Hi Since Google started to penalise certain directories have you stopped creating new directories or are you still creating new ones?
I don;t think it's worth my time in turns of making an investment of it. I've got into much more profitable things However when done right - I'll use DirJournal as an example - it can be done excellently.
It's not about building more, it's about building what you have better. In short, nope. No new directories. Agreed. Promoting is a catch22 these days though. What is it that makes it a prime example?
It's about quality over quantity these days. It can still be done, it just takes some real work, which a lot of people are scared of - or don't have time for. The days of people having 10+ directories are gone. Unless you're a *very* hard worker or out of the loop about the importance of quality, it just wont work. Depending on your time constraints having two or, perhaps, three can strike a good balance. Or you can focus on building one really good directory. IMO Google aren't penalising directories - they're penalising the link farms that pretend to be directories. If you focus on quality listings and don't make the common mistake of accepting all the junk, you should be fine. It is a lot harder than it used to be, but if you're not afraid of some hard work it can still be done right.
People are still building new directories (look at solicitations section). Some of these are misguided webmasters who think they can make quick money from these directories others just want to have a 'guaranteed approval network' of their own ;-)
Yes, mostly the network directories are coming these days. The number has dropped so much from the other web masters. Perhaps time to enter directories market if you believe in demand supply theory.
I still got an idea for a niche directory... However, directories do take a LOT of time and I am out of it! Maybe people would be a little more motivated had there been a new script in the market (...)
i still have a few directories projects in mind, i also have few real estate and wedding directories in the making too, some niches are hot, directories are still good business, as long as you have more than 10.. (you cannot afford to enter this business with 1 directory, it's too risky, Google may penalize it and then it's all over for you.
It's database. Decent categories that are no longer looking empty. Good quality sites that I wouldn't easily find in search engines. Good review standards. Although it was quite pricey, last time I checked.
Looking at the announcements made regularly in DP, phpLD and eSyndicat - directory market is still hot - no matter what Google chose to do with such links. Also recent big wheel turn has resulted in some directories pagerank moving north - a clear indication that Google may not really hate them afterall!
Why wouldn't you exemplify avivadirectory first is beyond me? 1. It's older 2. No empty categories. (I wrote Jeff a script to check for empty categories which he then took/is taking care of a few months back) 3. Employs several editors I'm puzzled. Don't get me wrong, I love both aviva and dirjournal. They are both great directories (imho) with owners equally as great and passionate, however, I would not mention one without the other, especially with aviva being the older of the two. (don't forget the sly penalty dodger romow.com too, or ewebpages.org for that matter) I guess it'd have to come down to your personal opinion in your post, although your criteria you've mentioned does not justify what you've said if you actually take a longer look.
My decision about what to build isn't about Google penalties because Google treats good directories just like any other website in the SERPs. Good directories can still be monetized successfully. With that said my current project...and my next two ideas...have nothing at all to do with directories simply because I want to try to broaden my revenue types. If I find an appropriate niche that interests me and isn't well served I might start another directory. To do them well it takes a lot of time to market and edit so it would have to be enjoyable.