Serious Marketing Guide

After i purchased phpLD ( phplinkdirectory script) , inside the phpLD forum itself and also at Digital Point and other places, i noticed even though there were several directory owners, very few had a proper idea how they would present their directory to the people they were going to attract – the visitors. About at least 40% of the people had a single question in mind – what categories they were going to create and how ? As i had mentioned before, finding and buying the directory script was the easy part, as every second webmaster was building a directory .

In my opinion ….

one of the major reasons so many members are building directories is simply to get more backlinks , reciprocal links or in other words SEO optimisation purposes . It is by now a well known fact that Directories are often easily crawled , especially if they are SEO friendly like phpLD. Some of the Directory owners also make it big by getting good PR and even getting enough submissions and promotions begin to charge money for the submissions. But in my opinion , a directory would primarily be built for making the web surfing / browsing easier for the novice or general visitor . There are by now millions and millions of websites and web pages, blogs, forums , article repository, services and products available on the web and the search engines like Google, yahoo , MSN and many others are undoubtedly making sure that they unearth new sites every day. However, as we painfully find out that just indexing the pages hardly makes it any easier for the surfer, due to various unethical SEO and spamming processes. Hence the directories …. but not just directories, but a well categorized directory, so that the user can easily and without any tricks manage to find exactly what they wish to find should be the objective . Unless a web directory has a proper categorization , or a proper theme in mind, it is simply not worth making the directory.

As a webmaster , we are doing our duty to educate and aid the layman visitor, but unless we ourselves are not educated enough, should we be attempting it ? As I had mentioned earlier , several wannabe directory owners ( mind you i am not saying I am a master
by a long shot ), ask around the question of what categories should they be creating in their directory and often they are even ready to buy complete category structure of another directory or even custom categories ( I might get flamed for this, lol ) . If this was the case, why not simply use the DMOZ RDF dump, like many many other sites, which is available for free ? If I may say so, what role are we playing as directory owners, if we are buying the software to create the directory base, buying the category structure and probably even buying links … and keep on cloning one General Directory with another? In my opinion, if we are going to build web directories, we should best be building niche directories with niche and detailed to detailed categories as much possible and trying to promote them and collecting links the hard way … by hand . If you dont have a idea, the least one can do is choose a section from DMOZ and carry forward on its branches of sub categories and list as many sites as you can and request other websites of that particular genre to submit to your directory . Maybe in this way , we will be able to actually share the load out of the search engines and continue to profit even as every other directory will be having its own importances. DMOZ truly is not a bad place to start, as it is undoubtedly very neatly categorized with appropiate descriptions , and rules for each individual sub category , which can be implemented on our own sites a well. I have been creating categories for my own directory ( http://www.discusstv.com/directory/ ) and still I feel I am not even 15% through in creating branches to accomodate every kind of site which can fall under Entertainment ; and have also noticed, I think Anon (our phpLD mod) has a real estate directory with over 2,550,000 categories David ( phpLD owner ), if I am not wrong has a Directory for Dance related websites. Maybe these can give a example of what i have tried to rant about in the above passage .

Putting up a business would of course require a lot of things, to get straight to the point, you need a capital. To make money requires money as well. But of course, with the versatility the Internet offers, there are many ways you could find that could help optimize the potential of your site or business in generating traffic without spending tons of money. While there are ways to jumpstart your traffic flows, many sites don’t have the resources that others have to produce more traffic for your site. Well, you don’t have to spend a cent; all you need is the proper mindset and a lot of eagerness. You also must have the drive and perseverance to do hard work and research to generate more traffic for your site. How sweet it is to have more traffic for your site without spending a single cent? Now it’s a sure thing that many sites have articles that offer tips and guidelines in how to generate traffic using only free methods. Because it is possible, you don’t need to speed a single cent, it may take time, to say honestly, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you. You get better chances by paying for your advertisements, but at least you get a fighting chance with some of these free methods I’m about to tell you.

Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss about lots of things about the niche that you represent or offer. Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared. With online communities and forums you can build a reputation for your company. Show them what you are made of and WOW! them with your range of expertise about the subject, with that you can build a reputation and build trust with the people in your expertise and knowledge. You can also make use of newsletters. Provide people with a catalog of your products and interesting and entertaining articles. If you make it really interesting and entertaining, more people will sign up for your newsletter and recommend it to other people. The more people who signs up for your newsletter, the more people there will be that will go to your site increasing your traffic. Another great idea is trading links with other sites. You don’t have to spend a cent. All you have to do is reach an agreement with another webmaster. With exchanging links, the efforts both sites do will benefit both sites. Every traffic that goes to the site could potentially click on the link of your site and visit your site as well. This works well especially when both sites feature the same niche. Write articles that could pique the attention of people that have interest in your product. Try writing articles that will provide tips and guides to other aficionados. Writing articles that provide good service and knowledge to other people would provide the necessary mileage your traffic flow needs. Many sites offer free submission and posting of your articles.

When people find interest in your articles they have a good chance of following the track by finding out where the article originated.

Include a link or a brief description of your company with the article and there’s a great probability that they will go to your site.

Write good content for your site. Many search engines track down the keywords and keyword phrases your site uses and how they are used. It is not a requirement that a content should be done by a professional content writer. You could do your on but you have to make content for your site that is entertaining as well as informational. It should provide certain requirements as well as great quality. Generally, Internet users use search engines to find what they are looking for. Search engines in return use keyword searching in aiding their search results. With the right keywords, you could get high rankings in search engine results without the costs. All of these methods and more will drive more traffic to your site for free. All it takes is a bit of effort and extended man hours. Learn all you can about the methods depicted here and you will soon have a site with a great traffic flow without the usual costs that come with it.

Writing an article doesn’t just mean putting down thoughts into words then typing and writing it. You have to capture the interest of your readers and get them to keep on reading. To send your message across you have to get the attention of the reader and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their curiosity. The main ingredient in baking up an article is a large dose of creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people, some just gets into a block or something to that effect that can drive someone crazy. Many writers have literally torn their hair out when they get writers block and just can’t seem to get their creative juices flowing. Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then paragraph by paragraph into a whole article develops the essence of the article. So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? There is no surefire ways to get the perfect ideas but there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing. No one can guarantee you of having the perfect mindset but many methods may aid you in achieving that state of mind. Here are five easy ways for that. 1) Keep a diary or a journal with you always. Ideas can be triggered by anything you may hear, see, or smell.

Your senses are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also write down anything that you have read or heard, someone’s ideas could be used to develop your own ideas and this is not stealing. Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it’s the development of the idea that makes it unique. 2) Relax and take time to sort things out. A jumbled mind cannot create any space for new ideas. Everyone must have a clear mind if one wishes to have their creativity in full speed. Get rid of all obstacles that can be a hindrance to your creativity. If you are bothered by something, you cannot force your mind to stay focused. Try to relax every time that you can and think about your experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences are what shape your mindset and your opinions which could be reflected on your writings. Try to discover yourself, find out what triggers your emotions. Discover what inspires you and what ticks you off. You can use these emotions to help you in expressing yourself and your ideas, with this you can grow creatively. 3) Create a working place that can inspire your creativeness.

Your working place can be quite a hindrance if it doesn’t make you feel happy or relaxed.

Creativity comes from being in a good state of mind and a messed up workplace that causes distraction won’t be conducive in firing up your creative flow. Surround your working place with objects that makes you happy and relaxed. You may put up pictures, or scents, objects that inspire, or anything that can get your creativeness cranking. A clean and well organized workplace also rids of distractions and unwanted hindrances. With a good working place, you can work in peace and never notice the time pass by. 4) Set the mood. Setting the mood requires you to just go with the moment or to induce your self to feeling what makes your mind works best. Finding out what makes you tick could help you find ways to get your creative juices flowing. Set the pace and tempo for your mood and everything else will follow. There are many ways to set the mood. Some writers have been known to use alcohol, a little sip of wine to stir up the imagination. Some would like some mood music while others let the lighting of the environment create the mood. 5) Go on a getaway and just do something unlike crazy. Letting yourself go and have fun produces adrenaline that can make your imagination go wild. Take an adventure or a solemn hike. Whatever it is that is unusual from your daily routine can take the rut out of your schedule.

In no time at all, your creativeness will make use of that experience and get your imagination to go on overdrive.