Paid Directory

[Airschulte]

What paid directories will give me the best bang for my buck? I have submitted carefully to about 25 free directories, however I understand their impact is most likely minimal. I want to post in a credible directory each month and would like to know which one(s) are best.

[Duncan Pollock]

It's going to be somewhat by guess and by god, but the overriding principle should be the directories (free or paid) that already have the appropriate category for you -- which is perhaps something on the lines of woodworking tools (although this is quite likely to be a subcategory rather than a main one).
In addition, you want to find the directories that presently feature sites similar to yours, including (it needs to be said) those put together by your competitors.
All told, your objective is to find the directory sites that are most likely to turn up when someone searches for routers or whatever other keywords/phrases your potential customers are most likely to use.
In other words, you should focus on the bang more than the buck. Your goal should be to attract the right kind of visitors -- and money isn't going to be the deciding issue, nor should it be.

Duncan

[writergrrrl48]

I have submitted carefully to about 25 free directories, however I understand their impact is most likely minimal.

Free doesn't mean it's unimportant. Some people do get traffic from a free directory that is valuable - depends on good placement in a high quality directory.

One co-editor at a directory says he gets more traffic from that directory (a free one, if you're an editor) than he ever gets from dmoz or a paid directory.

[cryptblade]

Look in your industry and related industry. Also check backlinks from your competitors. You may find some good directories using these two methods.

One of my sites is a hair salon. Most of the traffic I get are from free directory listings because they are very specific and targeted.

Also, if your site can be localized, try paying for local listings. You will get links - and get actual traffic from your target market.

Just some thoughts...