Hi there, As some of you know I am in the process of building a Yellow Pages type business directory. I am really trying for something different, something that's nice and clean, easy to use, adds lots of value to the users experience; I intend adding lots of SEO tools, free websites, business tools etc. I really want to try and go the extra mile and am doing a lot of research into what the best way of going about it is.... I would really value all your help, input and suggestions with regards what the best way for me to proceed is... For different reasons I like the following three directories, http://www.safindit.co.za http://www.browzit.co.za http://www.business-broadcaster.co.za Ideally I think I would like a combination of all three in terms of functions and looks, What I wanted to know from you guys was, What applications do you think these directories were built in? What do you like about them and what would you change about them? I really would appreciate all your input and advice Thanx Brendon
This is not some subject you will solve in forum because it will take time to make analizes and to put for you plan of actions. You need to hire some reputable SEO-Marketing Company and work with them to build your project. fastreplies
Hi Brendon This is a good place to ask questions on directories its a directory section of a web design forum. If however you dont get the replies your looking for then check out the phpLD forum. www.phplinkdirectory.com The newer version has a lot of additional functions. Check out a few of the members signature links to see what sort of sites can be built. I was looking at one the other day that looked really good but cant seem to find the link at the moment. There is also the free version phpLD 2.2 I run a couple of these so drop me a PM if you want some more info on my sites. Version 2.2 is very basic compared to the newest release. I will see if I can find the link I was looking for. Also try and stick to one business model. There is no point having SEO tools if your trying to build a business directory. If your trying to get Joe public to use it most of them wont know what SEO, PR or SERP's are. James
Thank you for your feedback so far. Pipes, I sell websites for a living, that and Google PPC. I mostly deal with clients that have poorly built websites that have not even had the most basic of SEO done to them. I wanted to include tools like; backlink checker, keyword density checker, page rank checker etc, just to stimulate some thought amongst people that have websites here. Most of the people I deal with still believe in the whole "If you build it they will come" school of thought. I really just wanted to, could I almost say, educate the average website owner, and say hey, have you checked this? Should you not be asking your developer these questions? I have never come across any client (I have dealt with hundreds) that has ever paid to have his website linked to any kind of directory. In fact I always have to explain the value of links etc. to them as we do this for our clients and it makes a massive difference to the search results they get. At the risk of offending a few people I would say that the average website owner here is quite a few years behind the USA and other countries website owners when it comes to their understanding and expectations of websites. In doing my research to build a yellow pages type business directory, I drew up a list and looked at 101 local "business directories". The three I listed above are the best ones I could find. Most of them are rubbish, some of them are not sure what they are supposed to be doing, and some just gave up half way but went live with the sites anyway. STATBD, The directory is for one country, consisting of nine regions / states. James B. I have looked at the script you mention and it has got great reviews from most everyone on just about every forum I have read through. I really do believe that I need a Yellow Pages type script more so than a link type script and that why I asked for comments with regards the three scripts listed above. I am not sure which of the three above is more suitable? By that I mean, can be changed most easily moving forward etc. I really do appreciate all your comments, Thanx B
I'm not sure about phpmd, but we just installed New Free script from Arfoo. It gives you very professional Yellw Pages type Detail page with address section and even GoogleMap build in. Take a look what I mean http://www.topdirectorieslist.com/index.php/site/details/1/amray-web-directory fastreplies
I am finding a similar experience with my directories in that I'm having to educate them on SEO, link building and directory submissions. I can't recall having brought up directory submission with any of my writing clients (American or otherwise) but then again I don't offer that as a service anyway. I haven't looked at it in detail but the eSyndicat folks are offering a real estate and a car classified script that might with a few tweaks work for your project. While I agree that you might need to do some education, you might want to put more focus on how you will be sending the companies listed highly targeted leads. I have garnered at least two nice-sized writing contracts via links on regional directories. To be honest, I don't really care about that site's SEO impact when it is directly sending me customers.