Starting 7 free directories all around the same time and realising i wanted to make them paid. Creating each category by hand (no dump) and then thinking right, at least i can use that dump (my own) on my next directory, doing so and then that whole mess of disappearing categories etc... you know the score, easily sorted but you just think why didn't i listen to what was said 2 dozen times.
Allowing webmasters to submit site without login to the system was my big mistake. I was getting more than 50 spam submissions daily. Now it's only 5-10 daily.
Yeah get spam guard from an0n and you can do away with alot of headaches plus you don't have to have captcha or login
My mistake was thinking I knew it all when I really knew very little of the directory world. It's meant a delay in my launches but hey, it'll be worth it I hope.
My mistake is when i was impatient and sold off my directories which soon became money makers, forplex, iwebinfo and a dozen of others.
This is the worst mistake that you didn't judge well the potential of your directories at right time and sold for lemon.
Mistake I made was using the name of the companies who submit in the URL of their page. It means if ever they want to delete their entry I have to delete the whole page, sometimes losing pages that are highly ranked in the SERPs. Had I not included their company name in the URL I could have simply changed the content of the page and kept the high ranking.
This is true! Overtime, keywords in your domain name will have less weight in your overall SEO package. So look long term, and create something that is brandable!
I made the connection between your username, britishguys suggested surname and the talk of his current directory forplex.
Mistakes? Many. Lessons learned? You bet. I'm still learing new stuff daily. Not all unpaid submissions are spam. Script/server errors, payment processing errors, Internet connections, etc. can contribute to unpaid submissions. A cordial email message with a link to the payment page to complete the payment has eliminated much of my previous frustrations regarding abandoned payments.