Being that few directories send much traffic. Most of the people on this thread seem to say they are getting little traffic, then the links real value is to pass PR. How then can this or any other directory be better than a comparable PR page on any other website? It's not the price, I seldom pay anywhere near $35 for a PR 4 link and that is normally on a content page instead of a link page. Am I missing some inherent value in paying the high price of a directory link?
No your not missing anything, your analysis is absolutely spot on, possibly the reason why people haven't replied as they don't like to admit it? Directories, or most of them are all about PR chasing or at least that's the way I see it. The bubble will burst on this that's for sure. However, until that bubble bursts it looks like this is going to be the vogue for a while to come. (It's ruined what directories stand for imho). The one thing you are missing though and I am surprised no-one's bothered to respond is that you would be getting listed in a 'Category' relevant to your site. (Category for the time being = Relevance = Google's idea of good linking). If a category has a PR4 or PR5 then you get to benefit from a relevant link with a high PR which then gets taken into account with your own site. If you link to other sites they will need to have relevance to your own (I don't need to tell you this) otherwise they can have as much PR as they like it won't get credited as much by 'G' as it is to thier value an irrelevant link. I've got thousands of backlinks on some of my sites and a poorish PR, why? Because the backlinks are irrelevant, or appear irrelevant to my specific site subject, so 'G' do take notice.
See the only problem i am having with your comment is its hard to understand what u meant by a PR 4 link. Yeah i paid $35 for a PR 4 link but when the homepage is PR 6 and the entire site is a strong PR 6 and have good PS as well ... it plays in effect, and the only thing which make directories more valuable than link farms are the categories because then you have a relevant link as cantufind said. Also a little traffic idk... i have recieved so far 40 unique visitors from aviva over a course of a month ... so its not bad for $35 permenant listing ...
Have they changed their pricing? $50 a year? well that's definitely not worth it then. alive also,they raised the price?
Im still waiting for some change also just kidden vista good luck to you and your directory... thx malcolm
well when the site is doing good the prices raise man ... its definately well worth it... i mean when the site is PR 0 right ... it sells cheaper than PR 5 .... obviously aviva and alive are advertising like crazy ... so its well worth it plus alive is an authority site now so u can see the popularity so both of these sites are well worth the submission.
Your right, a pr4 on a directory category page is no more valuable than a comparable pr4 on a normal website page. If anything, the directory link has less value since its just a page of links. But directory owners wont lower there prices anytime soon, they spend so much money trying to get high PR, gotta feel sorry for them
Probably one of the best advantages of a directory, directories are one of the few places you can get listed on the same page as your competitors ; Co-citation is the great advantage of directories. For me directory integrity that enables close related links and authority links to be listed on the same pages, is as important as PR.
Your not quite right there jabb, the directory link may well be just a 'page of links' but if the links are relevant then they are more valuable than a non relevant site of equal PR and this is the one benefit. @ smub, don't take this the wrong way as I respect your views but are you seriously expecting people to believe that alive or aviva are directories of any authority? Why simply because they charge such a large amount? A lot of thier categories contain just a single link! What's authoratative about that? Out of your 40 visits that have come from them how many conversions have you had? In other words did you benefit in any way other than a 'hit'? Respect has to go to these two for the level of marketing to a certain extent but its not the owners on thier own who are doing the marketing its people unwittingly 'bigging them up' that is helping them gain Kudos. As much as people seem to dislike Dmoz this together with an elite few could ever be called 'directories of authority'. ! Ask ! hit it right on the button with his comments of integrity over PR, at least someone appears to see the wood for the trees.
I agree, but raising the price is like from 35 (permanent) to 50 (permanent) but from 35 permanent to 50 yearly, that's too much for the quality. just my opinions. I listed my site in alive (travel) now it is in page 2 which has 32 featured listed I don't think it is worth it anymore. Plus did you forget that site-sift was PR8? aggressive link buying is not the best way to promote a website for the long run.
Finally, the penny has dropped! PR for vanity, turnover is sanity! Fair play to them though they must have a heck of a lot of traffic just from curious readers of the threads on this forum alone.
smub: You asked why I said PR 4, That was more as an illistration, a healthy PR 6 directory seems to have mostly PR 4 pages. So I was only using that as a comparison for other sites. cantufind: and a few other mentioned relevance. A well maintined directory will have pretty good relevance, but you can often get closer if you can get a link on a content page of someone talking about the same topic as the page you wish to have linked to (although thats a lot tougher to find than trying to find a good directory) Another thought on "authority" Perhaps this does not show that it is or is not an authority, but it at least shows that the site is respected by Google. I found this on another thread. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=alive+directory&btnG=Google+Search Notice the additional links. Aviva does not have these.
Thats a good point. Even a good directory can't always provide this on every page so that meens you need to pay close attention to the links on the page you would be added to. But this could add a little value that you wouldn't always find on a content page.
Thats why i said comparable. A relevant link from a page of links should still carry less weight than a relevant link from a content page. Directories are just pages of links.
I for one believe a link on Aviva is a good deal even at the current price. Anyone who has or will purchase a link is getting much more than just a link. Not only has it achieved inner PR, but it is also one of the most widely talked about directories around. So if it's true what they say about word of mouth advertising being one of the best ways of getting noticed, you would be crazy not to want a link on this directory. Aviva is promoted to every angle as near as I can tell. Sight, sound are but a couple. If Onlinedude could just find a way to make a web directory smell like roses, he would have all bases covered. In the end, each one has their own budget to work with. What or why something has worth is an individual thing and it's a waste of time to try and analyze it. I say good on Alive and Aviva!
The way it reads was you were comparing PR values not content. BTW, with all due respect directory are just pages of links WITH descriptions which in my book equals content which in a well organised and maintained directory would be relevant to that category thus providing a stronger overall continuity with how Google values a page.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Alive+Web+Directory why am i calling Alive an authority site ... visit the link and you'll see yourself. Not just me, Google is calling it an authority site and to get to that status is extreme and you and i both know that. those 40 hits ... how many directories send you that from a deep link page ?? let me know the answer to that one. Truly i have no way to track the visitors from aviva whether they bought a link or not but surely there is alot of purchase going on and there is a very good possibility couple of those 40 may have submitted their site to my paid directory. Question about hits ?? would u buy a link from a site which gets 0 visits a month or from the one which gets 40 visits a month ? (Must Pick One) i am very sure if i were to invest .. obviously i'd make a smart investment and invest into 40 visits / month ... so those hits are valuable to me when i go and sell sitewide if i do ! because advertisers would want to know where i got the traffic from ... how many visits // yada yada .. i am very sure you buy links just like i do and you do take those in consideration BTW: don't use the statement "don't take this the wrong way as I respect your views" because it just makes you a hippocryte.