I started a new unique style biding directory and I am having a bit of trouble figuring out what is the best way to go with the biding links. My directory project is based on v3.2 phpld bid script so it offers both regular links and featured links, with the feature links being the ones you can bid on and get home page exposure with. Right now the setup is that regular links are permanent and featured links expire after 1-year and change into permanent regular links. Chris got me thinking about which might be better (and in the past I am a bigger fan of permanent links). Then ! Ask ! summed it up well and I was thinking along these same lines: I would like to hear other peoples experiences and thoughts on this topic. thanks
i agree. I have a bidding directory, and was wondering if one day it would become "saturated" look at bigweblinks. as he cant list his own market leading sites on there, another strong directory (that belongs to rob) is paying $2000 for the top spot there. as categories slowly start to fill up, people will think "i wont bother bidding there, i need to spend $xxx to get on a high PR page that isnt buried miles into the site" of course you can start more and more categories, but i had an idea to mod my directory. the idea came from what chris has done to alive directory. Have two prices for permanent and yearly. For example, my directory zorg links is PR0, but if it gets PR4, i will raise minimum bid to say $5. That $5 minimum will be for a yearly link. For your link to stay permanent, i could also have a $15 minimum bid. that way lower paying links expire, keeping the directory clean and open to more bids. what ya think? Mike
Actually, I started out favouring permanent links, but now that I see the bids on some bid sites, my position is changed I think jg123's idea is the best one i've heard , thanks I agree that pretty soon, new entrants might well be discouraged by gigantic bid positions that cannot be beaten, This is okay for new directories, but how about those with really big bid positions established, l
That is always an option but because of the method of home page listings on my directory I won't add any more top categories but can still add unlimited subs to accomodate better placement of feature links in the future once things start filling up. I do agree that with 1-year links folks won't want to see their entire investment just vanish. That is one of the things I like about phpld bid script, is that even if/when the top bids are high you can still jockey for position within the categories themselves for better placement. Also the fact that regular links will always remain available at a low-price gives folks that option for getting a more traditional style directory type listing. I was thinking I could: a. Offer featured links (bid links) to expire after 2-years thus giving the biders much more value for their money but still maintaining a more open revenue model for the directory. b. Depreciate the listing over a one year period very slowly, so after 1-year your link has depreciated 50% of it's value thus giving new biders a chance to bid over the current leaders. c. After 1-year your bid is reduced by 50% so top biders do not lose all their investment and it gives new biders a chance to take away some of the top spots at lower prices.
The problem i see with depreciation is a, how do you explain it to clients b, i know how i would feel if my $100 bid showed as $70 after 3 mths if i had forgotten, or never understood depreciation, Methinks the featured links route is well understood and now people know that if they pay a little bit more, they can show high in the list, an can even get on the home page, An yes, i really like phpld bid scrpt 3.2
OMG!! I am on 2 hours sleep right now and just gave positive comments but NEGATIVE rep to two of you who are helping me out with your ideas in this thread.....I will make it up with more positive in the future I promise, LOL....I will also see if a moderator can remove it for me. I invite both of you to submit a free permanent featured link to my PR5 directory 2ListNow.com as an apology. Yes I have those concerns too.
zomg you knocked loads of points from me Just submitted www.zorg-links.com as a permanent featured link into bidding directory category.Then i clicked the paypal button and closed when paypal opened. Hope you will approve it.....then..... go to bed
I don't see that happening. I find that people are still interested in the category listings. They just bid a small amount higher for the position they want in there.
a directory with high bids often has PR. so if the category pages are PR6, page 3 of those pages will be PR4. people will still submit to them i guess.
mikey1090 and centime I got you both set-up. I guess the depreciation thing is probably not going to work. I am leaning toward permanent because I it then offers the most value for everyone. If the featured links pile up I can always add more sub-categories. Even if high bids dominate a few categories it still works out most fair because it is a bid directory and the whole premise is that you can bid for a better (and the best) positions.
Thanks for all the opinions, I decided I would go with permanent links in sticking with my overall business style of offering good value to all my customers. You can read the official launch thread (with a special offer for DP members) here http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=385897