Brand spanking new directory!

2 months: That's exactly my point! I submitted to DMOZ (5 sites in total). All different topics, some for work and a couple of my own. They were submitted between 2 days and 18 months ago and none of them have been included, purely because submissions are added manually.
All I have done is fixed this problem!

Link farm: I still don't understand why you guys are calling it a link farm?? There is no difference between this directory and any other. Apart from the fact that your listing is automatically added rather than going through a manual submission that takes months.

The reason I am asking for recip links and email verification is simply to avoid SPAM, users submitting multiple pages to the site etc. I still have control over listings and can delete (and even ban) unsuitable listings.

I searched Google for a quick definition and here's a difinition for a Link Farm:
(On this page: http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/seo/link-farm.html)

"A link farm is when group of website owners get together to link to each other. One main links page is created with links to all the participant's websites and each participant places that links page on her website. Voila! Instant links to your website."

My directory isn't affiliated to any other website owners and the submission you make is only added to one website: Mine! No others. So, it is not a link farm. Thanks!

 

Thanks once again for your comments Sarah. I never applied as a DMOZ editor. I think you misunderstood what I said.

Re reciprocal links only, I will be getting quite a few one way links as well (53 links showing so far in Alltheweb), through other directories (Some paid directories too) as well as other sites, forums etc. where I regularly post (including DP) etc.

Thanks for pointing out the Oceania category, by the way. I didn't want to swamp a new directory with many sub-categories and not many listings which is why Oceania, Europe etc. haven't been split. I might be looking at splitting them in tne future when the directory starts growing. (There are a couple of hundred directories at the moment). Although, wouldn't business or real estate categories suit your sites better??

Re the "link farm description", this is the first time (on this thread) that I have heard people say that directories are link farms (just because I am asking for a reciprocal link). There are a lot of directories that give you the option of either "purchasing a listing" or adding a "free listing with reciprocal". This would also make all those sites link farms. There are also heaps (and I mean millions) of sites out there that don't link to you until you link back. In fact, just about every site that has a links page will ask you for a recip link.

I am doing excatly what DMOZ or any other directory does. The only differences are that I have built a more efficient method of deployment so that you don't have to wait for months before your listing is added to the directory. Listings show up as soon as you verify your email address by clicking on a special link that is emailed to you. In return for this service, I am asking for a reciprocal link in lieu of a cash fee. This is totally different (in fact, not even remotely similar) to what a link farm does.

Why don't you find me a definition on the internet that says that any site asking for a reciprocal link is a link farm? Anyway, I'm sorry that I have not built my business the way that would suit your particular needs. The mandatory reciprocal link is in place for a reason and I'm afraid I won't be removing this from the site. Thanks!

 

That is true, agreed! Reciprocal links are mandatory, not optional. But, that's just the way I have set-up the site. No free lunches in my little world, Sarah!

Oh, and there are one-way outbound links as well. I have linked to these sites so far without a recip link:

http://www.dutyfreestores.co.nz
http://www.linkalizer.com
http://www.smilecity.co.nz
http://www.newzealandphotography.co.nz
(That's 11% of total listings)

And, there will be more one-way outbound (as well as inbound) listings in the future. The one-way outbounds will be set-up for a variety of reasons ...... affiliate links, paid listings or just pure love!

 

Wow! That's a lot of pressure for a site that went live under three days ago!

 

I don't see Google or anyone else ever banning anyone for reciprocal links (they occur organically as well as artifically, you know), although non-relevant links are a definite possibility in the foreseeable future.

As for submitting to a PR7 directory requiring reciprocal links, it's a matter of principle for me -- just as I never submit to pay-for-inclusion directories or search engines... ever.

 

Thanks for the comments (and support) Minstrel.

Maybe someone here could also confirm the fact that that any site that exchanges links is not a link farm ..... unless it automatically generates dozens or hundreds of links from a site or multiple sites.

Sarah: I really want you to settle down on one objection. You seem to come up with different objections with each post. First, you called my site a link farm. After getting a reponse for that, you complained about the mandatory reciprocal link.

Then, about the Oceania category ..... Will you submit your site if I split Oceania into NZ, Aussie, Islands and others?? I don't think so!

And then, you mentioned that I didn't have any one-way outgoing links. I did humour you with a response as I thought that maybe you needed some convincing to list your sites. But then, you switched objections once again and complained about the number of listings in my directory!!!

Once again, reminding you that every new directory does start with ZERO listings. Depending on the conditions of submission, accepted sites, ease of submission, directory structure etc. they all fill up at different rates. I don't mind the rate at which it is filling at the moment and I am sure that with the kind of set-up I have got there will be hundreds of listings in there before I know it. It is filling in fast enough for good growth potential and still at a good pace for me to be able to monitor the listings and ban/delete any unwanted ones (porn, hate etc.)

Finally, as far as the mandatory reciprocals are concerned, as mentioned before they are in place due to a very good reason. Can you imagine the amount of SPAM I will get if I took this condition out, considering that the entire submission process is automatic and listings are immediately added to the directory. I will be spending all my time deleting and banning porn, hate and other one-page sites from my directory.

Everyone has a right to their opinion .... that's what we are here for! But, I would prefer if you came right out and told me exactly what you don't like about my site ..... unless it is the mandatory recips, in which case I can't do much about them (Sorry!)

 

I have just added some new functionality to the directory. The first 10 submissions in the main category appear on the category page, i.e: If you submit to "Arts -> Performing Arts" and you are among the first 10 people to submit to the Arts category (all sub-categories inclusive), your listing will appear both on the Performing Arts Page as well as the Arts page.

That's two links for your one link to my directory. Be among the first ones to submit to this directory and take advantage of this offer!

 

What a waste of time it was submitting to this directory. I fill out all the info then it won't validate.

With so many new directories with good PR and lots of pages indexed, Recip directories will soon be a thing of the past.

You should be building up your listing not restricting them. When I first announced my directory, I had over 1000 submissions within 3 days. And about 1 or 2 are spam so I don't get how restrictive yours is.

Regardless, good luck but I imagine you will continue to have few submissions.

 

It can be quite a dilema when considering how to manage submissions in a directory. I get anywhere from 100 to 200 submissions a week now and I must say that 10 to 15% of them are crap. Spam, people who can't or won't take a minute to read the rules, or people who just don't care. I'm going to be instituting email verification pretty soon to help with that. As much as I'd like to require a recip I'm not going to do that, however I will add some incentive for people to give me one, like higher page listings, etc.

Having said that, there is something else to consider as well from the standpoint of a site owner. I've submitted my shopping site to many directories. Most of them never send me any traffic and that's fine as I mostly just wanted the links. There are a few, several actually, that send me traffic most days. Every single one of those requires a reciprocal link for inclusion. I don't know if it's related or not, but traffic is traffic, and if it's coming from a category page in a directory it's probably farily targeted.

All things considered, I don't necessarily mind giving a recip to a quality site, even if they require it, but I'm not going to require it in a directory. It just seems to me to defeat the purpose.

 

This is the key. But you don't give recips based on someone saying "Im expecting a lot of PR and this directory is going to be huge"...You hear that every day and if you go back through the sites in this thread, many are gone or desserted (broken images etc).

I think a new directory should accomodate its target group until it can prove itself. The recent "We are going to be huge" arrogance can be quite offputting at times.

 

Exactly -- like that song from My Fair lady: "Don't talk at all... Show me!"

 

Creating a button that sends you to a dynamic form to submit with is one way to deal with spam.

 

Could you post your url or PM me the URL and I will have a look at it. It should validate .... like it did for everyone else who has submitted so far unless there is some problem with the page (takes toooo long to load perhaps). Anyway, PM me and I will add your link manually if I have to. Thanks!

Minstrel: As I said in my first post, I do not expect everyone to submit to a new directory. Feel free to submit once it shows PR. Give Google three months to do an internal PR update and another toolbar update. We'll talk again in mid-June!

Web-Gazelle: I am looking at encorporating the dynamic form as well in the future if email verification and the recip link are not enough.

YFS1 and Sarah: Thanks for your comments. As I said, I apologise once again that I did not build this directory to suit your particular needs.

nzfgrld: Thanks for your comments as well. I AM currently offering the first 10 listings in each category an extra listing on the category page. Both the category and sub-category (Page 1) pages have a direct link from the home page.

Having a direct link from the home page to these pages ensures that a major chunk of PR is passed on to these pages and then to the users who list their sites. Of course, since it is a new directory it does not show PR at the moment and I can't really help you with that as it is up to Google to update, not me. All I can ensure is that the structure of the website is friendly both to the end users as well as the people listing their sites.

By listing your site, you can get on your main category page as well. Alternately, feel free to wait three months until the updates are done but then, you won't get a listing on the category page and you might not get a listing on the first sub-category page of your choice either (The listings are limited to 15 per page in sub-categories). Your call!

NZFgrld: I have also tried to address the issue of "targeted traffic" as mentioned by you. I have done this in two ways:

1. Users who list their sites with me have the option of linking to their sub-category page. So, if you have a shopping site selling clothing (say), many of the other people listed in the Clothing category will have links to that page. This would ensure that "targeted traffic" in that market will be sent directly to the "Shopping -> Clothing" page. Some of these people would then visit your site, bringing targeted traffic from sites to yours
2. If a user decides to link to a sub-category, they link using a different anchor text specific to that page. As you might know, apart from PR anchor text is also "believed" to be a major factor in calculating rankings. This would mean that someone looking for "shopping" or "clothes online" etc. on a search engine would be highly likely to find the page that your site is listed on.

Hope this answers your queries!

 

If that's a reference to the My Fair Lady quote, it wasn't about you -- it was a witty rejoinder to the previous post.

And as for waiting for updates and talking again in June, okay -- but if you are still requiring reciprocal links in June, it won't change my mind at all. As someone else has pointed out, there are already numerous directories that don't require reciprocal links -- when I see one that does, I just move on.

I also sense that you're getting a little miffed at the comments you're receiving here, dfsweb. Please do remember you asked for feedback. You're getting it. As I always say to parents, if you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question.

You're free to do whatever you wish with your directory. My take is that you'd do a whole lot better AND probably get a lot more reciprocal links if you didn't require them. But it's up to you...

 

I have to agree with the general consensus here dfsweb. Requiring reciprocals is a thing of the past. It doesn't work anymore. New directories pop up daily that don't require a reciprocal, so what do you offer people that these directories don't that gives your users an incentive to link to you?

People naturally link to free directories (I'm one of those people) because they don't require me to link to them (sounds like a paradox). Though the nature of my links to directories isn't a PR-pass, I send large volumes of traffic instead. However, I don't do that for reciprocal required directories, because in my opinion, they get their help from having their reciprocals, so they don't get mine.

 

Here are a few benefits for submitting to the Link Now Directory:

• Submissions are FREE!
• This directory will never say "Your link will be evaluated within the next few weeks". Links are instantaneously added to the directory.
• If you are among the first 10 people to submit in a top level category, you will get a link on the top level category as well as the sub-category of your choice
• If you submit now, you can appear on the first page of your specific category.
• There will never be more than 15 listings on a page.
• You can edit your listing (including the category you appear in, the recip link page, title, URL, description etc.) at any time, without having to email the webmaster and wait a few weeks for an answer.
• The directory is structured to pass on as much PR as well as traffic on to the listed websites as possible, to give your listings as much exposure as possible.
• The reciprocal links are marketed specifically to ensure a high amount of targetted traffic to your sites (As discussed in a previous post)

Post PR Update:

1. Listed sites will be passed a high amount of PR, due to direct links from the home page to the category and sub-category pages.
2. No SPAM. Your email address will only be used for validating your email address and for admin purposes (only if required). You will not be sent emails and newsletters every day in return for a free listing. We will not try and sell you medicines to improve your s** life or help you quit smoking!
3. Even with a higher amount of traffic and submissions, the speed at which new sites are added to the directory will not be affected. Submissions will still continue to be instantaneous.
4. The reciprocal links requirement will ensure that only qualified submissions appear in the directory. This will ensure that the quality of listings in the directory including the quality of listings in "your category" are maintained.