Directory Spy

I’ve been reading with some interest the debate going on over at Webmaster World in regards to Google and Open Directory RDF..

Apparently DMOZ has not had some portions of it’s directory updated in some time, and that’s leading to questions as to what Google will index and what it won’t.. perhaps old content, or not update content will simply be left out of Google’s index altogether. Frankly, I’m certain that no one knows really what’s on Google’s mind.

The most interesting comment was a person making an observation about directories not being ‘authoritative’ for their topic, and that the best (or only) possible future for a Directory (open or other) will be to restrict the amount of directory additions (listings) that a site takes, in the hopes of staying very on topic (keep only related sites within your directory), write articles that are also within the topic of your directory.. and to that I agree.

One person even went as far as to say:

“I don’t think directories have much of a future, except for directories that add value in the form of editorial content.”

And to that I wholeheartedly disagree. While it’s true that a lot of directories really aren’t much more than link farms, quite a few directories actually fill a niche or void not covered by other search engines.

So, if ‘content is king’ (as they say), then on topic content is master of the universe…

I’m not only going to continue development on my directories, but focus on providing better on-topic content and probably not try to be the ‘all knowing’ directory. Pick a niche, fill it, and do it better than any one else out there, and I’m convinced you’ll have a site worthy of traffic.

Until next time..

Scott

I do try to practice what I preach when I say that directories should be different and stand out from the rest. I’ve recently written a mod for Moon Directory that lists all of the categories in the directory that have a Google Page Rank value greater than 0. This allows buyers interested in page ranking to quickly find the most appropriate category with the highest ranking.

The graphic above shows the menu with a summary of what categories are available. Clicking on one of them takes the user to a summary page of all categories with the the chosen page rank value. The categories are sorted in order of their top-level category, then sub-level categories. The admin mod uses a concept similar to the phpLD PR Update Tool, but related to categories and an extra splash of magic too!

Theoretically, I could have a payment model that charges more for the high PR categories, and less for the lower PR categories. If I had a PR5 directory with PR4 categories (as opposed to a PR4 directory with PR3 categories) I would probably raise my prices, but would keep prices lower for the lower ranking categories to encourage link purchases from link buyers with low budgets.

I came up with a great directory related idea recently that is guaranteed to bring you lots of traffic if you do a great job of it. In a nutshell, the idea is to create a searchable database of phpLD templates, with a demo system and decent screenshots just like the Wordpress Theme Viewer. To my knowledge, such as project does not yet exist!

You could create a profile for each template that exists that includes a download link, the rating/popularity, the number of downloads, the colour scheme, the supported phpLD versions, etc in a similar way in which the Wordpress Theme Viewer works.

You could then click on the template screenshot to see a larger view of it. You might also provide a demo functionality to see it on a live directory.

The reason why I suggest this, is currently themes are promoted in forums such as the Digital Point forums, phpLD specialist forums such as phpLD Hacks or on blogs such as phpLD Themes. Unfortunately, this distributed and haphazard promotion system makes it difficult for users to find a template that suits their needs.

If searchable database of phpLD templates was provided (and I don’t mean a yet another directory here), then designers would be more likely to get their templates used on new directories. Even better for the template sponsors, since they get even more links for their money. With the latest information released by RSS feeds, email updates, etc, a good service would result in lots of traffic too.

So what could you benefit from this? The kudos alone would be substantial, but the monetry benefits would also be worthwhile. You could monetise the project (once it was operational) in the following ways:

• Banner Advertising - a little traditional, but would work for this kind of site.
• Website Sponsors - a large number of decent directories would jump at the chance for this… since the traffic would be completely directory orientated.
• Paid for Templates - charge submission fees for those who charge for their templates.
• Any I’ve forgotten?

Sadly I don’t have the time to exploit this idea myself, but I’d love to hear how you get on with it!

The Directory Ranking Project is a novel techique based on a similar principle to many Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) contests that try to get a particular site highly ranking in the search engines.

Here’s how it works. You submit a listing for the Directory Ranking site to your directory. The project then uses the search engines such as MSN, Yahoo and Google to determine what directories rank at the top for entries relating to the Directory Ranking site! It really is that simple.

It’s a really interesting project that I am going to keep a close eye on. I’d be especially interested to see who reaches the top of the rankings, because it has very little to do with Google Page Rank. And since Google Page Rank can be manipulated to an extent, this challenge is very fair.

Bloggeries is an interesting spin on a directory. It’s a niche directory focusing on blogs. It’s a low-cost paid directory too (free reciprocal links). However, that’s where the standard element ends. The directory is very visually attractive and is based on a phpLinkDirectory directory that has been heavily modified.

Each category uses a tag cloud listing keywords of link titles in a given category. I’ve not seen this feature in a link directory very often, so I’m guessing its not an easy modification to make.

The really nice feature with this directory is the blog that reviews blogs submitted to the directory. I’m not sure what the author’s criteria for selecting blogs to review is, but its a comprehensive 300 word review. It features constructive criticism and positive aspects of each blog reviewed. I commend the author for taking the time to review these blogs. It’s clearly a great way to encourage traffic and submissions to the directory too!

On a final note, something that really impressed me is the consistent look and feel across the website. The site makes use of a Wordpress blog and phpLinkDirectory, but they are definitely part of the same site. The skins use the owners own style, rather than generic skins downloaded from somewhere else. Really very nice!

What really im

I was thinking about a simple directory classification code, which gives you a quick insight into a what a directory is in just 2-5 letters. This saves advertising space, and allows submitters to understand characteristics of a directory at a glance.

e.g.

0 to 9 = the Google Page Rank of the directory
G = General, N = Niche
R = Need to Register, E = Express (i.e. no registration)
F = Free, P = Paid, R = Free Reciprocal link if no free link.

e.g. Ickle Directory is a paid general directory with PR4 and no registration: GEP4

A niche directory with registration and is paid, with PR2 would be: NRP2

Thoughts?