Well, I am thinking about setting up a directory site myself, and of course it will be nice if I can make some cash from it. So I am wondering if it is realistic to make money by directory? Does it have good traffic? Thank you in advance to share your wisdom.
Directories can and do make money, but you need to build up a good one dont do what many do and set it up and leave it thinking thats all you need to do
Instead of doing this sure fail business, why don't you create some niche sites promoting clickbank products? Directories are prone to copyright infringement...
If it doesn't generate some good profit i don't think people will be doing it. Or are you trying to say all the directories are charitable organization. John
it can make money.. if you enforce the link back rules and you can get PR really quick... that is when you will make money
Thank you all for opinions, I want to set up a quality directory for sure, if it is profitable, it will be even cooler.
Its already saturated niche. But somehow you still can earn if your site have high PR and allow do follow link.
Building directories was a huge craze once upon a time and I have seen people making one directory after another... all the time! This frenzy has long subsided... since there are lot many better avenues to work on with lot better revenue potential! Regards, RightMan
I think it is hard to make a link directory because it is hard to monetize them and besides, link directories are old SEO tactics, I don't think they even really work anymore for increasing search engine rankings. The only guys I know who are still promoting link directories hardcore are Indian teams who probably teach their guys to do mindless manual typing into link directories for your site. In any case, I don't think link directories help SEO or rankings and therefore, they will probably not be very profitable in the future. Hope that helps.
Build it for the love of building it and at some point you'll be able to monetize it, build it to monetize it and you'll likely run out of steam with it long before you ever see any money! Concentrate on building a quality directory that people will really find useful and you'll do well. It may never be a primary source of income for you and that's fine, it all adds up! Yes they're a little old hat these days but a good targeted directory will be appreciated by the right people. Don't worry too much about whatever Google is doing, even if directories are completely ignored by SE's in the future people will still have e-mail and tongues in their heads, if it's a good one people will find it, of course it would be a benefit to have Google on side. I'd look at offering a little more than just a stand alone directory, a monthly review section or latest news for your topic wouldn't go a miss, as long as it's all original, just something to turn one off visits into regular repeat visits. Like choice said in an earlier reply, people stick these up and don't do anything else with them. I say go for it, enjoy the process, get the practice and if you can monetize it then great, if not you've gained valuable experience you can use on your next project. Dan
It's rough. I started a directory for adult sites. I literally could have sat and reviewed links all day I had so many submissions. 99.9% of them were junk that nobody would be interested in. I pulled the plug on it within a couple of months. Getting quality submissions is the hardest part.
You may have a better chance of success if you focus on a particular niche that interests you. Do you have any particular topic that interests you?