that will see my logo, the price looks reasonable so i have decided to continue with the sponsor.

[Fastian]

Its still worth the money for such a high traffic site.

They sure get a huge traffic but I am not sure how much traffic they will send to you.

This month I got only 2 hits from my link on their page. :(
(May be a bad choice of tool for sponsor link)

But I think now I will have to take into account more things and really see if paying $20/$30 for that one link is going to get anything for me.

[vnviews]

They sure get a huge traffic but I am not sure how much traffic they will send to you.

This month I got only 2 hits from my link on their page.
(May be a bad choice of tool for sponsor link)
Same here :( .

[sabian1982]

I think its reasonable, after all (as mentioned) is a PR4/5/6 backlinks plus they are also reducing the number of outbound sponsored links per page (down to 12 from 24ish i believe). You've also got to think of the potential traffic it will also generate, those tools get a lot of traffic!!!

[Velocity]

I don't know about you guys, but I already purchased 4 spots at $40 each. It is always easy to cancel if it does not work out for you, but once it all fills up it is almost impossible to get in.
I got 3 spots at their most popular tool, 5 minutes after receiving their email. That is why my logos look so cheap :D

http://www.iwebtool.com/pagerank_prediction

[sabian1982]

I don't know about you guys, but I already purchased 4 spots at $40 each. It is always easy to cancel if it does not work out for you, but once it all fills up it is almost impossible to get in.
I got 3 spots at their most popular tool, 5 minutes after receiving their email. That is why my logos look so cheap :D

http://www.iwebtool.com/pagerank_prediction

I got two spots 2 days before the email was circulated...

[Velocity]

I got two spots 2 days before the email was circulated...

How's that? My 3 spots came right after romow. Other ones appeared last night.

[sabian1982]

How's that? My 3 spots came right after romow. Other ones appeared last night.

I managed to get two spots on two of the new tools just after they started the new system at the weekend; they then circulated the emails saying they were reducing the number of listings... didnt really effect me though cause i was the first to purchase on 2 of the newer tools (the datacentre and link price calculator)...

The new tools are already starting to fill up rather quickly and they havent even achieved a PR ranking yet...

[vnviews]

Just got reply from Iwebtool. No change for article section :D .

[SJM211]

I have two sponsorships there - if they fixed the tools I sponsor then I'd probably pay the increased fee, as it is I think I'll spend my money elsewhere..

[an0n]

4x the price with increase @ half the listings per page = double the price for the same listing.

hehe.. funny guys.

[pctec]

Everyone is raising their prices... its just a sign of the times.
Inflation is a biatch!

[Velocity]

With the dollar falling so much, it really sux for us who are not in the States.

[mauiman]

Everyone is raising their prices... its just a sign of the times.
Inflation is a biatch!

Am I the only one here who sees this as a good thing? To me it means the industry is healthy and quality traffic and PR is of value in the marketplace. And since we're all in essentially the same marketplace it should be a sign of opportunity.

[pctec]

Am I the only one here who sees this as a good thing? To me it means the industry is healthy and quality traffic and PR is of value in the marketplace. And since we're all in essentially the same marketplace it should be a sign of opportunity.

Just because someone raises prices does not mean you are getting more value. Some people raise prices just because others are... If you raise your price and don't do extra promoting to benefit your submitters then its a worthless link.

[mauiman]

Just because someone raises prices does not mean you are getting more value. Some people raise prices just because others are... If you raise your price and don't do extra promoting to benefit your submitters then its a worthless link.

Not sure what the "worthless link" comment is about? Can't imagine there are any worthless links on iwebtool.

Even the page VOISD and Romow are on (linkprice (http://www.iwebtool.com/link_price)) without PR is worth something. Is it worth $30 even though the iweb linkprice tool calculates the value of a link on that very page as $0.00?

Don't know, but I think it's a great spot to be because it's a new tool launched by a popular webmaster destination. The page will get a good dealof traffic and a lot of visitors will run through a lot of link scenarios giving VOISD and Romow a lot of visibility. Will everyone click and invest in links on their sites, no. Will some? Yes.

I think it's probably a good spot to get exposure and will ultimately pay for itself.

Side note: The linkprice tool doesn't appear to factor in traffic which is a serious flaw with the tool imo. Traffic is one of the most important factors I consider when investing in a month-month link. I hope I'm wrong about it not factoring in traffic. Anyone know?

[pctec]

I was speaking in general terms about price increases...

But since you mentioned it, how many go to iwebtool to click on sponsors I wonder... I'd be willing to bet 99% of them go for the tools alone and leave right after they use then...

[DiscJockey]

I was speaking in general terms about price increases...

But since you mentioned it, how many go to iwebtool to click on sponsors I wonder... I'd be willing to bet 99% of them go for the tools alone and leave right after they use then...

You've got to consider the logos which will be shown to those "tool-users-only" users. That's *free* impressions :p

[mauiman]

I was speaking in general terms about price increases...

But since you mentioned it, how many go to iwebtool to click on sponsors I wonder... I'd be willing to bet 99% of them go for the tools alone and leave right after they use then...

That's the nature of advertising. If 1% or some other small percentage of visitors notice the ads there's value. If some of those click and some of those invest in links so much the better.

Most people want more than PR. People want exposure as well. When deciding whether to spend on Romow or another PR-comparable Web directory the ads they've invested in will realize their objective because most people will go for the one that's more familiar and visible in the marketplace.

Any way, I don't want to dilute the thread anymore than I have from it's original intent. "thoughts on price increase at iwebtool"

[jg123]

It looks like the prices have been lowered a bit on the new tools, still lots of spaces remaining. I checked my referals and I was getting around 40-50 clicks a month from some of the $5 links I had. If the clicks doubled but the price quadiples I am not sure it is a very good deal. I would be fine with them reducing the links to 12 and charging double but 4,5 or 6x is a little much.