First, let’s be blunt.  Most people that spend money to be listed in a web directory are doing so because their link will appear on a page with pagerank.  This is evident by the number of people that complained after their $200+ link on Alive Directory was no longer on a page with pagerank.  The Alive Directory had been penalized, and some of the people with links in that directory claimed they got nothing for spending over $200.  But yet their sites were still listed.  The bottom line is this.  Paid directories charge a fee for a listing review, and not for pagerank.  Pagerank does fluctuate, and can be taken away at any time by unethical link building practices.  So let’s look at how you can visually identify the better directories and get a better return on your submission expenses.

The obvious sign a directory is going to soon lose its pagerank is the domain name.  There are a good number of directory owners that pick up auctioned domains with pagerank, slap a directory on it, and charge a good buck for a listing.  The easiest way to see if a domain has changed its theme recently, is to plug the URL into the Wayback Machine and see what the site looked like in the past.  But after you have been submitting directories for a while, you’ll quickly spot most of these oddball domains being used for directories.

The presence of footer links is another tell-tale sign that a web directory is flirting with a penalty.  Most footer links are well outside the field of view of visitors.  Their placement makes it extremely unlikely that any traffic will be generated from the links.  In addition to this, having many unrelated niche sites so closely linked together is proof enough to Google that the directory is selling paid links.

Sidebar links can also lead a web directory to a penalty.  Again, if the sidebar link cluster contains links to a variety of unrelated niche Websites, there is a high likelihood that Google will identify them as paid links.

Lately reciprocal link directories are also coming under the spotlight.  If a directory requires a reciprocal link as part of the listing requirements, that directory may face persecution by Google.  Remember, Google discourages most link manipulation schemes.

The types of sites listed in directories can also lead to that directory being penalized.  Generally speaking, porn throws up a major red flag to the search engines.  Gambling and pharmacy related listings do not appear to hurt the rankings of directories at the time of writing.

While website directory owner’s have every right to run their directory the way they want, we also have the right to make educated decisions where to spend our money.  It is my hope that these few tips will help you avoid paying for an express or featured listing at a directory that is begging to be penalized.

There are basically three methods to submit to free web directories.  Those methods are fully automatic, semi automatic, and manual.

Automatic directory submissions should be avoided at all costs.  Why?  Because spam bots and link spammers try to post at many of the sites that have no CAPTCHA.  There is no benefit to being listed on sites that are potentially “bad neighborhoods” filled with spammy links.

Semi automated submissions are nice, but have their limitations.  One of the most widely used semi automated directory submitters is Digixmas.  The free version will let you submit to 150 web directories.  For $15, the paid version will let you submit one URL to 1400 directories.  The Windows based software allows users to randomize titles and descriptions, which is helpful.  But meta keyword/descriptions should be randomized as well as the submitters name.  The main problem with semi automatic directory submissions is that the software will only work for specific directories.  So manual submissions are still required if one wants to get listed in as many directories as possible.

Submitting to directories manually can be time consuming, but gives one more control over the submissions.  Most people that submit to directories manually still use a form filler like Roboform.  Every now and then they change the settings in their form filling software and continue submitting.

When submitting to directories manually, one needs a quality source of free directories.  Yes, we all know of Directory Critic.  Unfortunately the quality of their lists lately leaves little to be desired (dead links, paid directories, etc.).  I suggest trying AddURL.nu (808 listings) and the VMOptions Directory List (1,300 listings).  If needed, use a combination of the two.

There is a myth that submitting to directories too quickly will get your site penalized.  The fact is that most directories take days, and even months, to review submissions.  Besides this delay, it also takes search engines some time to index those new links.  I have never seen a site penalized for submitting to web directories too quickly using semi automatic or manual submission techniques.

When submitting to web directories, make sure that your title contains the keywords you are trying to rank for.  It’s the text of those links (anchor text) that helps the search engines determine which keywords and position you should rank for.  Vary the anchor text and other submission text as well.  This way your listing detail pages will not risk being interpreted as duplicate content.  Since your submissions need to pass a human review, make sure your submission contains accurate information.

There are those that say submitting to free directories is a waste of time.  That is completely false.  I took a client’s site that was ranked position 110 in Google for his primary keyword and moved it to position 19 in one month.  Additionally, improved rankings for his other long/medium tailed keywords improved across the board.  And this success was also evident in Live/MSN and Yahoo.  The ranking report was run just a few days ago, so this analysis is current.

While directory submissions are an easy way to build backlinks, it is only one component of a standard link building campaign.  As you are submitting to directories, don’t overlook the main goal - to create rich and interesting content other Webmasters may link to. 

Every few months I get an offer for one of my domains.  The initial price they suggest is always around $300-$400.  Then I get into discussions with the person and they ask how much I want to sell it for.  I tell them $x,xxx, which I feel is a good value.  They always respond saying the most they will pay is $800.

The domain name I am talking about gets on average 2,100 unique visitors a month.  This domain is parked, and earns me $150 per month.  I earned much more ($200+ per month) in previous months before the economy started its slide.  The traffic is 99%+ type in, so my earnings are not dependent on ranking in any search engine or from backlinks to the domain.  It’s a very catchy name, and would be a breeze to brand.

How much I think it is worth is besides the point, because this same potential buyer will not budge off his $800 offer.  That’s not even close to the value of this domain name.  In better economic times, I earned $2,500+ a year off this domain.  Even now, as advertisers spend less on PPC campaigns, the domain is still making good money being parked.  Traffic has not increased or decreased any measurable amount in 10+ years, so I think I will hold onto this domain.  To me, it’s more of an investment.

The latest offer on this domain name has come through Godaddy’s Domain Buy service.  I have never dealt with them before, so this ought to be an interesting change from the common sales routes I’ve been involved with before.

My first impression with Godaddy was good.  They called me on the phone and said they had a person interested in my domain.  They sent me an E-mail and instructed me to click on the link if I was interested in selling the name, so I did.  I was told in a few days I would receive an offer by E-mail.  Over a week later, I had received nothing, so I gave them a call.  The rep on the phone did not know why the offer was not sent, so she sent it within a few minutes.  The offer amount?  You guessed it, $300.

According to Godaddy’s information on their Domain Buy service, they appraise the domain name for their client.  It’s been a few years since I had this domain appraised, so I decided to order one from another appraiser.  If nothing else, I want to stop this domain stalker from wasting anymore of my time.  I will consider my appraisal and counter with a fair offer that adds in a little little negotiating room.

Once I get my appraisal completed, I will contact Godaddy and refuse their initial offer of $300.  They have requested that I provide them with a suggested sales price, and they will take it back to their client.  I suspect their final offer will top off at $800, as is the case in previous dealing with this same person that has been badgering me about this domain name for years.

The likelihood of this domain name getting traffic five years down the road is excellent.  As I noted before, this domain gets about the same traffic now as it did over ten years ago.  And since the domain traffic is semi-targeted, it would provide a new owner free targeted traffic for years to come.

That’s the problem with some of these “brick and mortar” businessmen.  They don’t consider the traffic value of a domain.  They are stuck on the fact that domains cost around $10 bucks to register nowadays, so anything they pay above that is giving into a domain sellers greed.

In my last dealing with this “interested buyer” before, I provided him full traffic and revenue statistics.  He told me that those people are looking for something other then his product so the traffic does not matter.  I told him that at $200 a month, within four months I will earn what he offered me.  I also told him this traffic was semi-targeted, and if he were to pay for this traffic with Adwords it would cost him in excess of $600 a month.  What’s the point of having a Website?  To get traffic to it and expose people to your product or service!

I’m beyond frustrated by this domain name stalker.  If he does not get off his wallet this time, he will find the future price has increased substantially.

I suspect my negotiations with Godaddy will be short.  I would be surprised if this interested buyer submits an offer even close to Godaddy’s own appraisal.  But as my negotiations move forward, I will post the results.  If nothing else, this is a good test case of Godaddy’s Domain Buy service, which costs the buyer $59.99 plus a 10% commission. 

I’ve been keeping an eye on a specific forum topic about a supposed high paying site that earns just under five figures per month in revenue.  What is interesting about this topic is that a lot of people criticized the poster for what they believe is impossible.  But on closer inspection, this very simple site might be earning a boatload of money.

The site in question is blackbeachweek(dot)com.  The site was created in 1999, and it’s appearance looks as if they have not changed the site design since then.  Don’t get me wrong, simple sites can be very effective.  It’s a unique niche, catering to younger African American travelers.

On the surface the site looks very basic and the amount of blue used leaves little to be desired.  The homepage does not contain any Adsense units, which is something I think more people should consider.  Remember, the goal of creating a Website is to cater to your visitors and not provoke them to leave by displaying countless ads.  The homepage has no logo and one image of two women in bikinis.  There is a newsletter signup box, but other then that this site appears about as basic as it gets.

The site has a PR 3, which is something easily achieved with directory submissions alone.  And a quick check at Yahoo SiteExplorer shows a whopping 95 backlinks to the site and over 2,000 indexed pages.  The backlink count seems rather low, and it is possible Yahoo is updating their backlinks as I type.  Regardless, this niche looks like an easy target for anyone with even basic SEO skills.  But is there any potential for earnings?

Taking a look at the left sidebar of the site, I see links to some familiar travel destinations and some unknown festivals and events.  I’ll visit the Cancun Jumpoff page.  I see a small image at the top, then below this is an Adsense unit.  That’s a very good position for maximum eye exposure.  Looking beneath that there are some YouTube videos with some testimonials.  The testimonials and descriptions are keyword rich, offering the search engines plenty to chew on.  At the very bottom of the page is another Adsense unit.

The page does not have any META keywords or description tags.  The URL of the page does contain “Cancun,” but other then that this page has not been SEO’ed.

The page does rank for quite a few short and medium tailed keywords.  The entire site, however, commands respectable positions for quite a few keywords both short and long.  One of the keyphrases this page ranks for is Cancun Weekend.  It’s at position number three in Google with an estimated CPC of $1.83.  Not bad.  The competition is nearly 1.7 million pages, and it’s estimated to get 6-8 visitors a day (using Google’s Adwords stats).  Let’s look at a keyphrase it would have an easier time ranking for while improving earnings.  That keyphrase is, believe it or not, Cancun vacations.  The competition is just 523,000 visitors, and the traffic potential is around 200 visitors per day.  The estimated cost per click for Adwords users tops out at $3.89 per click.  The site ranks for quite a few keywords, and you can research that at SEO Digger.

Most of the ads displayed on the site are for travel accommodations and travel packages.  As we all know, these tend to be good paying adverts.  The site also seems to provide more testimonials then anything else.  This leaves people more inclined and directed towards viewing advertisements for detailed accommodation and travel packages.

According to Compete.com, the Website has monthly traffic of 30,000 user visitors.  Comparing Compete’s results with my own sites, I can say that Compete’s traffic estimates are 2-3 times lower then actual traffic.  It’s certainly possible that the Website receives 60,000-90,000 visitors a month.

Between the traffic, keywords, and ads displayed on the site, it appears there is some good income potential in his niche.  The low competition makes it even more appealing to those with even the most basic SEO skills.

There are quite a few travel destinations around the world, and in general the travel niche is occupied by some heavy players.  But the owner of blackbeachweek(dot)com shows us that even in a competitive niche such as travel, there is still room and opportunity for smaller players.

With a lot of SEO and some affiliate relationships, I’m sure the owner of blackbeachweek(dot)com could greatly improve his traffic and revenue.

What’s your take?  Do you think the site makes just under five figures a month?

Those that are familiar with domain parking tend to have their favorite parking providers.  I’m no different.  I’ve tried quite a few domain parking companies and the revenue earned per click does vary widely.  So let’s take a look at two of the better known parking companies.

First, there is Parked.com.  Parked is probably one of the most recommended parking providers.  Their domain control panel is nice, and offers quite a few templates.  However, these parking templates are all 2 click templates.  What are two click templates?  Basically when a user comes to the parked domain, they have a list of general categories to choose from.  Once they choose the category, then they are taken to a page with ads on it.  My tests show that 2 click landers essentially reduce revenue by as much as 40% for domains with targeted traffic.  Parked does provide a one click lander, but it is only displayed if their system determines it is appropriate - giving domain owners no control whether a one click lander is displayed or not.  Parked also uses Yahoo advertisement feeds, which do pay less then Google feeds.  Parked does not provide manual optimization, except to the degree that you may remove predetermined subcategories that are displayed on your parked page.  They do provide detailed traffic analysis of each domain, which is a huge plus over some of the other parking providers.  To join Parked, you must  submit a minimum of ten domains for consideration.  And if they don’t like any of the domains, they will reject them.

My favorite parking provider is RevenueDirect.  While it lacks traffic analysis, the control they give you over your domains more then makes up for it.  From a revenue standpoint, RevenueDirect earns more per click then Parked, Sedo, Godaddy, and other well known parking providers.  RevenueDirect uses Google advertisement feeds.  They also allow you to choose one or two click landers.  Unlike Parked, you may freely choose which specific keywords and categories are displayed on your site.  You may also enter header and/or footer text and links, along with an option to list the domain for sale.  The domain sale option is simply a form that sends inquiries directly to you.  RevenueDirect does not get a cut of any sale price nor do they act as a domain brokerage.  The good thing about RevenueDirect is that they do not require anything more then one domain name to join.

Here’s some quick tips to get approval when you join Parked or RevenueDirect:

1. Join through a referral link (mine are Parked and RevenueDirect).  Domain parking providers are more inclined to approve your application if you are referred by an existing member in good standing - or one that makes them a lot of money. 

2. Submit your best domains for consideration.  When I say best domains, I mean those domains that receive or are likely to receive the most English speaking traffic.  If you have other domains that may be questionable, add them after your account is approved.

3. Allow the domain parking company some time to review your application.  Normally such applications can take 1-3 business days.

When you do get approved and are able to optimize your parked domain, I suggest you head over to Google’s Adwords Keyword Suggestion Tool.  This will help in determining which keywords and keyphrases are popular.  Then, view Google’s Adwords Traffic Estimator so that you can get an idea how much revenue those keywords could generate.  Please note that the traffic estimator and prices are for ads being displayed on Google Search, and not the ads that appear on parked pages.  Regardless, this should give you a general idea which keywords and keyphrases pay the most.

People often ask how much can I make from domain parking, and the answer depends on the niche and traffic.  If the domain has no traffic, it will not earn any money.  Parked domains in a general electronic niche, for example, earn me $1.20+ revenue per click.  I have parked domains with RevenueDirect that earn me $10+ per day, while others make $2 a month.  Some of my domains earn nothing.  Either way, it is nice that most of my parked domains are earning money as I focus on more pressing projects. 

It will take some for your pages to show up in the index.  Established and high authority sites can get pages indexed in an hour or two.  New sites that have little trust or authority can take up to a week to appear in the Google index.  My quick launch method normally gets new sites indexed within 3-5 days, and if you follow the guide your results should be similar.

Now would be a great time to fine tune your strategy and time management.  Adding new content will get the bots crawling your site regularly, plus give you additional pages and keywords to rank for.  Building backlinks will also help increase your SERPS.  For those with limited time or multiple Websites, managing these demands can be difficult.  Deciding on a routine now will help you balance the time needed to focus on all the areas that contribute to a growing Website.

I hope this guide has been helpful for you.  If you would like to leave a comment, please do.  I will make changes to this guide as the search engine market changes, and your input will help me do just that.

Quick Launch Index Guide Home

There’s a lot of software on the market to submit to free directories.  There are even form filler software titles available.  Let’s bypass the lower performing and most time consuming software options.  Digixmas has the fastest and easiest to use directory submission software around.  The best part is that you can submit to 150 Web directories for free while using a trial version of their software.

The first step needed to use this trial version software is to register it.  Please go here and follow the registration link/information located on the right hand side of the screen.  After you have registered, you can then download and install the software.

To run Digixmas, open the program and click ok on their welcome/news screen.  Then click on log on in the upper left hand corner.  Enter your User Name and Password to logon.  Next, click the add button then the add new button.  Enter your site title and site description.  Click ok or enter more titles and descriptions to be randomized during the submission process.  Enter your contact information and site keywords.  When you are done, click ok.

To begin submitting, click the pending button.  The software will then collect the captcha and categories from the first and subsequent directories.  Select the proper category and enter the captcha code.  After you enter this information, click ok and the software will load up the next directory captcha and categories.  Rinse and repeat the process.

This is one of the best Web directory software titles available.  The full version, which allows you to submit to 1,400+ directories, is only $15.  And they always add new directories on a daily basis so that you can continue building links for your Website well into the future.

Now that we have completed this step, let’s summarize what you did and the next step.

Quick Launch Index Guide Home

In Websites I have recently launched, I have found that only a couple high profile links are needed to get indexed fast.  And my preferred links come from Digg and Craigslist.

Digg offers one of the largest social bookmarking services around.  Webmasters that have had their Website Dugg by a lot of people know good and well what the Digg Effect is.  Digg can send so much traffic that servers are unable to deal with the load.  But that’s not the purpose of this series, so let’s get on with it.  Go to Digg and open an account if you don’t have one.  After you have created an account, login and then click on the submit new link at the top of the screen.  Then enter your URL and choose the best general category and click next.  Now, enter the title of your link (make it your primary keyword or a variation of it) and a good description.  Then, choose a topic that best describes your site.  At the bottom of the window will be a preview of your link.  Check it for mistakes and then submit it.  Within a few minutes your first high profile link will appear on Digg!

For the next high profile link, head over to Craigslist.  Select the state and city that best fits your Website.  Then look for “sm biz ads” under the Services heading.  In the upper right hand side of the screen, click on the post link.  Now, choose the best sub-category for your ad.  Enter your posting title and description.  Make sure to place a link in the ad to your Website using your primary anchor text.  Now enter your valid E-mail address and click continue.  You will be taken to a screen that gives you a preview of your ad so that you can double check it.  If it looks good, enter the CAPTCHA and click continue.  You now must agree to their terms.  Once you do, check your E-mail to confirm the ad and visit the page to publish your ad.  Your done!

The goal of this series is to get indexed quickly.  Digg links are follow while Craigslist is nofollow.  Despite a link being nofollowed, search engines will still follow the link and index the destination site.  The only thing that will not occur is Google Pagerank being passed from Craigslist.

The two sites above are authoritative sites that are indexed quite often by the search engines.  Your site should be indexed quickly by having only these two links.  But as extra insurance, let’s move onto the next part of this series - free directory submissions.

Quick Launch Index Guide Home

First, you need to gain access to Live’s Webmaster tools.  If you do not have a Live ID, click hereand signup for one.  Once you have a Live ID, go to Live Search Webmaster Center and sign in.

After you are signed in Live Webmaster Tools, click the grey add a site button.  Now you must enter your absolute site URL and the absolute URL of your Sitemap.  You will also need to enter a Webmaster E-mail contact address for the site.  Now that you have entered the information requested by Live, make sure you choose which verification method you will use.  I always use the XML file, because I do not like to clutter my code with unneeded Meta tags.  Now, click the grey submit button.

Live Search makes verification a little harder then it has to be.  Regardless, you must create a file named “LiveSearchSiteAuth.xml”and enter the appropriate authentication file contents.  Once you have completed this process, click the grey ok button.

Live Search provides very little data in their Webmaster Tools area.  Therefore, confirming that your Sitemap submission was successful is impossible at the time of writing.

You should keep the verification file or Meta tag active for as long as you operate your site.  If Live/MSN Search is unable to verify your site in the future, you will need to complete this process again.

Since the Live/MSN bot is so slow to visit new sites, I also recommend using their basic URL submission form as well.  It can be found here.  This seems to help in getting indexed quicker in Live/MSN.

Now that you finished submitting your Sitemap to the top three search engines, let’s move on to a few quick links that will help your site get indexed faster.

Quick Launch Index Guide Home

Now that you are logged in to Yahoo Site Explorer, enter your full Website URL in the textbox and click on the add my site button.  Your URL will now appear in My Sites.
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