I know that there are alot of directories out there both free and paid and I am willing to pay for some directory listings. Is there something I should look for before deciding which directories are worth paying for? I am worried that some of the paid directories wont be any better than the free ones. Any tips and suggestions on which paid directories are the best? Thank you.
There are several different things to look at. Everything from PR to actual traffic generation are quite important. I myself tend to look at places that generate traffic, more than passing PR. Take a look at how well indexed a particular director is among several of the larger SE's. I tend to stay away from the reciprocal linking directories for fear of link farm penalties. Paying more for ranked listings, for instance, paying a premium to be listed on a first page of a given category is a plus, assuming again that the directory is well indexed and generates actual NON-SEO based traffic is a plus as well.
The main thing I look for before submitting to a paid directory is the cache time, for me this is the most important because it shows how often the spiders are crawling the site and therefore I know that my link will be picked up rather quickly. The second thing is the amount of outbounds per category, I'd perfer to be listed in a directory where the outbounds are less then 20. And then I check to see how many links the directory has pointing it, if the number is smalll but the price is high then I may pass on it for awhile then check back. The directories that have the most links are most likely the ones you will benifit from the most from. Start here for a list of the directories that heavily promoted: http://www.avivadirectory.com/downloadblog/?p=309 If someone is offering free listings then take it, it won't hurt your site any and who knows how that directory will turn out in the future.
When we are talking about Paid Directories vs. Free Directories - I always remember John Scotts' ( of V7N) experiment. He created 2 similiar sites -- Submitted one to 700 Free directories Submitted another to only 5 Quality paid directories. After a considerable time - the site submitted in 5 quality Paid directories WON --easily in terms of SERPs and PR. So 5 quality paid directories are better than 700 free directories. About choosing a directory-- One must always submit to Authority directories ahead of all others. Then if the budget permits - I would submit to the best ranked directories on Google.
Paid directories are ofcourse far far far better than Free ones.. Aviva's strongest directory list is a good source.
Some of the better paid ones we have used: Yahoo Directory (a little pricey) Business.com Gimpsy.com JoeAnt.com
When I find sites misfiled in inappropriate categories, I don't care if the site is free or paid - I leave. Look in the Arts area - how much doesn't belong? (This seems an area commonly mishandled.) I've seen many paid directories where there are literally hundreds of listings in a category - oh yes, I'm going to pay to be listed on page 6 of a category. Page 6 on a free directory - nah, pass on that too. I evaluate each directory on its own merits. Free or paid is not a reliable evaluation of value when taken alone. Also be sure to check out niche directories as they will often do quite well in sending traffic as well as providing topical backlinks. Both of my directories are free. One is turning 1 years old this month and has PR in almost all of the categories (I keep adding new ones as things grow and new sites request them so some cats have not lived through a PR update yet) - so, don't believe the all free directories are worthless nonsense.
PR of directory Age Backlinks Or for thoe who ofer special things For exemple at my PR3 (for the moment ) www.daredirectory.info i have PERMANENT FEATURED links at 10$ Regards hope it helps
I guess look at the quality of links listed on ur proposed page. Look at the quality of the directory & its traffic. Look if it has any otherl features which it can offer. I wouldn't pay any attention to any experiements which have hidden data. I mean if there's real life proof with solid examples, sure. But if it's biased without factual evidence, then it must of another reason.