Directories and their baby brothers the Link Sites are backbones of the
Internet. Learn to build sites that are suitable for directory listings and
you're ready for the long haul to financial success on the Internet!

What is a directory?

Directories and Link Sites are script-driven websites with a human touch.
Unlike a search engine, you volunteer your site and the Directory Staff decide
whether or not you belong in their directory. The operators of directories spend
countless hours collecting and sorting through the 'Best of the Best' on the
Internet.

Directories give the surfer the means to search for whatever it is they are
looking for then to have the results of that search displayed in a friendly
informative way. The sites that directories list are usually well designed and
content heavy to give the surfer all they wanted and the option to buy more.

Directories are trusted havens for surfers trying to find everything they are
looking for online. Surfers expect that when they visit a directory they won't
get lied to or tricked into going to a site they didn't want to go to.

What is directory traffic like:

Directory traffic is one of the most valuable types of traffic. One click
from a good directory can be worth 100 clicks from lesser traffic sources. Your
odds of making money off directory traffic go way up because the traffic is
targeted. You won't usually see large volumes of traffic coming from a directory
because there are so many other sites competing for the surfers' eyes - but the
traffic you do get will be high quality. The surfers that use directories expect
high quality sites. If your site provides what they are looking for then you
will usually get listed in the directory you submit to. Your best bet is to
offer the surfer something they have a hard time finding on other sites.

Who should use a directory:

Everyone should build sites targeted for directory traffic. That means:
"friendly and content heavy. Non-adult directories will have the highest quality
traffic and the least requirements when it comes to quality of content.

Adult directories have more stringent requirements to get listed but the traffic
will be less productive. Not to say that adult directories shouldn't be a target
source of traffic for you, but more time should be spent getting into a site
like DMOZ.

DMOZ attracts the average surfer - not just the porn surfer looking for a free
thrill. The average surfer of a non-adult directory uses that site to find
everything from Halloween costumes and stock tips to porn.

Your goal in getting listed in the non-adult directories should be to put
yourself in a position to collect money off the impulse buyer. Think of it as
your opportunity to be one of the conveniently located items at the checkout
stand in the grocery store. They came to buy milk and eggs and this is your
chance to sell them a dirty magazine.

When not to use directory:

Some of the sites you will build won't be fit for a directory. Sites where
the content may not be very good or the design of the site may be to 'trap the
surfer' won't do you any good with the directories. Directories are looking to
offer their surfers a quality site that doesn't try and pull the wool over the
surfers' eyes.

With that having been said, you can always try to submit your evil sites to the
directories. It's not what they want in their directory and they will reject it
most of the time. If your lucky maybe you can get a few of you're evil sites
listed at least for a while. Evil sites do make their way into directories from
time to time as we all know people do make mistakes and people maintain
directories. The advantage of getting an evil site listed is you can hit the
surfer with the hard sell and skip all the warm fuzzy stuff you usually have to
give them.

Directories are just Search Engines right?

WRONG!

Directories often have the look and feel of a search engine but they are not
the same. You don't have to impress the search engines with your site design and
content. Search engines are run by robot or spider scripts. These scripts scour
the web looking for anything and everything that meets your search criteria.
Search engines have much larger databases of sites than directories because they
don't require human interaction to accumulate these databases.

Directories are more intuitive than search engines in their results because
people - not robot scripts - compile the listings. Directories only give you
what they think is truly relevant to your search request.

Most surfers use true search engines and not directories so a good listing in a
search engine will get you more traffic… At the same time, Directories are often
integrated into search engines to with the intent to include more valid results
for the surfers' request. If you get your site listed in DMOZ you may soon
discover that you're also well ranked in the search engines because the engines
know that all the links in DMOZ are hand picked. One hand helping the other!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Jo Hawke - AEBN publicity@aebn.net

- AEBN.com, -
http://www.aebn.com - Adult Entertainment Broadcasting Network, is the
original Pay-Per-View provider on the Internet. They were the first content
provider to offer full-length, adult videos in a Pay-Per-Minute format. AEBN has
gathered over 18,000 top-quality videos representing over 800 studios -
literally the largest and broadest selection of adult videos available from one
provider.