Hi I see here tonnes of directories so I wonder what's the deal with starting link/web directories. The target market is small..mainly webmasters 'cos the majority of web users will not touch you with 10-foot pole. I may be wrong but from what I see links are sold for $x or low $xx. So even say even if you have a good directory and you sell 100 links/listings (which is a lot) , you make at most, low $xxx per year. There is also a limit to number of listings you can sell and it isn't scalable. Or maybe you are in business of building and selling directories. But even then, good directories being sold for low prices $xx to low $xxx. It also takes long time for directory to get good rep...many mths, years perhaps. Or do you directory owners start lots of directories like 10,20 or 50 directories and depend on volume? How much do you make on average from your directory? So far, I have made very low $xx from my directory. Any sharing would be much appreciated. Thanks
We think that you need to treat Directories just like any other business Meaning 'that the harder You work, the more luck You will have' Because one fact cannot be overlooked is hard work, sustained marketing, solid reliable support & maintenance are the fundamental basics that you must be prepared to inject into the business And of course the timeline to build up your Directory Reputation, which you cannot 'short cut' So all in all run a directory 'like a baby in an ICI Unit with 24 Hour Support' Thats all there is to running a Directory, the rest is Easy
Most of people start directories because it is very easy thing to do: You get free script, install free template, make few forums treads and let people build your content. Anyway this is the way I was thinking when I was starting my first directory. After that I saw that because work is minimal at the beginning, it becomes much more needed than with "regular" sites later. I think many people start with my original idea and decide to quit later when they realize the facts. Only few persisting people who takes this serious and want to work and invest money make profit everybody dream of.
I personally have never owned or ran a directory simply because i believe that directories will loose seo value at some point in time with the big SEs. That being said, right now, DIR links are Gold when you want to give your site a nice boost and a quick chance at being indexed. Now, my previous comment about directories loosing value in the future isn't being made for just any old reason. Directories do have a bit of a reputation for having the sole purpose of giving backlinks. If you can find a way to differentiate yourself and your directory, you will have a much longer lifespan and will more than likely be more popular. A few directories come to mind that offer more than just directory services... Veilsilencer, botw.org, SEOcompany.ca, and even the new Aviva Directory (look at the non-directory resources that are avail.). I hope this helps give you an idea of how to be successful.
I don't know about this, because if you look at googles webmaster help section, they encourage you to submit your site to dmoz, yahoo dir and other directories. But there are ALOT of them out there. The competition is very severe and to survive, I guess you have to prove to the webmaster why he should submit to your directory rathen then someone else's.
There is quite a big difference between Yahoo! / DMOZ and your typical directory. 1 of them is paid (and I'm not talking $15 gets you listed) and the other has very strict (arguably) inclusion criteria. Those 2 qualities, of course make them different than many other directories. I think that 2 things must occur for a directory to be successful: 1. It must be a reputable resource (after all, thats really what the original goal of directories were before Google was on the block). 2. It must offer something that submitters and visitors can't get elsewhere (somehow, your site has to stand out as being THE place to go for SOMETHING [for both the webmaster submitting and the visitor that surfs onto the site]).
The real question is how much did you spend to make $XX from your directory. In order to make money you have to spend money and time. Unless of course you have something unique to offer which isn't something easy for directories. In my experience a directory can have a good ROI, but please consider that I am talking about ROI (Return of Investment) so there has to be some kind of investment involved.
Thats a comment from dkessaris who has put his time and money where his mouth is, and of course he deserves all the credits that those investments have brought to his great directory
I agree with some of the posts above... If you put in the time on your directory and treat it like a real business you can make money. Be prepared to put in the time and effort to receive a good return... The fly by night directories who think that just build it and they will come are never going to see more than $xx dollars in reveneue per month. A well planned and maintained directory can make $x,xxx per month.
100 submissions a year? LOL Personally, I have several directories and the numbers are a good bit higher than that.
I have often wondered the same as well...I have only recently started looking into directories, and directory submission. Seems like an easy enough business.
It is easy to setup. But that ease means you have a ton of competition. If you find it easy, so do countless others.
Yes, I have realised how many directories there are...seems like a huge field. What is the best way of promoting a new directory? On a forum such as this?
A brand new one, yes. I would also suggest you add a blog to the directory so it has some "original content". That way you can promote the blog via the "social internet", which will indirectly help directory sales.
Ah right, I am not really very knowledage about the world of blogs...but I have heard they can be good ways to promote. Also...do web directories get increased page rank, with a higher number of links? Or, do outgoing linkes not account for anything?
Both outgoing and incoming links are counted in the PR algo. A general rule of thumb is to try and have more incoming links than outgoing ones. Lots of people claim that outgoing links don't matter and that no PR "leaks", but I have reason to believe that's not true.