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.
It was only a matter of time before someone created a Digg for Directories, but it’s actually a good thing in my opinion. Digg for Directories already features over 1000 web directories, and the most popular are already working themselves to the top of the list, such as Directory Dump, V7N, Seven Seek and Aviva.
You can easily digg your favourite directories by clicking on the vote tab. If you want to submit your own directory, then registering takes a few seconds, after which you can submit your sites.
Perhaps other directory related sites might be permitted in the near future? I would be keen to get Directory Spy listed on the site too. Once it’s been made easier to put the voting code on the directories themselves, I can imagine Digg for Directories will explode in popularity. And then onedollar will make a fortune in advertising revenue. Nicely done!
The Cyber Web Link Directory uses what feels like a unique twist to the popular bid-for directories that are popping up all over the place.
The majority of bidding directories allow you to bid for a position in just a very small number of categories. So whoever has the most money will appear at the top. Regardless of the niche of the listing.
Cyber Web Link Directory has taken a normal directory with plenty of categories in it, and added bid-for position functionality to it. This means you can bid to be at the top of a category that is related to your niche. It’s a subtle twist, but it does mean you are more likely to get a good ranking on a relevant page.
I do like it when someone adds useful twists to common functionality. Good luck with the new directory wamchu!
You Cubez.com is a new way to advertise your website, with a cube! You basically buy a cube for at least £1 ($2), and then try to increase the value of your cube until it reaches the top of the page. The greater the value of your cube, the higher it reaches on the website, and then the more clicks it attracts. Since there are many ways to increase the value of your cube, you can even sell your cube at a profit too!
This website blends together the ideas of a directory, the million dollar homepage plus a few other elements of clever thought. Credit where its due, this site uses some clever techniques gaining cheap targetted traffic. Basically there’s a direct incentive to encourage visitors to You-Cubez.com:
- Your cube gains value if you refer someone that purchases their own cube, so that’s an affiliate-style incentive for referring visitors.
- Your cube also gains value if you refer lots of visitors to the site using your cube link.
So that’s the traffic taken care of. Now for the money. There is no upper limit to how much you can ‘invest’ in your cube, so the value of cubes can only increase. Of course the site owner earns money from every cube and topup purchased. However, if a cube owner sells a cube, the site owner earns commission on the sale. So when the value of the cubes reach high levels, this commission becomes valuable. My only suggestion is that the commission fee should be simplified. I think it should be 10% before Paypal fees, not after. This is because its difficult for the seller to work out how much they actually receive.
I can see copies of this site popping up in the near future. All good ideas are copied very quickly!
The IndexU Directory aims to categorise directories into their niche and their geographical region. The concept is simply that you submit your niche directory to the relevant business category or your local area. To make browsing the directory easier, each category features a list of keyword tags, or you can see the most popular tags on the index page.
You can see very quickly that the site has been well-designed and thought about. If you look at any listing in any category, you get plenty of detail about the site, more than any average directory. You get a description of your directory, a list of categories that it applies to (which you choose), pricing packages for inclusion in the directory, hits, page rank, user ratings, and finally a nicely sized screenshot.
The directory is free, and has sponsored payment options too. Until I did this review, I didn’t realise how good the directory was. So I will soon be adding my niche directories I think!
The Digital Point Members Directory is a fantastic looking directory that attempts to catalogue the different services that members of the infamous webmaster Digital Point Forums.
The directory allows Digital Point members to submit their profiles and describe what services they offer. This becomes a particularly useful directory where you can look for the members that offer particular services that you are looking for! Services include link building, web design, submission services, resources for sale, web hosting, etc.
Since the directory links to user profiles, you don’t need your own webpage describing your services either! And as another bonus, you can see the posts made by a particular member and check their iTrader feedback rating to find out how good they are with their services and products!
Although this directory has only just started out, I can imagine that will grow to be as popular as the Digital Point Forums are.
The Directory at Proud-Collector.com is a directory using a concept that I expected to have been exploited long ago. It combines an article directory with a link directory, giving the search engines a little more content to slurp up.
If you look at any of the internal pages, you’ll see a list of links and a list of articles side-by-side.
The directory owner has integrated a high level of Google Adsense adverts, so I’d be interested to know what their click-through-rate (CTR) is like. The adsense adverts are quite pervasive, and are almost invasive, but not quite. You can see where the adverts are compared with the content, and its clear that effort has gone into ensuring the adverts blend with the content.
I’m fairly sure this is the first combined article and link directory that I have seen. I imagine that there are others too. If you know of any, please let me know, I’m curious!
The Crafty Tips Arts & Crafts Directory is a really interesting approach to a directory. All of the links on the directory feature a craft tip or technique, with a direct link to the site that features the tip. Links can be submitted for free, cleverly encouraging website owners to suggest tips, techniques and ideas.
The crafts include Bonsai, Candles, Ceramics, Knitting, Glass, Gifts, Origami, Sewing and many many more. The directory owner has spent a lot of time making the site look good, appealling to users and website owners.
Clever usage of integrated Google Adsense encourages a good click-through-rate (CTR) without being obtrusive. The tips plasters the site with plenty of unique keyword-rich content, making it a search-engine magnet too. Overall, a very clever application of a niche directory!
The reason why I say bribe factor for the Strongest Brands directory is that the more you pay for a link, the higher the link ranks in the site listings. Each listing has a Strength Rank (SR) which loosely corresponds to how much you have paid the directory for your link.
Links are reviewed in the order that they are received, and the fee you pay does not affect how quickly your link is reviewed. It’s an interesting concept, since its left it up to the buyer to decide how much they donate.
The ranking system is designed to give you an incentive to pay more. Based on how many websites are listed and their respective SR will determine where your site ranks. You can boost your site’s ranking at any time.
This directory does add something else that’s a little different. For example, up to 3 deep links allowed in the description to help encourage thoughtful submissions and value for keeping the listing well positioned.
I think the concept of Free Deep Links is simple, but very well thought out. It uses a generic phpLD script as the base, but stipulates that submissions are links to free articles. Of course the articles can have a few deep links to products and other items on another website. It’s an excellent hybrid of an article and conventional link directory. What a great way to promote your products and services!
The submission rules for the directory are very straight forward. I expected them to be quite strict. However, a well-written article is likely to get accepted. The usual rules also apply, i.e. nothing illegal, nasty, adult rated, etc. The article needs to be freely available (no membership barriers), and not littered with affiliate links.
Submission of a normal link is free, and a fee for a featured listing, so its well worth adding your articles. What surprised me is that you can add your article link a number of times to different categories, just as long as they are relevant. Very generous!
I was disappointed to see that there was no Electronics category under the Business category (Jenn, could you add it for me please? Pretty please?). However, there are loads of categories in the directory. I imagine it won’t be long before there’s a Suggest Category mod installed too.
Just you wait, I bet you someone else will start a deep link directory like this very soon! The best ideas are always copied. 
