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Ten tips for startup directories

Discussion in 'Directories' started by terryuk, Sep 20, 2007.

  1. #1
    I have compiled a list of just ten pointers that I personally feel helps build a "quality" web directory resource. There are more people that I can name that are creating a directory every day, often forgetting the essentials to get the respect you need to create a quality resource for both webmasters & users benefits.

    I will write a short description of each point, for those who may not understand my points.


    =================
    HTACCESS REWRITE (301 redirects)
    =================

    I am taking a wild guess and saying that almost all reading will have heard of this. Many things re possible with this smart solution. But one thing many website owners and definately directory owners forget to do is select ONE option for URL rewriting. E.g. Your website is accessible via both http://domain.com and http://www.domain.com.

    Now why is this important? Having both URLs working without a rewrite can cause confusion, and often lower your chances of getting higher in SERPs as Search Engines will see two different versions of your site, and eventually you'll have duplicate content issues..

    You can find a detailed htaccess rewrite tutorial at webconfs here.




    ================
    Unique Content
    ================
    Thousands of directories with the same category structures and often the same links in the similar locations! Unique content is important for any website, so why should it be any different for a web directory?

    There are a couple of good ways in which you can boost your directories uniqueness;

    - Creating a blog; Don't bother scraping others content, go ahead and write your own or get some else to write it for you!

    - Writing unique website descriptions; Maybe takes an extra five minutes per review?

    - Writing category descriptions; Be precise and on topic :)



    ================
    Reviewing websites
    ================
    Don't be afraid to decline websites!


    ================
    Your domain
    ================
    Some quick do's and dont's;

    - Say NO NO to dropped/expired domains; You can spot them from a mile away

    - Say YES YES to brandable one word domains; Great for branding and building a reputable business

    - Say NO NO to 301 redirecting domains to your index

    - Say YES YES to keyword domains, as long as they are on-topic; e.g. healthdirectory.com, not thisisonehealthdirectory.com :D



    ================
    Empty categories / Filler sites
    ================
    Add links throughout your categories to ensure there are none empty. Find authoritive websitesthat will help the general user when/if they visit that category!

    Not being able to find what your looking for is quite annoying!


    You may read the rest of the post here

    Cheers,
    Terry
     
    terryuk, Sep 20, 2007 IP
    Zibblu likes this.
  2. coolweb

    coolweb Notable Member

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    #2
    That is really helpful article.

    Search engines index the site in both ways and there will be duplicate content for your index page.

    Thanks for the useful tips and guide :)
     
    coolweb, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  3. enQuira

    enQuira Peon

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    #3
    Thanks. Could you elaborate on this?
     
    enQuira, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  4. bobby9101

    bobby9101 Peon

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    #4
    Same question
     
    bobby9101, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  5. nemolist

    nemolist Active Member

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    #5
    stop this garbage., stop new directories !!! web go green!
     
    nemolist, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  6. Uvex

    Uvex Peon

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    #6
    Pretty comprehensive guide, well done.

    Some extremely important points raised such as planning and reviewing each submission along with unique content and exposure.

    Many will do well to follow some of your tips.
     
    Uvex, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  7. banless

    banless Peon

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    #7
    Very good tips for those just getting started in the directory market. Thanks
     
    banless, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  8. LanceT22

    LanceT22 Peon

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    #8
    Excellent tips, I am also looking for some clarification on your 301 redirects...

    Lance
     
    LanceT22, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  9. terryuk

    terryuk Notable Member

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    #9
    Thanks for the kind words everyone :)

    As for the 301 redirects; It's basically the same as buying a dropped domain with Pagerank. But only with this, you redirect your dropped domains to an actual directory and sit till it gains PR. But I believe Google has been hot on this since day one.
     
    terryuk, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  10. adnan

    adnan Peon

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    #10
    Thanks for the pointers.

    I got a question.

    How do u spot expired domains?
     
    adnan, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  11. terryuk

    terryuk Notable Member

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    #11
    No worries.

    Well sometimes, it's quite hard to spot them... depending on if they put relevant content back onto the domain. But..

    Some people often buy a PR domain, and upload PHPLD and expect the money to start rolling the same day, but a few things to look out for;

    Way back machine (archive.org)
    Sites cache - Is it a parked domain page? etc
    Random domain names - mesothelioma-articles.com (for e.g.) running a directory? Doesn't sound right to me!

    They are three things that you can normally tell that the person is looking for some quick $$$$.

    Hope that helps..
     
    terryuk, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  12. dynn

    dynn Notable Member

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    #12
    excellent tips...thanks for sharing
     
    dynn, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  13. thebeacon

    thebeacon Guest

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    #13
    thanks for sharing, just started my directory couple of days ago. It seems that there are so many directories these days that I dont even know why google would even pay attention to any of them.
     
    thebeacon, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  14. workshop

    workshop Guest

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    #14
    Its simple. If directory masters are reviewing sites and doing a reasonable job the links have a value to Google. This is why they are penalising the QBC and trying to normalise the market.
     
    workshop, Sep 20, 2007 IP
  15. syted

    syted Notable Member

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    #15
    I am having problems with this since installing a wordpress blog on LinkLister. I have tries to edit my htaccess with the 301 rewrite but it hasn't worked. I want to redirect http://linklister.co.uk to http://www.linklister.co.uk.

    I've tried a few different things but no success yet :confused:
     
    syted, Sep 21, 2007 IP
  16. terryuk

    terryuk Notable Member

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    #16
    Below is the general code to do this;

    
    Options +FollowSymlinks
    RewriteEngine on
    rewritecond %{http_host} ^domain.com [nc]
    rewriterule ^(.*)$ http://www.domain.com/$1 [r=301,nc]
    
    Code (markup):
    Of course change your domain.com etc, if you'd like me to take a look at your .htaccess file then do let me know.
     
    terryuk, Sep 21, 2007 IP
    syted likes this.
  17. Zibblu

    Zibblu Guest

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    #17
    Great article - I'm planning on using a lot of your tips for my directory I'm working on... (once I get the darn thing installed & working.)
     
    Zibblu, Sep 21, 2007 IP
  18. terryuk

    terryuk Notable Member

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    #18
    Great, that's good to hear :) Wish you the best
     
    terryuk, Sep 22, 2007 IP
  19. MeetHere

    MeetHere Prominent Member

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    #19
    Thanks for a wonderful article..
    and thanks for the 301 redirect guide..

    Thats true :)
     
    MeetHere, Sep 22, 2007 IP
  20. terryuk

    terryuk Notable Member

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    #20
    No problems at all :)
     
    terryuk, Sep 23, 2007 IP