Hi guys I'm in the process of rolling out my own directory and, even if all directories have pretty much the same categories, I wanted to create something a bit peculiar (and efficient - I really hate directories with a bunch of sad and empty pages). Therefore, I'm wondering if we can come out with a list of the most requested and "interesting" (for us webmasters and directory owners) categories: maybe we can produce a list that we can reuse in our sites. So just add here what you think are the fundamental and "must-have" categories in a (not-niche) directory. Cheers everybody! P.S.: Merry Xmas everybody - even if a bit late!
For a General Directory the basic categories are too many to list here but to give reasonable choice and depth for a general directory you are going to need a quality selection across many subjects and disciplines etc to cover the expectations of the clients who will use the directory Of course with a niche directory you can opt for a lot less categories Hope that helps a little 'must haves' need to be Travel Websites Business Sport Finance etc etc Build a large selection then edit before finalizing as the final category selections that you will go live with
Launch your directory with a few top categories. Then ask submitters to suggest the most relevant category and add their site to that category. In this way you can build loads of (not empty) categories.
Thanks for your reply. Thinking about the issue, actually I believe the correct question I wanted to ask is: in a paid (only) directory, what are the most "rich" categories? For example, between "Personal Blogs" and "Finance", probably the first one would be more populous than the second one, but finance-related website owners would be more willing to pay to be listed in a directory than personal blog writers. Put in other words: what categories, from your experience, have the highest ROI ? (counting as investments the time to build and manage the directory, advertisement, etc. etc.) Obviously I quick reply I can give myself is: since the "marginal cost" of having a new category is so low, what's the problem in having a broader range of categories? Good point - still, I think it can be interesting and maybe useful to know what are the "richest" categories in our directories. Cheers everybody!