Bay Engine

Quality over Quantity

The quote is one of the most well known sayings that applies to a wide variety of situations. It is especially true when you own and run a directory. There is nothing more nauseating then seeing directories that list spam sites, made for adsense sites, and sites that scrape content. As new directories are made everyday, this simple saying is being abused more and more. If you frequent Digital Point Forums, you may be familiar with the Solicitations & Announcements forums where directory owners can announce and promote their directories. Each day, new directories are announced and webmasters take their time to submit to the newly formed directories. But, is it worth the trouble? Over 50% of the new directories will fail and be gone in just 1 years time in the webmasters attempt to make a quick buck. However, a lot can be done to prevent a dieing directory.

Whether the guidelines are posted in the submit.php page or not, over 80% of submissions are incorrect. The duty of an editor, as mentioned before in a previous post, is to go through listings and make sure they are correct. However, one of the most important things is to actually visit the site. Even if the listing is correct, the site must be visited so that it truely beneficial to the directory.

In my opinion, it is better to have 100 Quality Listings in a directory rather than 1000 Listings that are of unknown quality and correct editorial standards.

Editing your directory submissions is the one major and most important component to directories.

There is nothing more disappointing then seeing the following in a directory:

Here are the problems with the listings:

1. A directory owner should not allow keyword anchor text in the Title Area. If the directory becomes popular, there could be hundreds to thousands of “Web Hosting” Title tags. Searching the directory for “Web Hosting” would display thousands of results with the same title tag, making it nearly impossible to distinguish all the sites.
2. Individual pages should not be included in a directory. Directories list the most important page (index) in the directory. If a directory owner decides to list every page, it is no longer a directory, but rather just another search engine.
3. URL’s should never make an appearance in the title tag

The most edited part of a submission is the Title tag, which usually is incorrect on 85% of the submissions that come into Inclusio or Bay Engine. It is essential that those listings are correctly edited, not only for a personal preference, but for the future of the directory.

As of today, Google has indexed almost every category for Bay Engine.

site:bayengine.com

I think the total right now is 522, with categories being added when needed.

Looking good so far, hopefully all those categories will receive some much needed PR!

There are many reasons why webmasters submit to paid directories, some more prevalent to others. I myself have come up with my own specific guidelines when choosing and submitting to paid directories. Here they are:

1. Has the directory owner taken the time to design and customize the directory, rather than using the default theme or a free theme?If the answer is no, my sites will not be submitted. Why? The directory market is becoming more and more saturated with webmasters who want to make a quick buck. That said, many of these webmasters take the time to open, fill categories, and promote their directories, only to sell them off and in some instances, shut them down. Most if not all the directories that are well known, are all custom and time has been dedicated to carefully designing for it’s own brand.
   
   
2. Does the directory have PR? Does the directory carry PR within the Categories and subcategories? Google has created an enormous buzz with the latest PR updates, especially after April’s shocking PR update that showed that sites with little to no backlinks can obtain a PR6 or higher. Since the update, many but not nearly most webmasters have began to realize PR is far from everything. Of course, it is great to get a backlink from a PR6 directory, but the PR may drop to a PR2 at the next update, leaving only disappointment if that’s what you only dwell on. My view is, if the directory has PR, Great!, but I look at more characteristics to determine the quality of my listing.
   
   
3. Does the category most relevant to your website contain many or few links? As a directory owner and a webmaster, this is the most important question I ask myself when I look into submitting to a directory. There are thousands of free directories out there, but with free, comes sacrifice, sacrifice of any exposure depending on the way the links are sorted.For instance, X Directory is a PR4 free directory; however, since X directory is free, the category for “Paid Directories” has over 200 Links with only 25 Links showing on the first page. Those links are sorted by PR. If I were to submit Y Directory with a pagerank of 4, I would be in page 2, 3, or 4 depending on the links already listed. What benefit do I get from this? If you were to survey webmasters and counted the number of those who search after page 1 of a directory category, the numbers would be rather slim. Therefore, the solution is easy and has a similiar but more beneficial sacrifice.By Turning the tables, X Directory is a PR4 paid directory. When submitting Y Directory, I see the “Paid Directories” has only 12 Links. Each Submission costs $24.95 for a lifetime listing. The chances of Y Directory remaining on the first page of “Paid Directories” is far greater than that of the free X Directory, even though you are short $24.95.So, would you rather take the free route or pay for more exposure and get the same result of PR?My question for you:
   
   Are you submitting to a directory because YOU think it’s beneficial, or because everyone else says it’s worthwhile and it’s necessary?It’s your money, so it should be your decision. Think of your own variables and then validate the decision.