How can I make my directory more profitable?

I currently run what I consider to be a reasonably popular free online directory.

It has over 2600 entries and over 100 new submissions a week. It has "tastefully" placed AdSense, but the clickthru rate is frankly appauling.

What can I do to increase the number of clicks and make my site more profitable?

Is AdSense the best solution, or do I just have to face up to the fact that directories are not the best for CTR?

 

Directories are webmaster-related sites,and most of the webmasters are Adsense-Blind,hence you can't get many clicks!
Adsense is not a good choice,as your site has a PR3,you can sell links.

 

I think you should make your directory paid directory

for links for $1 or $3


and also you can sell about 20 -30 links there for $3

and make a good $60 for a month

and in addition to this you should sell sitewide links and you could be more profitable

and also

you have only one banner for adsense and you could place two out there

and if you wish see my directories

www.indianwebdirectory.info
www.action-3.com

which uses the same script as yours and how I placed Google ads

and also I have sold some footer and header links in both directories

under the caption"Your link in 312 pages"

as a link placed in a index.php will appear in all the pages

so it will also add more value to the webmasters back links

since your s site is a PR3 site you could sell links at a rate of $10 per year

and can make a good $500

 

don't disinform richie My directory, links-collector.com has a daily CTR of about 6% on content and 70% on search.. and this is not really bad at 1000 visitors/day even if it's only PR3 and 9 months old. Most visitors come from google.

 

Follow the advice from Richie remove the Adsense make your directory all paid then 'work your butt off' promoting and marketing the directory

It ain't easy but it is do-able

When the going gets tough the tough get going

And make no mistake about it the Directory Market is Tough

 

Adsense in my view is a bit of a waste of time for directories - there are much better ways of generating revenue from a directory.

Firstly id suggest getting your site a bit of a unique look and get a nicely designed template done. Make your site stand out from the crowd and your half way there - at the moment your directory looks like a load of others which currently run the directory script your using - rather bland and boring tbh.

To actually get the money the best idea would be to get monthly sitewide advertisers or small one time regular link submissions - this however will be difficult and restricting firstly due to the page rank your site pages currently have and the restrictions of the directory script you are using.

I actually used to use the exact same script when i was starting out and i realise how restrictive the script is... thats why i eventually made the move and changed to phpLD which provides a wealth of possibilities!!!

Best of luck.

 

If your directory is a strong one, making it paid is not a bad idea... see how that does...

 

Excellent - thanks for your feeback guys.

Where did you go about advertising? Did you approach people directly, if so, by what method?

 

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

 

.
What do you mean by?
Selling homepage/sitewide links ?
So there will be 50 outgoing links?

 

I am not telling about regular links and I was telling about sitewide links



not certainly 50 but in and around 30 and he can have separate rates for header and footer links

and also most of the link spots can be sold to directories so it would not also decrease the page rank

 

Hmm. I am not a big fan of this script and I dont like the template either. I guess its the default template? I have come across a few sites using a different template for FPDS. You might want to check out if there are any free templates available for it.

Anyways, to get to the point. I dont know what the experts have to say but I do get few clicks on a daily basis. I have a CTR of 1% for my directory. And I find few ads placed by adsense to be useful. Richie said webmasters are adsense blind and they wouldnt click on those ads. But what if the ad is appealing to them? Wouldnt they want to check the site out? Specially if its somehow related to what they are doing. Anyways, the placement of your ads counts alot. Make sure you make them blend in with the template and chose its placement wisely.

My 0.00 cents

 

I think you'd make more money if you got a custom skin for your directory.

 

IMO, most directories will never be anything but a directory that I would pay only a couple of dollars to submit to. If all you are able to charge, and still get submissions, is a couple of dollars, it is not worth the time and effort.

However, if you work really hard and offer more than "Just a directory", you can do quite well.

My directory offers a variety of things and is now a year old. By adding all of the extras that I do, I have increased traffic to good numbers and do absolutely zero advertising. I do not advertise to webmasters, and most of my 15,000 uniques per month come from google and other search engines. This results in lots of natural backlinks, great traffic for the sites listed within it, and the ability to charge a decent fee for listings.

My point that I am trying to make is that if you ever want to make a nice income from your directory, you need to stand out. Do something different and unique, and make your directory a place that not only webmasters see as a good place to list, but natural visitors will see it as a place to find what they want and find something else to do, besides click on a link and leave.


---Jamey

 

Thanks for all your feedback. I have updated my site to phpLD and maintained by existing db of nearly 3000 links. I've got a new skin, which is OK, but I'm still on the look out and the AdSense is gone, soon to be replaced with an attractive array of sponsorship and link purchase opportunities!

Role on 2007!

 

Having a a niche directory seems like a good idea, all paid or reciprocal. Curious what the potential in earnings on a directory such as yours are?

Many thanks!