Tips to Run A Successful Directory!

Having some experience in making a good directory, I would like to share it with new directory owners. Correct me if I am wrong and add some tips which I may have missed.

Building it:

• Get a good domain name, will help you a great deal!
• Get a unique design, the defauly directory design won't help you a great deal
• Choose a script that suits your needs.
• Various mods are now available. Add them as features to your directory. Be unique and don't copy other successful directories
• Don't collect databases lying around and apply them on your directory. Its duplicate content. Manually add as many categories as possible to give the customer value for money and the user precision
• Directories are supposed to provide information, add original content on your directory related to your niche. If it is a general directory, add all you can!

Development

• Keep updating the directory by adding mods, original content, offers for your customers
• Don't focus on PR, focus on developing your SERP rankings and PR will take care of itself
• Don't link exchange and fill your footers or sidebars with unwanted outgoing links
• Add high ranking websites which provide good information by yourself. It adds to the value of the category.
• Edit, change and review each link to make it unique. You don't want same descriptions of a website in each directory
• Re-build your category cache regularly
• Get yourself listed in other stronger directories and websites
• Release freebies like free WP and Directory themes and templates
• Take user feedback and work on it

One final tip: Don't follow the crowd, you are unique and so is your website. Think out of the box and show them what you can do!!

 

Thank you for the very useful tips

 

Re-build your category cache regularly <-- can i ask what that is for please.

I only dont agree with Add high ranking websites like Google, Yahoo, NASA by yourself specifically adding those ones is pointless to me.

But if you mean adding good quality sites yourself per category, yeah thats a good idea.

 

I have it enabled.

 

Thanks, i need to go into my dirs and check.

 

Nice tips there swapnil.. You mind if I use the info while making a blog post in my site?

 

You got your answer for the 1st point, and yeah, that is what I meant for the 2nd one.

 

I am already using them. You can use them as a reference though

 

Thanks for sharing the tips, everybody should take a look!

 

Agreed and edited the main post. Thanks for the correction.

 

do you guys get user feedback right from the site?

I mean other than just posting a "review" thread on DP

 

If you have a contact option enabled and the customer feels like spending some time to give you feedback then yes, you do get feedback. I've got feedback for my directory and yes it has been very useful.

 

I think this phrase is misleading, it's almost suggesting "add everything" which is a really bad idea.

Instead perhaps you can suggest that they add all the quality listings that they can, and edit everything to maintain that quality. Once they start adding junk, it's difficult to turn back.

 

That particular part referred to content, not listings.

 

What are listings? Aren't they the content?

 

Okay, I mean articles that you put up on a blog! Not listings..

 

Okay, however that's not the message that the "add all you can" line conveys. All I am saying is the line is misleading, it doesn't read how you think it reads.

 

Good post and I agree with the points made. It is important to add fresh listings to the directory so that search engines can see that it is regularly updated.

 

Its not majorly for search engines, adding quality websites to your categories helps you increase the quality of your directory by providing information about websites that are good. And it has to be regularly updated by other submissions and uploading of your own content if the directory is good enough