Have you seen this - really original thinking! In some ways I hesitate even mentioning this site for fear that the QBC folks around here might try to steal the idea but I thought it would make for a bit of positive conversation around here. In many niches there is not quite the blinding sameness that you see with many of the general directories but every now and again someone studies their market, finds a new opportunity and truly stands out. I have no connection to this website, they are not even listed on my directory of the same general topic - pets (I will be adding it though). I noticed the site when I was submitting my own to a directory of directories website. The owner asks $4.95 for a listing per month and has over 300 listings in what is one of the tightest niches I've ever seen. It is truly an advertising portal for anyone looking for businesses that provide a very specific service - dog waste removal. For anyone not familiar, dog waste removal is where people pay someone else to clean up their yards after fido does his business. The directory - http://www.pooperoni.com General directories that offer nothing beyond a simple listing may be dying but this site is a great example of how someone can use the directory model to create a true resource and have a real business.
You're right YMC, it is a good use of a directory. Kinda gross, but I'm sure that people looking for that service will find it really useful. It's a shame it's US only.
With all of the business model talk and negative conversations about directories on here lately, I thought it was overdue to talk about someone who appears to have both a top directory (doubt there's much competition in this particular niche) and one that seems to be making a nice bit of coin.
I was going to eat some pizza this weekend, then I saw that domain name (pooperoni.com). Interesting find YMC. Do you own a general directory or has Event King brainwashed you? I assure you that general directories are far from dead. My general directory's link detail pages get indexed the same as any niche directory.
Getting indexed isn't difficult. Providing any useful benefit and actually generating traffic to the listed sites is quite another. For the most part, general directories are dead. They have been for a long time.
Really unique idea and niche. To be honest I didn't even know that companies like that even exist! Looks like owner made lot of modifications on his directory. Nice find.
No Snowbird, I don't own a general directory. Back when I started in the directory biz, I thought the future was in niche directories and that is the direction I took. EK brainwash me? Hardly. You have to admit there is a blinding sameness to most of the general directories. Very few provide any traffic and do little to differentiate themselves. Dead, maybe not; but certainly in need of a major shake-up. Just look at all the "I lost my PR" threads and you will see one common denominator - they are almost always general directories.
http://www.pooperoni.com - Pooper Scooper Directory provides you with professional pooper scooper's that specialize in dog waste removal. Now that's useful. ...and not something I'd have thought would turn into a directory either.
I've seen that service before, didn't give it too much thought other than a light chuckle.. It just goes to show what you can do with a little imagination I guess. Great find, thanks for sharing the niche.
He is a she! I found it an utterly ludicrous directory that wouldn't be visited by anyone other than those that use dogshit cleaner gadgets. PURE GENIUS! Well done YMC
Ah. How was I to know that the username YMC was female related? Not like me and you with our british usernames I think niche directories are definately the way forward and very much enjoying my time as a niche directory owner. Its certainly a much longer path to sucess as revenue doesnt come easily. 3 months in to my niche directory I am $1500 down from costs and have made $0 revenue So far so good
Jamie - It's not only gadgets. The site is about services where people are paying other people to come to their homes and clean up fido's poop from the back yard. Must be a service unique to Americans? The whole niche is interesting in it's own right but to make a directory dedicated to that niche was pure brilliance.
Ah, yes Mikey, I am of the female persuasion. I actually get a bit of a kick out of folks not knowing - adds a bit of mystery. Niche directories are truly not a game for the QBC crew. Part of the challenge in them lies in educating your potential customer what directories even are. Many in my niche know they need backlinks but few truly understand SEO. Gotta say though that I think it's much more fun dealing with small business owners and hobbiests rather than folks simply chasing links with little regard to having a site worth visiting much less being included in a directory.
Yeah, running a niche directory almost feels like operating in a different market all togethor. The majority of my current search terms are entirely from human enthusiasts and people looking for information, not link hunters. The few submissions I get (10-30 a month) a mostly MFA, pills and off topic sites so they mostly get rejected. The business model is entirely different. I wont be bigging up deep links or anything as all my links are added by me and my editor so the whole directory seems to revolve around the average surfer and his wife rather than a webmaster whos too busy looking at prices and how green a small bar is.
But to announce it here was sheer folly. What's the bets it won't stay the only one in its field now.