Benefits of running 26 Online Directory Websites

After many years of creating niche Directory websites, I now feel like I have most niches covered. When someone submits a site to one Directory, I find it possible to add it to another as well. Each Directory has a matching category that fits the criteria as well. This really benefits the submitter by adding exposure to their website without any additional effort on their part. To make it more enticing for the submitter to pay for a Premium listing, I now run a script on every Directory that places their Premium listing at the top of their specific category, on every inner page of these Directories as a random link, and on the Home Page as well. A complete list of my Directories can be found here: https://www.hobbyline.com/aboutus.htm With 26 Directory sites, one of which will certainly fit the criteria of any website. Feel free to submit your site to any of these, and consider making it a Premium listing to get maximum exposure. It is certainly the best way to maximize your advertising dollars.

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Mobile Web Directories

With today's mobile technology, it is a good idea to provide a version of your website that can be easily viewed on a mobile phone. I have begun the process of creating a mobile version that uses the same database as the normal one. An example can be found at http://careerseeker.biz. Viewing this site via a desktop computer will give a different result than from a mobile phone.

I use a script on the static site that detects the type of browser, so it can send the user to the mobile site, if necessary. All functions are visible on both versions, including the display of a Google map for Premium listings. Both sites allow link submissions for both a normal and a Premium listing, and both have a PayPal integration for the Premium listing fee.

The script that I use is the latest version of PowerSeek version 6. In my estimation, it still is the best script available to operate a Directory. I have found that the mobile version has to run as a 'Dynamic' site and as a 'Medium-sized' directory to make everything work properly.

I run the mobile version as a Dynamic site so the database doesn't have to be built into static HTML pages every day. They automatically display any new changes made on either version. I just included a 'noindex,nofollow' tag so the pages aren't duplicated by Google.

I run the mobile version as a Medium-sized directory to allow users to submit to the directory. I found that running it as a Large-sized directory will not allow submissions because the script looks for a particular category to submit to, and the dynamic version does not provide that information.

Please give me feedback. I am always looking for ways to improve the quality, and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Expanding the possibilities

Long ago, I decided to create a regional Directory ( http://etalii.info ). One that will list any site, from anywhere, and categorize each by their own city. Because I own 19 Directory websites, I get tons of submissions every day. My goal is to add any site that contains full address information to this regional Directory, and it is expanding very rapidly both in popularity and Alexa ranking.

I also decided to add an extra field to this Directory to list the county that the business resides in, and to make this field searchable. This way, visitors can do a search for all businesses in a particular county.

The problem was that I haven't found any businesses that list their counties on the website. It was easy to find the solution: http://uscounties.com/zipcode_finder.html

With this tool, I can easily look up the county by simply searching the zip code.

This may seem like a lot of work, but I believe it is worth it. I have found that if you use the tools available, and you are willing to put the time and effort into the creation of a quality site, it will pay off in the end.

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Google +1 Button

The Google +1 button. Is it worth it? I always tend to jump on any new offerings from Google. They always seem to be at the forefront of search technology. I added the button to every page of all of my Directory websites, and have been monitoring them ever since. It doesn't appear that anyone is using them but me.

The +1 button is a way for visitors to say they 'Like' a specific page, so I include information in the email that is sent to the site submitter that they can locate their new listing's 'More Info' page and click the button. I just can't figure out why no one is using it.

Has anyone seen any positive feedback on this new button?

The Russians are coming..

Everyone has heard the term, "The Russians are coming.." Well, I survived the Russian attack. It turns out that my account password on the server was hacked and they were able to spread a virus to a select few of my website home pages.

It was an easy enough thing to fix, but the problem is that my FTP server software was too vulnerable. The fix involved replacing the old software with a better software, and of course, changing the password for the affected account.

I often wonder why something like this would happen. Why someone would take the time to try to spread a virus. What I have learned is the same thing that Microsoft learns on a daily basis: do your best to ensure that everything is rock solid, because there are people out there looking for a vulnerable server to atatck, just for the fun of it.

Great Features

When looking for the perfect software to create your own directory, there are a few things to consider. Since RSS feeds are so prevalent nowadays, why not find software that incorporates it? This would allow you to present the listings in a format that users could subscribe to. This also would allow you to add listings to your directory by importing an RSS feed into each category of your site.

A well written script would also allow you to import listings by having a Google and Open Directory importer. Perhaps the best software that I have found to do this is PowerSeek from http://focalmedia.net Just go to the category of your choice and import the matching category from Open Directory. For Google, do a search for the term that best fits your category of choice, and import only the listings that you find best suit that category.

When you run a directory, it would be nice to have the ability to provide premium listings in each category. This would mean having a second add url script where you can provide any additional fields that submitters can use to enhance their listing, and a link to a payment page that the submitter goes to after clicking the 'submit' button. The site administrator would accept the submission only after payment is confirmed.

Another good feature would be a spam filter that would allow you to block known spammer IP addresses, block domains or block specific email addresses. In addition, the add url script should also have a verification option to avoid automated submission scripts.

These are some of the things that I have found are helpful when looking for a good directory script. More later.

The Next Logical Step

I found it exciting to think that I was helping my customers and at the same time I was making some money at it. My next Directory was The Sunrise, FL Business Directory (http://sunrisefla.com/) and it seemed to take off just as quickly as the first. I again purchased a license for PowerSeek and found the listings via the online Yellow Pages. Adding the Adsense ads to this site increased my revenue somewhat, so I started another.

Although the software was more than adequate to create quality Directory websites, I am always looking for something new. I found a php link Directory software at: http://www.phplinkdirectory.com/ This software doesn't have all the features of PowerSeek, but will create a Directory that allows reciprocal linking (which PowerSeek does not). Rather than create a new domain to try out this software, I simply added it to an exiting site located at: http://boat-directory.biz/directory/

The latest software that I purchased is from the same software author as above, but it's purpose is to create Regional Directories. So I purchased this and created a new Directory located at: http://regionaldirectory.biz

This Directory differs from the others by allowing two views of the site but only uses one mySQL database. Visitors can view the site in 'Normal' mode where you see the categories on the home page, or they can switch to 'Regional' mode. In this mode, you first select the Country, then State and see the various cities that have listings in them. Selecting the city gives you the listings by category for only the city you selected.

I like this software for several reasons: first, it is inexpensive: just $25.00. Secondly, it installs very easily simply by uploading the files to the server and using the web browser to complete the install. It uses one mySQL database. The other thing about this Directory is that it allows for either a paid listing or a reciprocal link back to your site. This software is brand new and can be purchased at: http://regionaldirectory.org

More later.

My First Directory

As a web designer, I realized that one very important requirement was to get my customer's websites listed in the various search engines and Directory websites. The next logical step for me was to create my OWN Directory. Since I live in the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida I created The Pembroke Pines, FL Business Directory (http://pembrokepinesfla.com/).

I did this in a very crude way: using Front Page, I used the 'shared borders' to create the site. On the left was a list of the various categories, which in this case was the different professions. On the right, I placed links to various affiliate programs that I had joined. I then logged into the local yellow pages and did a search by profession of the businesses in Pembroke Pines, and added those to my Directory. It wasn't necessary for the business to have a website since I really wanted to list as many of the businesses as possible.

I found that in a short time, I was getting hits from the outside, and the site grew in popularity. And then Google entered into the scene! I signed up for an Adsense account, and found that not only was I getting hits on the listings, but on the ads as well.

I was still looking for a script of some kind to ease the administration of the site. I found a script from Focal Media called TurboSeek, and the NEW directory was born! This script made it easy to manage new submissions and send out the confirmation e-mails, but it still had some flaws.

When Focal Media came out with a better version called PowerSeek, I felt that I hit the motherload. The best thing about this software company (http://focalmedia.net) is that they listen to the customers and make upgrades to the software based on customer comments and wishes.

One thing that I didn't need was to have every listing contain a website address. They listened and took away the need to list one. I wanted to be able to offer 'Premium Listings' and they made this happen as well.

For me, the first Directory was the best thing I had ever done to generate hits for my customers. The next best thing was to create more Directories. More on that later.