Value Rank - Bang for Buck

[loredan]

Hello,

A few weeks ago I was chatting with Pete (DownUnder) and he actually came up with the idea of an algorithm to check the value that a directory has to offer versus the price.

For a few weeks I've been working with a couple of guys and the result can be seen on our Directories Traffic List (http://www.zyas.com/trafficlist.php).

The new algo it's called Value Rank (V.R.). The main idea behind V.R. is to analyze the traffic vs. quality of website vs. price and to give a final score on a scale from 0 to 10.

There are max. 12 elements considered into V.R. algo (2 from traffic, 7 from site quality and 3 from price), each one with its own value scale.

VR does not take in consideration PR, Alexa, PS or any other third part metrics, relying on every directory owner's ability to build, develop and promote his own directory.

Let me know what do you think

Thanks

[britishguy]

Its always interesting to see new algorithms
Will take a closer look right now
Keep up the good work Dan :cool:

[mikey1090]

Looks very interesting Dan. I have 6.8 which is nice. Good work.

Nice to see the traffic list looking to have more activity. Nice to see directories like Gii doing so well at the top:) I also see that gii is free although I cant login to my account @ gii. Is that why they get such a good VR?

[an0n]

Just my .o2, but i always thought my WR was best for terms of measurement.
(Anyone remember the WangRank) hahahaha :p

[centime]

how do you measure directory owners ability to promote their directory ?

Is that a matter of your judgement or have you access to objective data on this

And no, I am not pissed about mine being at the bottom, you got that bit right :)

[loredan]

Looks very interesting Dan. I have 6.8 which is nice. Good work.

Nice to see the traffic list looking to have more activity. Nice to see directories like Gii doing so well at the top:) I also see that gii is free although I cant login to my account @ gii. Is that why they get such a good VR?

There are many factors in this algo, mikey. The price is just one of them. As you can see there are other free directories way below your rank. None of these factors has a premium relevance...all together are important.

Just check Gii from any point of view you like and you'll see why they have the highest ranking so far

[hyper]

I will submit there soon to test this tool.

Thanks loredan.

[sizzler_chetan]

Good to see gii in the top and noble too having 6.5 :)

[MeetHere]

what stats to provide to get listed ? :)

[swedal]

Well that is a pretty interesting addition.

It tells me that I may need to raise my prices when the only ones beating me are free. ;)

[mikey1090]

what stats to provide to get listed ? :)

Submit your awstats data from the previous month in the first 3 days of the month.

[loredan]

Well that is a pretty interesting addition.

It tells me that I may need to raise my prices when the only ones beating me are free. ;)

Hehehe...hold your horses, Bruce. This is not a competition and there is no finishing line ahead.

I can 100% assure you the reason they are ahead of you is not because they are free ;)

[smub]

i dont like the idea of this... anyone can fake the stats ... if i send you a fake stat traffic scenario ... my rank will be much higher. You need a better way to figure it out. You might want to discard alexa as a measure, but keep in mind that is one of the best ones we have atm. Unless you come up with something for urself.

[JamieG]

i dont like the idea of this... anyone can fake the stats ... if i send you a fake stat traffic scenario ... my rank will be much higher. You need a better way to figure it out. You might want to discard alexa as a measure, but keep in mind that is one of the best ones we have atm. Unless you come up with something for urself.I agree that statistics are there to be maniplated, so is Alexa in all honesty. It will be someone who ends up very rich when they find the magic formula to get everything accurate though.

Are the unique - total visits per month/week/day?

[formula]

sorry - nice idea but not really give you the full picture
One of my neglected directory gets 1000 unique a day - don't even know from where because none of the search engines send real traffic. 99% comes from direct address. So traffics is a bit misleading. It depends on the quality of the traffic...

[loredan]

i dont like the idea of this... anyone can fake the stats ... if i send you a fake stat traffic scenario ... my rank will be much higher. You need a better way to figure it out. You might want to discard alexa as a measure, but keep in mind that is one of the best ones we have atm. Unless you come up with something for urself.

I agree that statistics are there to be maniplated, so is Alexa in all honesty. It will be someone who ends up very rich when they find the magic formula to get everything accurate though.

Are the unique - total visits per month/week/day?

sorry - nice idea but not really give you the full picture
One of my neglected directory gets 1000 unique a day - don't even know from where because none of the search engines send real traffic. 99% comes from direct address. So traffics is a bit misleading. It depends on the quality of the traffic...

I would never be able to understand why would you guys be worried about someone faking the traffic. Why everytime when something come up you must see only thieves and cheaters around?

It is just a bloody list and personally I see no reason why someone would fake his stats. Why? To get what? A higher placement on a new page? Naaah...
I trust people and their honestity and I'm not worried about what you are. If you have a look, the first spots on the list are occupied by some really good quality directories.

I respect every single person who decided to make his stats public instead of those shouting loud about how good are their sites and lying themselves. This is a sign of transparency, perhaps the first sign to a better code of practice in this industry. People have the courage to share their stats and to say, "Well, I have just 1000 visitors monthly, but I'll get better". This means a lot from my point of view, so why would you see thieves and cheaters coming up? No way I'll agree with your childish replies. Have a look at the list and tell me what directory you would think that presented fake stats? I'd say no one...

The real problem for my point of view is not this one, but something which Simon from Domaining.in told me. It is about the fact that different stats providers show different numbers.
We are currently working on our own tracking system which will update the list on daily basis and will show the results from the last 30 days. Once this will be finished and tested no one will have to worry about other people's stats as this will become an unique measurement tool for our list.

Thank you

[malcolm1]

Just my .o2, but i always thought my WR was best for terms of measurement.
(Anyone remember the WangRank) hahahaha :p

Nope dont recall that algo ... :p

@ loreden

You are always working on something with "value" and its much appreciated ;)

thx
malcolm

[JamieG]

I would never be able to understand why would you guys be worried about someone faking the traffic. Why everytime when something come up you must see only thieves and cheaters around?

It is just a bloody list and personally I see no reason why someone would fake his stats. Why? To get what? A higher placement on a new page? Naaah...
I trust people and their honestity and I'm not worried about what you are. If you have a look, the first spots on the list are occupied by some really good quality directories.

What are you bringing me in on this for loredan? I only stated that statistics can be manipulated and so can Alexa and probaby is all the time, that's not new. Sadly there are loads of people out there that would do that just to get on top of a list like yours in the vien hope of pulling a quick paid submision out of it. I've not for a single moment questioned the value of the list you provided, I quite like it which is why I asked what stats you require such as webalizer etc? :confused:

[humm]

Those who have problem with the list, So what do you expect the solution to be? Start giving access to cpanel's for checkup's? :rolleyes:

As loredan said stop worrying about cheaters and fake info dudes... btw why would someone wanna waste his time in photoshop? Just for a quick submission?

Carry on with your good work loredan! :)

[JamieG]

Those who have problem with the list, So what do you expect the solution to be? Start giving access to cpanel's for checkup's? :rolleyes:

As loredan said stop worrying about cheaters and fake info dudes... btw why would someone wanna waste his time in photoshop? Just for a quick submission?

Carry on with your good work loredan! :)Five minutes with photoshop could mean a submission at $20 for example which would work out at $240 an hour, a good day's earning in anyone's books. :)

Why shouldn't we worry about cheats and thieves, are you really saying we should all turn a blind eye?

[humm]

Five minutes with photoshop could mean a submission at $20 for example which would work out at $240 an hour, a good day's earning in anyone's books. :)

Why shouldn't we worry about cheats and thieves, are you really saying we should all turn a blind eye?

Big calculations you have in terms of cheating it seems. You think its only TRAFFIC or information shown on this list what submitters consider?

If your stats seems to be ok, GII is making 4800$ daily from the list.

Anyways, If you think something wrong is being done with the list, give a SOLUTION for the same, help out someone to make the list better.

Its easy to comment and move on & difficult to do something. Appreciate someones efforts.

[JamieG]

Big calculations you have in terms of cheating it seems. You think its only TRAFFIC or information shown on this list what submitters consider?

If your stats seems to be ok, GII is making 4800$ daily from the list.

Anyways, If you think something wrong is being done with the list, give a SOLUTION for the same, help out someone to make the list better.

Its easy to comment and move on & difficult to do something. Appreciate someones efforts.Yes it is easy to come on to threads and comment humm, but not easy to find a solution to cheats. I did say in one of my posts above that the day someone finds a solution they'll be a very rich person. :) I trust you'll comment on the other posters here who also comment on the manipulation of traffic?

[swedal]

Five minutes with photoshop could mean a submission at $20 for example which would work out at $240 an hour, a good day's earning in anyone's books. :)

Why shouldn't we worry about cheats and thieves, are you really saying we should all turn a blind eye?


Wow JamieG - I see you are really spreading around your negativity today.

Maybe if you have a problem on how the traffic is measured you should come up with a solution rather than ridicule the efforts of those that are actually putting forth the effort. I am sure that Alexa would love to hear from you.

There is usually a reason when people think first of cheats and thieves rather than honest efforts.

Loredan puts forth a great effort to provide a unique list that has value to others. It is a largely manual process for those involved because they need to send in proof of the traffic from their respective stats programs.

Can you provide proof of your accusations of cheats and thieves?

[humm]

I trust you'll comment on the other posters here who also comment on the manipulation of traffic?

I did man.. Did it in my first post! :D Now chill man, lets think of a good solution. ;)

[formula]

cheating is not the problem - I trust people as well.
I just don't think that traffic means quality.
It is easy to buy 10k traffic for few bucks - does it mean you have a good directory???
I fully support transparency .
I like what you try to do, but if it is based on traffic is pointless.
My Lola directory (http://www.loladir.com) is so strong that most of the sites improve dramatically their serp. But it has only 150 a day...

[JamieG]

I did man.. Did it in my first post! :D Now chill man, lets think of a good solution. ;)lol; I'm totally chilled humm, :) concept is good, I never said it wasn't, the execution is not so easy to carry out because of the minority which is what unchills me. :mad:

[hyper]

what stats to provide to get listed ? :)

It is the same time I try to get in that list but I failed. Looks like every time I submit there I get somehow ignored. I think this is a preferential list like: "hmm this one is ok... lets see... this one sucks...this one's not... this one...ahh I'm tired ! maybe tomorrow I'll review some other :D "

Sorry I couldn't resist.

[loredan]

It is the same time I try to get in that list but I failed. Looks like every time I submit there I get somehow ignored. I think this is a preferential list like: "hmm this one is ok... lets see... this one sucks...this one's not... this one...ahh I'm tired ! maybe tomorrow I'll review some other :D "

Sorry I couldn't resist.

Hello,

This is mikey's answer to MeetHere's question

"Submit your awstats data from the previous month in the first 3 days of the month."

...just one post below to the one you just quoted.

This is a preferential list indeed. We would prefer to welcome new submissions within the specified period of time for better management.

Here is the bit of info from our page

Each month between 1st and 3rd every owner will be able to submit a screenshot with his directory traffic details from the previous month...

http://www.zyas.com/trafficlist.php

Today is 15th

Thank you for understanding

P.S. - Friendly advice - Read, read, read...before you post, post, post :)

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

All the best

[hyper]

Hello,

This is mikey's answer to MeetHere's question

"Submit your awstats data from the previous month in the first 3 days of the month."

...just one post below to the one you just quoted.

This is a preferential list indeed. We would prefer to welcome new submissions within the specified period of time for better management.

Here is the bit of info from our page

Each month between 1st and 3rd every owner will be able to submit a screenshot with his directory traffic details from the previous month...

http://www.zyas.com/trafficlist.php

Today is 15th

Thank you for understanding

P.S. - Friendly advice - Read, read, read...before you post, post, post :)

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

All the best

Good to know...we'll see :)
my bad, I should have read more carefully but I'll take care from now on ( hopefully ) but anyway I still have some doubts.

Have a nice evening.
hyper

[smub]

I would never be able to understand why would you guys be worried about someone faking the traffic. Why everytime when something come up you must see only thieves and cheaters around?

It is just a bloody list and personally I see no reason why someone would fake his stats. Why? To get what? A higher placement on a new page? Naaah...
I trust people and their honestity and I'm not worried about what you are. If you have a look, the first spots on the list are occupied by some really good quality directories.

I respect every single person who decided to make his stats public instead of those shouting loud about how good are their sites and lying themselves. This is a sign of transparency, perhaps the first sign to a better code of practice in this industry. People have the courage to share their stats and to say, "Well, I have just 1000 visitors monthly, but I'll get better". This means a lot from my point of view, so why would you see thieves and cheaters coming up? No way I'll agree with your childish replies. Have a look at the list and tell me what directory you would think that presented fake stats? I'd say no one...



No offense was meant toward you loredan when i said i didn't like the tool. I have never seen a more childish response than yours. You have to learn the fact that when you put your product out in public be ready for reviews. If you expect positive reviews then next time please write in your thread, that i only welcome positive reviews and anyone who doesn't say my product is good, i call their replies childish.


All i said was that i dont like this service and i presented why. Now what you could've said was ok i understand why you don't like it, but this is what it is. Simple.


The problem notified by Simon is another good one with your tool. Maybe you can fix this. Perhaps what you can do is ask the users to provide specific type of stats. Statcounter Only, or Awstats only, but what that will do is limit your audience. For every + their is a - you just have to take your stands and go with it. Once again, i do not mean to attack you in person or your product, but telling you my personal opinion about your product.


All to all, good luck with your new aventure.

[loredan]

No offense was meant toward you loredan when i said i didn't like the tool. I have never seen a more childish response than yours. You have to learn the fact that when you put your product out in public be ready for reviews. If you expect positive reviews then next time please write in your thread, that i only welcome positive reviews and anyone who doesn't say my product is good, i call their replies childish.


All i said was that i dont like this service and i presented why. Now what you could've said was ok i understand why you don't like it, but this is what it is. Simple.


The problem notified by Simon is another good one with your tool. Maybe you can fix this. Perhaps what you can do is ask the users to provide specific type of stats. Statcounter Only, or Awstats only, but what that will do is limit your audience. For every + their is a - you just have to take your stands and go with it. Once again, i do not mean to attack you in person or your product, but telling you my personal opinion about your product.


All to all, good luck with your new aventure.

Hello Syed,

I shouldn't have posted that thing before...it was a bit...hmmm...just had a bad day :o

I do apologise to you and the other two guys.

I think I found the solution to both - preventing the eventual fakings (if any) and tracking the stats from an unique source for everyone.

I'll see you all on 1st of March! :)

Cheers

[smub]

:) glad that you understand the concerns. I am sure you guys will do a good job in maintaining the tool spam free.

See me on march 1st, sadly i dont own any directories. But if you ever make this for a blog i'll surely submit mine :)

[Obelia]

When my host changed the way they counted stats, my traffic suddenly jumped tenfold (yet site activity remained about the same). I think that's a good indication of how little you can trust stats.

I think Nielsen are one of the few companies who have access to reasonably accurate stats, and they do charge a lot for them. However, this isn't terribly relevant. Value isn't about how much traffic a directory gets, it's about how much any one website is likely to receive from that directory.

You might be able to measure that objectively by listing a number of websites in different categories in each directory, and looking at the referring traffic. Not perfect, and you would need access to a lot of stats from listed websites to make it work.

[SilkySmooth]

Hey loredan,

Nice job on the system, I briefly scanned over the thread and do agree with some of the posters that the stats can be a bit misleading with different tools reporting different things. But instead of slam you for it I have an idea for you to think about...

Why not implement a system similar to what some of the top sites use, whereby the directory owner is required to install a small peice of JavaScript code on their directory footer which will then allow you to record the traffic. You don't need to have a silly image or anything like that so the majority of directory owners won't have a problem with it because there is no physical change to their site.

The only downside is of course the small percentage of users who have JS disabled. But that would be averaged out across all directories using the same JS and shouldn't be a big issue.

Anyway, just a thought.

HTH

[JamieG]

Hey loredan,

Nice job on the system, I briefly scanned over the thread and do agree with some of the posters that the stats can be a bit misleading with different tools reporting different things. But instead of slam you for it I have an idea for you to think about...I don't think anyone has slammed this other than question the efficacy and reliability of statistics Silkysmooth, Loredan has adressed that.

[SilkySmooth]

I don't think anyone has slammed this other than question the efficacy and reliability of statistics Silkysmooth, Loredan has adressed that.

I didn't say that anyone did, I merely pointed out that I wasn't.

[JamieG]

I didn't say that anyone did, I merely pointed out that I wasn't.My apologies I was reading with one eye open, guess that can happen when you look at the monitor too much. Will be more careful next time. :)