I was wondering if phpLD was too common a script now... it's a truely excellent directory script, but does the fact that so many directories are using it now discredit new directories also using it? Does using such a popular script make you look like just one of many? Or is the script in use transparent as long as you skin it nicely?
- Earning monthly from links and sitewide sponsors. - Learning a niche deeply if you are building a niche directory. - Having a high PR web site at the end. So you can build new ones easier by putting a link to the older one.
Hi Casperl, On your third point, are you referring to once your web directory gains some PR, the other websites that I subsequately build will benefit fr. it when I link them together? If so, I need not build a directory to benefit fr. this, I can simply subscribe to other high PR directories... am I correct?
I'm going to weigh in with my experience in building consultant-directory.com back in the Fall of 2003. It's an old version of a free script and still has the link back to the author's site at the bottom. They have a paid and free version the last time I looked. I never converted the URLs (it's on a Windows server - don't ask) so some sites wouldn't index more than the home page, but most of the larger spiders do ok. Site has fields for optimizing the category pages, but the SEO is basic at best - no keyword research was ever done. We modified the script so it would email us when there was submissions, but we never charged for subs and don't even ask for an email. We also don't ask for a link back and don't have a "link exchange". Our feeling was and is that a quality submission was equal in value to the link we provide. The other thing was that since we value content, we didn't want to limit that by charging a fee. Sure, we get tons of junk and delete about 85% of what comes in 50-100 a day, but the others get listed. We added a series of questions you have to answer before you can submit. It helped a little, but the main thing it did was encourage people to describe their site in terms of consulting: "We provide consulting on phone cards/wallpaper/ring tones/" etc.. We have been thinking about creating a trash category because it sure would bulk up our content quickly, but we have over 10,000 categories now and feel pretty good about how things are going. If I ever get time I'm going to move the site to a Linux account, but for now there's no need. Time requirements can vary. We edit most listings and look at the sites we accept. If you get sucked into browsing it can burn up hours. But if you just review, edit, and approve it can go quickly. At the moment we have about 350 to review, and a lot of those are worth keeping. I tend to go in and delete the new trash every day and leave the good one for review. The most we ever had was about 1,200 in the queue. Man is that depressing... I would select a theme and NOT use PHPLD. Nothing wrong with PHPLD but everyone's got one. I had a copy before hackers wiped my database (the joke was on them - it was a test and had about 50 listings). Anyway, a theme like consulting or the electronics industry will give your site focus and provide more constant high-paying ads (maybe). For our newer directories we find a database and do an initial import of up to several thousand listings (CD was all manual entries, and we entered quite a few to get things going.). All the listing sit waiting approval because we want to appear more "natural". It may or may not help. Then we just approve a number of listings every day. And I agree about the submissions. For our first one we submitted just like we do for clients to about 200 search engines and directories and it worked well. The new directories and not doing much without the extra links / exposure. Now that we have PR we are making more from paid links than AdSense, so make sure you consider that in your plan. And we also have a few select affiliate programs scattered about the site. When we started I made many, many affiliate link directory listings that were indirect links. We made almost nothing, but you never know. I'd love to import some or all of the ClickBank marketplace, for example.
Yes but you will need to pay monthly for sitewide links and will get a link from one page if you pay one time fee. That one is mostly a side affect. You dont aim to get backlink for your new sites while developing your directory. But once it is developed, you can get a sitewide link from it to your new sites..
Repped, Thanks for bringing this point out. The above post by Christian_SEO explained it very cleary but i had a few questions too and this one tops the list. i was hesitating a bit for writing this down but caspperl got the same question. So i think i'm at least thinking like others now. Rest i will ask in a PM. Thanks
i have a paid directory which is manual, i don't trust scripts, i just make them all by hand. so this is my method, and it works sometimes. promotion is the key, and the same method works, seo. write articles and do submission, that's the only way to get higher pr for free. then you need to make some reputaion, and for that you need to buy links from top sites, which will cost a lot of money, but then that's the only way. since we are talking about making a site, so i suggest a paid is better. you won't have to give too many links, so becomming a link farm is not the problem any more, and since it's paid a few links will pay you well, less work i guess! cheers!
I'd like to hear from others on the topic of runing a paid versus free versus free with recipricol links. I am a firm believer in free directories as being the best for generating traffic and income. I think paid links limit your income since they only pay you once, most people can't pay all the paid director fees, and if you have less content you get less attention from the SEs?
One thing is certain, its not easy to start a directory from scratch. It takes hard work and dedication. My directory is now running for nearly 4 months, and I'm yet to recieve money (have got $50 in 2CO, but no check yet). In all my cost from startup is $1200, its really killing my budget! My alexa rank is 150k, and I've got a predicted pr4 (if google ever update their pr again) One bit of advice: Start up as a free directory till you reach about 3000 and good alexa rank + pr. Then start charging a small fee for sponsored listings before you make it a complete paid directory! I've been experiencing problems with my script lately due to updates (still waiting for them to repair it) but I can recommend Esyndicat to anyone GOOD LUCK!
If you are asking for backlinks have 3way link exchange rather than normal link exchange. Search don't give enough importance to link exchanges nowdays.
What are the good ways to rank the websites which are already in the directory? Pagerank is not a reliable parameter for me. Amount of incoming clicks is also easily manipulatable. Maybe Alexa rating? But actually I don't want to depend on external services. Any ideas guys?