I assume he means that you should build your own category structure rather than a category dump that is being used by all of the get rich quick folks.
Brent i will say Human edited as the first point. If a directory it's human edited, then the rest comes with it.
Agree with above, although I also hate cookie cutter directories. I do understand not every owner has few hundreds dollars to plunge in to design right off the bat. But then again, unique look pays off. As far as the other factors, I would never pay for a listing if directory itself wasn't ranking high for its own keywords, including category pages. Traffic & SERPs those two are number 1 in my book.
Yes more importantly the directories should be human edited. This is another characteristic of a good directory.
Great list, thanks. Obviously quality is the most important. Problem is, quality is very hard to find in today's online world... :S
I agree with your all points and we should always keep these points in mind while choosing paid directories.
If a directory have page rank on inner pages that means it is properly optimised for search engines like google. I think www.mastbusiness.com is a perfect directory which meet all requirements.
Good some times point links on directory with appropriate categories is really help full as there is lot chance to get links on high pr and unique class ip relevant niche and good content on the web page and good alexa .