directory suggestions

[sfowler]

These directories are all very fine and welcome, but a directory that allows the submission of single internal pages would be a very nice change. All of them want simply the main page. Anyone fancy tackling the matter? Single pages, perhaps a maximum of five from a single address, one keyword for indexing purposes, something like that is definitely missing from the market. If you allow a reasonable bit of text and have it in static HTML, then this is the sort of link even I would be prepared to pay for.

[freehits]

after getting a better read on your post, I realized all that typing was for not.

[chabbs]

Hello sfowler,

As of January 3rd, 2005 Massivelinks Directory will be offering this opportunity to webmasters. We are moving from a website directory to a topic directory. We're making this move because we understand that people search for topics rather than sites. There are many niche sites that specialize in a specific topic but many sites also include information that support the main topic.

The directory will no longer have a free submission(except for non commercial sites). Making this choice wasn't easy but in the end I think it'll be positive for everyone. The money generated will be used for marketing and for editors.

For anyone who is interested please keep us in mind.

[sfowler]

chabbs,
consider doing both: a staight site directory and a topic specific section with a static HTML text link. You could have standard free submission in the first part and cahrge for the second part. Means you can keep your present structure, which is very good in my opinion, and just build up the second part parallel to it. Both parts will benefit from each other.

[MathsIsFun]

Simon,

Always enjoy your posts. If I get your concept correctly, there is an opportunity for a new or existing directory (and by directory I am assuming it has a topic hierarchy) to have two types of submission:

Free. Homepage only (under one topic), or
Paid. Internal links allowed (up to 5 in different topics).

And the typical search visitor would see both free and paid listings, but the paid listings have the advantage of being more numerous, more specific, internal "take-me-right-there" type links?

And the search visitor should be able to find by word search, or by moving through the topics.

Correct me if I am wrong here, but it doesn't sound TOO hard to do.

[chabbs]

Simon,

That's an interesting thought. Since reading your post you sent me off into a brainstorming mode for the last 12 hours. I've been digesting and disecting this concept. All in all I think it's a great idea.

To keep things neat I think the best way to go about it is to have a separate database for the topics. This way users have the choice between sites and topics. They can choose to browse or search two different databases. I was talking to someone today and I asked them if they usually search for topics or websites. They responded by saying sometimes I want a site that is dedicated to a specific theme or sometimes an article. This answer brought me to this conclusion that having two databases may be the answer. What do you think?

The reason that we've decided to move to a paid submission is because in the end the most important thing is that people are satisfied. The biggest challenge with a free submission is that there are so many people submitting to the directory that it creates a backlog of work. When I first re-launched Massivelinks in August of 2004 with this new structure the waiting period was just a few hours, then a few days, and now we have a backlog of three weeks. If this continues in a year from now Massivelinks won't be worth submitting to because it'll take too long for a site to be included. So a choice has to be made. To go the voluntary editor way or a paid editor. My belief is that a paid editor can do a better job because that is all they have to focus on. This way quality can be controlled and appreciated by users and webmasters.

I thought I'd share with you some insight on this decision. If I were to use this idea I would still have to charge for the website listing. The price will be 10$ per submission. At this price I think it's affordable for anyone to submit a site and can be included in most marketing budgets.

[speed]

I too have been thinking about your suggestion Simon.

We have 2 directories http://www.worldsiteindex.com and http://www.artweblinks.com both of which offer free or paid submission. The free submission is something we would like to keep.

For the directories we do have the ability to allow submission of a reasonable sized block of text, this text is BBCode formatted and therefore can have links off to other sites or internal pages. We can also support a product picture or logo with the listing.

Because of the potential work involved in editing this large amount of text this would have to be a fee based extra, as like chabbs I believe that paid editors would be more appropriate than volunteers.

Based on the state of the normal site descriptions, many little more than keyword lists, I would bet the majority of submissions would need some work. I can see problems when an editor rewrites a bad submission and the submitter is not happy etc.

From the point of view of the directory owner adding/enabling this functionality comes down to if the directory can make enough money to employ the editors and still have value to the owner.

From a submitters point of view the question I have to ask is would paying to get my site listed in a directory offering this feature help me at all in my quest for a better position in search results/more sales?

[sfowler]

I started off by suggesting this should be a paid option. I appreciate some of the work that would go into it, if not all.

How about his for an extra suggestion to keep the grey cells churning:

Ask your submitters to supply the block of text that introduces a category. Depending on what you are feeling like, either you offer a second link free of charge for supplying this, or you charge normal proce but allow a link at category level. This is assuming that a useable, formatted block of text is supplied. Something written by a dyslexic 10 year old should simply be thrown back at them.

If you are offering something of worth for a lower charge or free you can afford to insist on quality. Obviously, only one link would be possible in this way until you can create a new category. Something similar down through the subcategories etc. should also be possible, but with a smaller amount of text. this should supply good, solid, text based links for your paying customers with a minimum amount of work from you.

I can knock out articles on bioenergy or gas analysis at the drop of a hat, but would have serious problems writng about opera in 17th century Florence, so I am suggesting this as a way to simplify your lives whilst also offering a worthwhile service.

Simon

[chabbs]

Simon,

To conclude my part of this discussion I must tell you that the idea is a good one. You've planted a seed in me and I will start watering it sometime in the spring after launching our new programs with Massivelinks. Thanks for starting this thread.

[sfowler]

chabbs, I will post a couple of examples of directories that have a high PR, even on the inside pages, which a lot do not manage. I look forward to seeing what you do in the Spring.