Reason for paying for Web Directories?

What are the benefits for paying for your site to go in paid Web Directories as opposed to free ones?

There are many high Google ranking free directories so why pay? How do you benefit?

Cheers.
Andy

 

that depents on which directory you mean

 

I could see an advantage to paying for placement in a good, quality directory that appears to be well-liked by the search engines. For most directories paid placement get's you a bit higher visibility which is more for the actual visitors to that directory. So, unless 1) it's a high traffic directory or 2) you think google/yahoo/etc. gives higher respect to their listings it's probably not worth a charge. (At least that's been my view on it.)

 

I think 99% of paid directorys are waste of money and time

 

I agree 100%

 

yahoo directory is a good one.. Joe Ant is another. other than that.. dont know.

 

I dont know how people cud take benefits from paid directory lists,,are any.

 

Like I said "unless 1) it's a high traffic directory or 2) you think google/yahoo/etc. gives higher respect to their listings it's probably not worth a charge."... it's got to be high traffic or really get you GOOD search engine juice to be worth a bit... then the question is how much. I'd be willing to pay a few dollars for one or the other, MAYBE a bit more for both, but I usually do free submissions.

 

I agree, only few directory listing are good, there was a link to top rated directories I saw in marketing section, I would use those.

 

I don't know for sure, but I disagree with most in here and think that links in paid directories does have impact. One thing I can say for sure: my most successful competitors have tons of links in paid directories. Their success with google visibility may not be a direct result of that, but I can't help but feel that it plays a part, and it can't be ruled out as a factor in my mind.

 

Interesting...... Correct as 99% of paid ones are General in nature and thus mostly uninterested, untargeted visitors will only ever come from general anything.

Specialisation or Niche resource websites are the only way to go now, and NO, basic entries/listings don't deliver much anymore. If you are going to buy directory ad slots - then buy the on-topic industry ones.

Forget general advertising, it doesn't work anymore.

I've been a member of lot's of forums and actually run my own, so from what I've read in my forum and experienced as a top directory owner, I say that on topic, and anything targeted is a major advantage these days when links are so difficult to gain. Free is difficult, as many non-webmaster types won't believe something is ever totally free, as there's always a catch involved, thus to sell to corporates is tough (I've been there, so I know). Seems to me the only ones chasing freebies and free links are those with little or no cash to spend, either that or they don't know what they are doing.

I see more free listings than paid ones, just check your UK Yellow Pages for proof. For the last 2 years Yellow Pages directory advertising dropped significantly, as many advertisers failed to renew their adverts.

The question you need to be asking is why. My guess it's either too expensive or lack of exact traffic/buyers delivered from YP to advertisers.

Perhaps it's both.....

 

Question: if I have a link on Yahoo! Dir, that will impact for good my SERPs?

 

Yahoo dir 300$/year that's a total waste of money on a nofollow link

 

Who said that?
I don't see any no follow tag there.

 

yahoo and joeant is quality directories

 

Let me flip things around a bit - I've just sorted through ~500 free submissions in the last 24 hours at my Free Web Directory after announcing last night here on Digital Point. It had me seriously understanding why free directory owners do start charging. I feel like I've browsed the entire web and if you're REALLY going to review each and every submission that makes a compelling reason from a directory owners point of view to at least charge a dollar or two an entry to make the time worthwhile.

These days we have the capcha's to prevent automated submissions, but does that really stop them all? I doubt it, so... would charging 50 cents or a dollar per submission stop (or slow) the automated submissions - probably. It also probably wouldn't break anybodies budget either. $300 for a submission ought to give you a golden ticket to the top 10 for your prime keywords - I wouldn't pay that...

I think the niche directory focus is a great point, here in the US we USED to be a mass-market society - 3 big tv networks and all that, but it seems we're getting "niche-ier" every year each in our own little world related to the topic or topics we're interested in. Magazines/cable channels/etc. I don't think the web is taking us back to a mass market era - but more intense "niche-ification"

Help - I think I've invented two words... need sleep...

 

I second that.

Many people say Yahoo links are nofollow links. I'm yet to see any evidence of that, unless, of course, it is in particular categories prone to spamming?

I'm not taking a dig, it's just a point I've never quite grasped as, from looking through several categories, I never found a single 'nofollow' link in the Yahoo directory.

 

I think some Directories are usefully!
It can gain quality backlinks

 

botw.org is good.

Directories are runned by webmasters who wants to make money and running a Free directory don't make any sense. Now for paid directories, since the owner makes money, he makes sure the quality remains. Though most of the directories had taken hit in last year, I think there are still few good once left.

 

Agreed, although I've paid for the odd link - I've never paid more than £20 for a directory link.

Got contacted by Applegate, and spent 1 hour 30 minutes trying to tell the guy to leave me alone hehe. They wanted £400 or something, and i couldn't see a return on that, never mind making profit from their traffic.

They don't allow you to modify own listings either, and when you do, an account rep rings up and has a strop about it. Great service there applegate