How to rank the cost effectiveness of a directory?

[belagaboy]

As more directory sites are charging a fee to get listed, I'd like to learn more tips on how to judge the cost effectiveness of joining a particular directory.

Sure you can take a look at their PR, but how to judge how much useful traffic they actually get using their directory service, and how many visitors to my site they are likely to generate.

I've recently taken the plunge and paid for a couple of listings on more niche directories related to the natural health / natural products kind of nature of my retail site.

One cost me £99, had a mainpage PR of 4, and has generated only a few visitors so far over the past couple of weeks. The other only cost £10, has mainpage PR of 5, and has provided 10 times the number of visitors. Thats a hundred fold difference in cost effectiveness.

The only consolation, and my main reason for joining the £99 directory site was they also enable me to submit articles for their site, so that over the coming months I can add content with links back to my site as well.

But I'm interested in any other tips on how to judge which directories will be best value for money in advance?

Cheers.

 

[temi]

The traffic you get from web directories are negligible except for major web directories such as Yahoo, Dmoz, Business.com and handful of other very busy directory. The largest benefit from directories is the fact that they help increase your back links and PR hence you search engine ranking so indirectly they bring you traffic by getting you better listing on search engines.

I will suggest you focus on listing your site on search engine friendly directories and perhaps do not shell our as much as £99 on a single directory unless its a very busy directory. Have a look at the Alexa rating of the directories, it could be a fairly useful guide as to how busy the directory is.

 

[Duke]

Screw directories if they charge you for listing. Instead, find like-minded sites that compliment your content and get into reciprocal link exchanges with them.

 

[temi]

directory can play a significant role in building backlinks, its also quicker than sending thousands of emails to other website owners who do not really understand what link exchange is all about.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

It depends. I edit Skaffe for the Uk, and while people have to pay $39.99 for a review, I add sites for free all the time if they improve the directory as a resource. Some Directories are well worth it. Others not so.

 

[Duke]

directory can play a significant role in building backlinks, its also quicker than sending thousands of emails to other website owners who do not really understand what link exchange is all about.

I understand this but paying for a link in a directory isn't the right choice either. There are plenty of free directories on the net that will allow you to list without paying a dime.

As for reciprocal link exchange programs, you only contact sites that you feel compliment your site. In order to properly do so, you have to browse their site as fully as possible to make sure they fit your theme. I've been stagnant lately, but it wasn't too time consuming requesting link exchanges with other quality sites and I've yet to pay any cash whatsoever.

 

[temi]

I somehow find it hard to belive that there are any quality directory out there that are free. Please list some Ken, I must have missed them. The only one I know is dmoz and we all know how erratic that can be.

 

[Duke]

There's plenty of quality directories out there, I have a hard time believing that you think dmoz is the only one.

Here's one list that I found in a quick google search and I'll see if I can dig up more:

http://www.seocompany.ca/directory/free-web-directories.html?sort=a

 

[temi]

what you find in a quick google search cannot be relied upon, I am speaking from expereince, and awful lots of directories claims to be free etc etc but they are not, those that are a nothing but link farm and very poor quality directories

 

[OldWelshGuy]

the magic key is to ONLY trade links with PAGES (not sites) that are on topic. While the linking site might be a vacation site, and yours is also. If your link is placed on a links page that is a mixture of links to all sorts of sites, then you are not helping the search engines to theme your site at all.

If you are submitting to a directory, then make sure the page where your link goes is themed to your site.

 

[temi]

Excellent advice OWG, that is the reason I do not reciprocate link to my site from a page called links which contains different kind of links from gambling to hair dressers