What are your thoughts on running a directory?

[NameMatters]

Greetings,

What are your thoughts on running a directory? Any first hand experiences?
Is it worth the effort? Which software do you recommend?

Any response is appreciated..

thanks,

[meganerd]

Joomla with Mosets Tree has always made me happy. There is also PHPMyDirectory but not as flexible as the two I mentioned.

As for "Is it worth the effort?" can you clarify that?

[bensd]

Originally Posted by NameMatters

Greetings,

What are your thoughts on running a directory? Any first hand experiences?
Is it worth the effort? Which software do you recommend?

Any response is appreciated..

thanks,

If you are talking about a website directory then;

1, I would recommend phpld

2, I have WebsiteDirectory.info for sale

[ecomindia]

Originally Posted by meganerd

Joomla with Mosets Tree has always made me happy. There is also PHPMyDirectory but not as flexible as the two I mentioned.

As for "Is it worth the effort?" can you clarify that?

Hmm.. i do not think so.. one of my directory , i have to clean 90% of posts :(


not much of an effort to go unless it is a plugin for your site ...
unlss you have a business process flow implemented

[Moxie Maxwell]

I have used several different Directories in the past, any that you choose can do the job, I think the hardest 2 parts are populating, and then managing. You will get lots of spam listings, over and over again.

Also, keep in mind that if your site is just a directory without any content, you will more than likely never recieve a page rank. Atleast that is with my experience.

[james2002]

It consumed a lot of time and I gave it up.

[draggar]

I've been trying to build up a directory but unfortunately I've been rather unsuccessful with it. I'm using phpMyDirectory and it isn't the easiest to use and customize but still do able.

No spam with mine but my niche is pretty specific and I only have one free level with allows just about nothing (just a contact phone#, no email, no web address etc..).

The hardest part is finding people to sign up. Don't expect $50 / year subscriptions overnight, hell, don't even expect $5 subscriptions overnight - offer free levels in the beginning ("limited time offer" - makes people more likely to jump in it). I also had the same price for (paid) one year and two year subscriptions. Still only had a handful of sign-ups.

[Bigtime]

I have about 12 different directories that I run using PhpMyDirectory. I found that running local niche directories is much better (and more successful) than trying to run national directories.

My good friend Moxie Maxwell from above is right on (HEY MOX!!!). The hardest part is populating them. However with PhpMyDirectory, it is quite easy for me to manage them. In fact, they kind of run themselves with the tools provided in the PMD package.

I guess the best way to put it, is that you are going to get as much out of it as you put into it. In other words, don't plan on putting up a directory and becoming a millionaire overnight. It is not going to happen. You need to put a lot of work into your marketing and your site to be successful.

I am lucky because I can pick up coding fairly quickly, so I have customized my directories and have added a whole bunch of things that will attract vendors. I also have search engine optimized the sites to make them worthwhile for vendors to advertise on. Thus another reason to keep your directory local.

[Nomzo]

Owning a directory is great for about a week.

[Moxie Maxwell]

HA!! Bigtime, great seeing you here.

If there is anyone here that can tell you about directories, it is definately Big, he totally knows his stuff.