So are you saying, just make a directory and if doesnt work go and try something else? Isn't that a bit unfair on people who might have paid to get a lifetime entry? or a guaranteed 12 month listing,whichever one you offer? Do we have to give them a refund then?
I think any directory owner who just crosses their fingers and hopes for the best will end up disappointed and will most likely close their directory before it ever has a chance to grow and become successful. There are many strategies and methods for getting backlinks for both web masters and directory owners. So, NO "we" should never just cross our fingers. We have to be proactive and envolved with our projects what ever they are.
I agree with you 100%, people need to know that running a directory, no matter what script requires a lot of hard work. My biggest fear when creating my script was the fact that there are an awful lot of QBM's (Quick Buck Merchants) who will take money for say a few months then close up. This brings the entire directory industry into disreputed potentially. @just-4-teens, So what you are saying is, that a lifetime in theory could be as little as a week or months, even less in theory, but because you define that as it being the lifetime of a 'directory' that you are justified in keeping peoples money? I for one don't want to see the directory industry go down that way, have you thougt that people could also claim their money back from you via the payment processor, ie. PayPal under arbitration if they are covered? This was the exact reason why I posted this thread, to establish where the directory path appears to be going. Hopefully only a few will have your way of thinking otherwise a lot of credability will be lost for the genuine owner who really wants to make a half decent living out of it.
Free submission for non commercial sites, and few payment options (standard, premium, featured etc ...) for commercial ones, that's the only way to go. ...
At last, the pennies dropped, good on you jackar000, its the very reason we designed the lynx directory to act that way. imho it's the only way to go for the majority of smaller and niche directories, its the most viable option for the future.
I feel and believe that a directory should have a free and paid listing. Or for a free directory to roll over to a paid directory in due time. Free listing for the 1st two weeks or something for adveritising purposes. I run a directory and have PR on it. I feel that it would be safe for me to roll over to paid directory now. Besides, I am getting atleast 100+ submissions(I dont approve all of them, for one reason or another) a week without advertising now.
The problem of free directories these days is that ppl probably don't appreciate much any more because of tons of other free dirs. So they simply "dump" their stuff and leave. You get more spammers also. Free directories can get lots of traffic since everybody is looking for free stuff. But the maintenance is very difficult. It's not easy to check all the submitted links in a timely manner. Then the quality may not that good any more... So ppl simply "dump" some junk stuff without being careful like ignoring guildelines.
I so can attest to these things that happen to a free directory. Spammers or directory submitters for hire who use software. And the websites they submit dont even place the submitted sites no where near any relevant categories or sub cats. Or those who have adult websites and they submit them to the dating/relationship categories. Or gambling sites that submit their sites to the gaming area that is clearly marked online games and refer to like PC games, Wii, PS, Xbox etc. Or just plan spammers that do not even fill out the entire, short and simple form for submission.
Free directories are just a pain in the ass, and make no money. I have a profound respect for people that manage to keep popular directories free, and some even deliver quality.
Well said, and 'hats off' to the few that give a 'labor of love' they are the exception while at the same time delivering quality
I agree on this, so isn't it about time we did something about it? Like introduce a 'forced paid system' where spammers or even people who just drop by lamely without considering the guidelines dump their listing there in hope? Wouldn't it be fair to say that us directory owners and directory script owners put in features that eliminate this? I've implimented all these in mine to try and restore credability to the directory scene. No disrespect is laid on others, a grand job has been done but we must move on and at a rate of knots if we are going to maintain any level of credability in the directory scene? I was reading somewhere that Google are even getting fed up with the sheer volume of free ones that either can't or won't do thier bit to maintain a level of quality, is it only a matter of time before big G does something about this?
If your directory is free, you will spend a ton of time editing. Most of the submissions will be junk. Sure, if you have a team of editors, you can pull it off and make money in many other ways. But if you have only yourself or another guy with you, it will be hard to manage a free directory.
Very easy for who ! Ask !>? from my experience most people don't have any idea of programming, why should we, we want to be directory owners not programmers. Blogmaster was spot on that its very hard to maintain any level of a directory with anything other than a good secure submission system. Woulnd't it be easier to have a script that gave you a real hand up by making it very difficult if not impossible to spam? Or if they did spam then they would have to pay for the privalage?
You could try all the methods to stop spammers, the thing is the moment you think you found a sollution to this they then find a new way to work around it. Waisted time, waisted effort. You could enhance it, but i'm affraid you will not be able to eliminate it.
You get what you pay for. Meaning if its free its next to nothing. While a fee based directory provides XXX