Free Directories Vs Paid directories

[John Scott]

Originally Posted by ramanean

John you have not answered my query

Yeah, that's what happens when you create new threads instead of posting responses in the original thread.

[ramanean]

Originally Posted by John Scott

Yeah, that's what happens when you create new threads instead of posting responses in the original thread.

okay merge both of it Since you are the moderator here!

[John Scott]

And, ramanean, I do not see a question in your post. I see a lot of assumptions but no question.

As for your assumptions.... The free directories differ from the paid directories in one big way - the paid I submitted to re-wrote all of the descriptions and titles. The free ones did not.

Out of 700 directories ,Your site B would have been approved only in 100

We have a method of achieving a much, much higher approval rate. Over 75%.

[ramanean]

Originally Posted by John Scott

And, ramanean, I do not see a question in your post. I see a lot of assumptions but no question.

As for your assumptions.... The free directories differ from the paid directories in one big way - the paid I submitted to re-wrote all of the descriptions and titles. The free ones did not.


We have a method of achieving a much, much higher approval rate. Over 75%.

but what about the time taken to approve the links? (Free directories usually take longer time to approve)

but how many of them got indexed? I guess only a few would have been indexed!

and out of few some would be like this...

if your site would have been listed in a page like this
http://www.pegasusdirectory.com/Heal...e/page-21.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=site:...&start=10&sa=N

and the above page is in supplemental result!

Then how the site can climb up the ladder in serps?

[John Scott]

and the above page is in supplemental result!

Most free directories (and quite a few paid) are supplemental.

[Cornbread]

It's not that I am against free directories, most are just to spammy for my liking. In fact here is one that I do like: http://www.asimpledirectory.com/

His method of filtering spam is unique and effective. His directory requires you to write a VERY lengthy site description, which by its very labor intensive nature, will keep out the spammers. His challenge will be to get enough good sites in it and finding the time to editorially review all these lengthy, rambling site descriptions. We will have to see if his method works over the long haul but it has potential. If you look through his listings, it is sparsely populated, but has some quality sites. I am rooting for him, I think he has a good, original idea. Any thoughts?

[John Scott]

Nobody reads those descriptions though, ya? I mean, I'd rather click the link and see for myself rather than read those looooong descriptions.

[bizman]

I don’t think the quality of a directory has anything to do with if its free or paid inclusion. It all depends on how the owner manages the directory. A well managed free directory can equal and maybe even provide better quality than a paid directory, because everyone can submit and have their web sites listed. This will produce a wider variety of both commercial and non-commercial web sites.

The non-commercial part is the down side for many paid directories. Several resource sites with little or no commercial interest will not be listed. So a paid directory may not offer the uniqueness similar to a free directory unless they have an option for non-commercial websites. Visiting the paid directories you will see that many of the same websites are listed over and over again.

The problem with free directories is that many of them lack management, are spammy, have long inclusion time and poor listing quality. But as one of the v7n forum members said; he divides them into a, b and c quality, and submits to ones he thinks have a good potential.

In my opinion there is no simple answer to this – both paid and free directories are needed. But the directory quality is not a result of whether its free or paid.

[Obelia]

We have a method of achieving a much, much higher approval rate. Over 75%.

Are we talking about genuine free directories, or free-with-reciprocal? Because if you're achieving this without any kind of link back, that's impressive. (It's still pretty good if you're linking back, but not what I would consider to be free).

[rankland]

I believe your at alittle of a risk submitting a free directory with the problems we are having today with spam and so forth, but free or paid human edited directory is the first thing i look for, and then its good to look for who this site is submitting. Different directories will help one site better than anothers, because of content- keywords so i really believe this is important. Free directories 100% are at more of a risk witch gives me alot less trust when submitting, spam doesnt pay for links for the most part, and money provides good web directories with promtion, and popularity so im buying my links.

[Cornbread]

Well there is no risk involving submitting to free directories, as long as you don't link back to them you have nothing to worry about. It's just 99% of those free links won't be looked at as a vote of trust by Google, so it will be just devalued, nothing lost but a litle time.

[John Scott]

Originally Posted by Obelia

Are we talking about genuine free directories, or free-with-reciprocal? Because if you're achieving this without any kind of link back, that's impressive. (It's still pretty good if you're linking back, but not what I would consider to be free).

Not recip. We do not do recip.

[Cornbread]

Originally Posted by John Scott

Nobody reads those descriptions though, ya? I mean, I'd rather click the link and see for myself rather than read those looooong descriptions.

It's not the perfect formula for success, it has its drawbacks, but I think people will read the description about half way through and then click on the link if they find it worthwhile.

I think paid directories win hands down. Heck a lot of the free directories I have submitted to aren't even around any more. On the web as in life, if something is free it probably isn't worth getting.

[mauiman]

I prefer quality directories that offer a listing for a reasonable price. My favorite are the permanent listings, some pagerank on listing's page, and pricing based on a reasonable cost to cover editorial work and a profit.

May sound like kissing up here, but frankly v7n's directory fits that description perfectly. There are others, but that's another thread somewhere.