How Profitable Are Directories?

Discussion in 'Directories' started by upshiftmedia, Apr 26, 2007.

  1. #1
    I am interested in starting a directory. Could you please answer these questions:

    - What kinda of money do directories make?
    - What is the best way to monetize a directory?
    - Which script works best?
    - How difficult is the directory to manage (SPAM)?

    I look forward to your answers. Thanks everyone.
     
    upshiftmedia, Apr 26, 2007 IP
  2. ccoonen

    ccoonen Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I made over 2 dollars this month in Google Adsense, haha.

    It all depends on how hard you work and how much money you spend to promote your directory.

    If you have a pay dir, you gotta spend a SH*tload to get it big... but it'll pay off in time.

    If you have a free dir, you'll get a lot of PR and traffic, but not much $$$. People love free

    I'm a strong eSyndicat fan but 95% of people in here will tell you phpld (phpLinkDirectory) is the way to go for scripts.

    Not hard to manage spam... if you use all the tricks :) First of all - Captcha's remove a LOT of auto-submit spam, So do multi-page submissions, also their are auto-submssion detection scripts out there.
     
    ccoonen, Apr 26, 2007 IP
  3. Richie_Ni

    Richie_Ni Illustrious Member

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    #3
    phplinkdirectory.com
     
    Richie_Ni, Apr 26, 2007 IP
  4. NewTier

    NewTier Notable Member

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    #4
    Best way is of course featured links.

    They make decent. One way would be to do massive link exchange, and eventually it'll pay off.

    I recommend http://www.phplinkdirectory.com

    Of course, the hardest part is probably promoting it. ;)
     
    NewTier, Apr 26, 2007 IP
  5. procrastinator

    procrastinator Peon

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    #5
    talking from a personal experience .. free directory runs on sponsors , featured links are usually not the high paying thing as in regular income wise, that can be on sponsor links on the main page..and depending on your PR , you will be getting paid, i wonder how much that can be , ive just sold one link for 5$ , & im just a PR0 now ( 20 odd days old directory)
     
    procrastinator, Apr 26, 2007 IP
  6. upshiftmedia

    upshiftmedia Peon

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    #6
    Great advice thanks!
     
    upshiftmedia, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  7. britishguy

    britishguy Prominent Member

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    #7
    Work, work, and more work thats all there is to directories
    - What kinda of money do directories make?
    One guy I saw on here has over 20 directories and get 1 paid submission a month in total
    - What is the best way to monetize a directory?
    PayPal works well for processing your reviews
    - Which script works best?
    phpLD is very solid and reliable
    - How difficult is the directory to manage (SPAM)?
    Easy mod from an0n here on DP
     
    britishguy, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  8. jo_cstd

    jo_cstd Peon

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    #8
    Directories are not as profitable as it used to - unless yours is one of the big ones.
    I suggest that you first build the status of your directory (without compromising its quality) before asking for payment.
     
    jo_cstd, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  9. w3bmaster

    w3bmaster Notable Member

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    #9
    They can be very profitables but afther you invested time and money in them

    With adsense they do poor

    Selling links + affiliates is the way
     
    w3bmaster, Apr 27, 2007 IP
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  10. jetbrains

    jetbrains Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Boost it to PR6 or higher
    phpld
     
    jetbrains, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  11. jg123

    jg123 Notable Member

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    #11
    It will take you roughly 6-7 months to get inner page rank on your categories so plan on not making much for the first 6 months. After that it will depend on how good you marketing and promotion is, so plan on re-investing for the next 6 months.

    If you make it past the 10 month mark you will have a chance to make some money long-term.
     
    jg123, Apr 27, 2007 IP
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  12. britishguy

    britishguy Prominent Member

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    #12
    Take note because jg123 has been running directories for quite some time now :cool:
     
    britishguy, Apr 27, 2007 IP
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  13. malcolm1

    malcolm1 Prominent Member

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    #13
    Very well said...and true

    6-7 months or 2 updates is very possible.....
    3 updates- 9 months is possible..... depending on when you built the directory
    and the ever changing ways google.:eek:

    Plus for branding,link purchases,banners,or whatever it will take $$
    Promotion is a must and/or you best have some skillz ;) behind you...
    though the more inner PR you have to offer
    the submitting sites the easier it becomes for $ale$.

    thx
    malcolm
     
    malcolm1, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  14. donttrustthisposter

    donttrustthisposter Peon

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    #14
    Yeah you've got to want to do it for the long term. The motivation behind a directory should not soley be money, if it is you're in the wrong industry IMHO and should try drug trafficing or something with a better turnaround.

    That said you need to stand out from the crowd, this being robots and humans. You can get tons of traffic if you run a free directory and get on the lists. It's possible to make $ off of them, the one in my footer makes a lot more than the other guys say they make off of theirs, I won't disclose numbers but you can take all the 'fly by nights' numbers with a 'grain of salt', so if you're in it for the long term great if not don't bother.
     
    donttrustthisposter, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  15. jhnrang

    jhnrang Notable Member

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    #15
    As per as I am concerned --its a long-term business. You have to set-up a directory-promote it like hell-- invest $$$$ --and wait for atleast 2 PR updates to see some return.

    The best way I think is to find a PR2/3 directory with some innerpage PRs--buy it and promote it. This way you will save 3 months time but not the $$$ --because you will have to make it minimum PR5 to make people interested in your directory.

    I have no choice about the Script--one can find top directories with different scripts.
     
    jhnrang, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  16. Muqadas.Wattoo

    Muqadas.Wattoo Well-Known Member

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    #16
    Actually patience is the key here. The more you wait the more you make :)
     
    Muqadas.Wattoo, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  17. saadahmed007

    saadahmed007 Admínistratör

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    #17
    Exactly..First you have to invest money and you need some patience and then after PR updates money will come :)
    Saad
     
    saadahmed007, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  18. LaCabra

    LaCabra Goats R Us

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    #18
    If you want to make money using directories - READ THIS
     
    LaCabra, Apr 27, 2007 IP
  19. dsakella

    dsakella Peon

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    #19
    Just be patient. Stay focused on your goals and make plans. You have to invest on your site, not "spend money" on it. The second is way too easy and with no guaranteed results. Look at the results you get from each campaign. See what happens with each promoting action you take. Learn from your mistakes. After 6-8 months (2 PR updates) you will hopefully have inner page PR and a nice Homepage PR. So you can monetize both on paid submissions and on site-wide links. Adsense and other PPC or CPM don't seem to work that much on directories as , let's say, proxies.
    Of course don't forget the most important. Work to get paid. Accept your submissions as soon as possible, answer any kind of questions your customers may have, and be as much a professional as you can. Keep your customers happy.
     
    dsakella, Apr 27, 2007 IP
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  20. aspidov

    aspidov Well-Known Member

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    #20
    basically, check this out. there is no quick money anywhere!
     
    aspidov, Apr 27, 2007 IP