Love them or loath them, Web Directories are everywhere you look on the Internet today. They range in quality from terribly put together Web Directories ( giving Web Directories a bad name) that consist of all the default categories and skin shipped with the script used to create it, to high end Directories with creatively put together categories and sub categories to Directories created with bespoke code.

Given the fact that there are several billion documents on the net, the quantity of Web Directories online is not excessively large. Given the fact that the pages and sites on the Internet grow daily, systematic ways of finding relevant pages and websites quickly and with high accuracy will be welcomed by most internet users as a supplement to the fantastic job search engines are already doing, there is still room for some quality niche Web Directories.

Though no official figure exist on the approximate number of Web Directories on the Internet, but giving the number of Web Directories this author has come across in the last few years, there are probably over one hundred thousand Web Directories online, dozens of new ones are created daily. The huge growth in new Directories can be partially ascribed to the availability of cheap and even free Directory scripts such as PHPLD and eSyndicate and the mistaken assumption by young Webmasters that a Web Directory is a quick way to make money online, this leads to the large quantities of very poor Web Directories online today.

Despite the above assertion, there is room for quality web directories, especially high quality, well thought out specialist directories catering for niches that are not well covered by existing Directories. A few niche directories that went online recently included Ethical Directory, a directory for ethically produced items and services, Deeply Linked, a Directory that accesses just inside pages of websites (the reverse is usually the case with most web directories) and Ablize, a specialist disability directory. This demonstrates that there are still some segments of the Internet where a directory can be innovative and provide useful services, but the General Directory, a Directory that covers absolutely every topic under the sun is an over done genre, which almost all that have attempted it are unable to do very well.

So you want to start your own web directory

One of the questions that often dominate Webmaster communities when talking about starting or running a Web Directory is “How can I make my directory unique?” This is one of the most important questions that needs to be asked to running a successful Web Directory, however it should be asked differently and at a different time. The question best asked is “How can I build a unique web directory”, note that the question implies that you have not yet built a Web Directory; you are just thinking or planning to create one. It is far easier to plan and build a good quality Web Directory than to build a Web Directory and then think of how to make it unique.

To partially answer the aforementioned crucial question your need to ask yourself before you create a Web Directory, a list of other questions and checklist you could find useful follows:

Question to ask before you decide to create a Web Directory

• What niche market can I build a Web Directory for?
• How can I make my Web Directory stand out?
• Do I have expertise in this niche or do I need to acquire new skills?
• How can I make my Web Directory authoritative in my chosen niche?
• What do I need to do better or differently than existing directories in this niche?

The above questions are not exhaustive; there are other questions you can ask yourself to find out if the niche you are planning to venture into is the right segment of the market for you.
Once you have satisfy yourself that the niche is viable and growing then you should move on to planning your Web Directory stage, the list that follows contains questions that could guide you on your way to creating a successful Web Directory:

Questions you need to ask after deciding to create a Web Directory

• Decide on a name for you directory, it is important that his name is catchy and it does not infringe copyright word. For example there used to be a directory called LinksForDummies (The owner run into problems a much larger organisation that has trademark on the word “Dummies”
• Secure all the popular extension of your domain name (to prevent someone else cashing in on your name once it’s established.
• Decide on directory software to use. Off the shelve directory script has advantages and disadvantages, if you can afford to create your own directory script this will be the best solution.
• Should you use an off the shelf directory software, try and get a custom skin for your directory to make is unique
• Configure you directory script to send out appropriate messages such as acknowledgement when new sites are submitted, Approval email when a site is rejected.
• In your acceptance and rejection messages, give as much information as possible on the reason a site was rejected and what changes can be made to the site to be accepted.
• Use your acceptance email as a marketing tool, if you have other services the client may want you can offer it in the accepted message.
• You can also use your acceptance message to promote other directories in exchange for them promoting your directory

I hope webmasters thinking of starting a new web directory or seeking to improve their existing directory find this short article useful. You can find more resources on how to improve your article or create a brilliant new web directory at good Webmaster Forums and blogs on the Internet. Good luck.


Article is written by Temi Odurinde


Temi Odurinde is the webmaster of UK SEO Forums.

Temi’s website www.temi.co.uk