What is the maximum number of listings you show on a category page before pagination kicks in? Why did you choose this limit? It is my hope that this thread will lead to some consideration of an important issue in defining quality and perception issues for DP directory owners. I'll post my own thoughts after you guys have a chance to respond.
IMO, u can list quite a few listings on a page. I guess up to 60 or 70, so that viewers can just scroll up & down rather having to flip the pages.
Its hard. To be strong and not leak too much PR and loose SERPs, around 20 is safe. However having 20 isnt much use to users who dont like pagination.
I would say 10 listings per page is a good way for both your users, as it makes it less-confusing, and you certainly can navigate better. I hate scrolling too much, I would rather prefer pagination. Regards, Meti
OK, great - there are several different answers here already: so that viewers can just scroll up & down rather having to flip the pages To be strong and not leak too much PR and loose SERPs... However having 20 isnt much use to users who dont like pagination I hate scrolling too much, I would rather prefer pagination WatchOut/Meti, you are definitely in the minority in terms of prefering lots of pagination to avoid scrolling the page when browsing a directory. Studies have shown (sorry, I didn't save bookmarks to the many that have been published over the years) that visitors don't click through multiple pages of listings (whether search engine results or directory category pagination). If they don't find what they want quickly, they leave. Keeping this in mind, I ask: Is it likely that webmasters who own sites in a niche matching one of your directory categories would link to your directory category page because they find it a valuable resource? mikey, I read your response as being that you know what your visitors want, but instead of giving it to them, you altered your directory to fit an imagined SEO benefit (PR funneling). I think that strategy is short sighted. It assumes that the entire PR/SEO value of your directory is going to be derived from whatever linking/promotion you obtain to the directory home page. I think that adnan got it right. Instead of limiting listings per page, I believe that by going the other extreme and making each category page as complete and useful as possible, you will make the directory into a useful resource - the kind that attracts organic links from topical sites directly to your category pages - boosting your SERPs for those category pages. In addition, having more related, outbound links on category pages increases the likelyhood that search engines will give the page "hub" status. Do you think that if the ODP had limited listings and paginated results in the early days, that it would have grown as it did? Thoughts?
Well, too many links one one page make things confuse (at least for me) So, I would say 20-25 is a better way to settle it. Making your directory page a useful resource has nothing much to do with number of links. PS. The link in your above post is not opening for me. (Not sure why)
Hi Fastian, the number of links does have a bearing (it's not the only factor) on the usefulness of any given category page. In an extreme example, if you were looking for quality sites to research a health condition (say epilepsy for example), would you consider a directory page that listed a single site more or less useful than a directory page that listed 80? Research can encompass a lot of things besides academic concerns (including potential backlink partners, advertisers, etc.). P.S. The link above works fine for me. Perhaps you can try it again?
I like 15, but sure 20 is good too. I could point a few scenario's where more would be better and on the flip side where less would be more. Kinda up to the owner in the end.
I seem to have missed this thread when it was new. There are some interesting thoughts raised. To be honest I had not considered that pagination is more of a nuisance than scrolling. As a dial-up user, that's something of a double-edged sword - one longer page or a number of shorter pages? My main directory has only 10 listings per page. Keep in mind that each listing also has a tip which makes my listings longer than what everyone else has on the category pages. As I'm working in a niche, I plan to keep it down to no more than 2 pages within any one category. Since my listings are sorted by date (meaning page 1 doesn't change once 10 listings are submitted), I also figured the occasional splits would help to keep the pages changing. My site is growing somewhat slowly but consistently. I know there will come a day where the splits will no longer make sense from a topical point of view - maybe then I will up the page limits to 15 or 20 to keep the pages to a minimum. While I do think there's merit to the hub concept, I immediately think about the search engine results returning typically 20 sites. Seems when I change it to many more than that the page gets too hard to read. An interesting conversation worthy of a second look.
Bernard i was not speaking my own opinion. On zorg links there is no pagination. I dont like having to check through pages and pages.
As long as you aren't tripping the lights fantastic with lots of images (or have really bad HTML/CSS code structure), the page should load just fine with either 10 or 100 listings. "Text is cheap." @mikey ->
Quite true, but if there are thumbnails, PR bar symbols, or in my case product pictures; 100 would take quite a bit longer to load.