Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

OK, so there are thousands of directories online already .... many human edited .... free/paid/recip ..... and claim lots of traffic for your site, lots of benefits, etc.

1. You list some of the benefits yours offers, but I don`t really see where you are offering things that other directories aren`t .... and if what you offer is exclusive or not being done elsewhere, tell me that upfront ....  without going and checking dozens of other directories, how do I know that your site gives me additional exposure or unique features that will be a benefit?

2. Many sites I have done have been listed in directories for years .... and in the end, almost no traffic has come from general directories; niche directories are useful to a point, but still aren`t massive traffic generators. So, with my past experience, I would think to myself, "Why bother?" If you can show me stats of the outbound traffic you are generating for current listings so that I can see what you have done for others, I might be more willing to submit.

3. Visitors go to your page because its a directory; they are looking for something. So, above the fold, they see a menu, a bookmark, news, a blank ad area, and 3 blue-topped boxes. They have to nearly go halfway down the page before they even get to the directory listings. Then its filled in with referrers and ads. To me, it seems like what I really want is lost in the middle somewhere; the heart of your site isn`t prominent to me.

As a possible submitter, I`d simply want more information on the benefits. And as a user, I`d simply be lost.


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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

For one i appreciate you taking the time to gimme a honest review,
not many do this

I just launched this site, so yes i do not have much to boast about here! but if you google for any site listed in my directory, your sure to find my site on the first 2 pages, if not the first page itself. ( i can say that for 80% of the sites on my index.)

Unique to my directory:
a. A wiki style URL, which gets my listing as far up in the serps if not far down. For me i am going the strict Wikipedia way, i let the listing details pages get high on serps rather than my home page, or cat pages.

b. Many directories are just categories and listings, only a handful give additional features.
mine has recently launched a WAP version to list on WAP enabled site, and i have yet to see a directory owner to take such pains venturing out side the box, into the WAP world.

c. News area is to provide the latest news on the topic your looking for, if your one subcategory pages, you get news for the said category, if you search for keywords, you get news on the searched keywords,
I believe this is the feature that is making my site load slow, as the news loads on the page load,(caches for an hour, but still not working perfect)

2. Agreed niche rocks all the way, takes effort to establish a general directory. I have been submitting to directories for some time now, and have got traffic from only a handful, so to say i am working towards being part of the handful :), (yes, a tad step away from there .)

this is the inherent demerit of directories and sites alike, there is no place for content, so i just planned to club my About Us page, my News Page to the home page. objective being to show what we are, before a client submits and dissappears forever.

3. i was thinking....rather google has been making me think to remove the top ad area, and have removed it. thinking of a better way to use that area.

Referrers,... a web2.0 tinge, rewarding your traffic via a home page link.