The Don'ts of Directory Development



Over the years I've been involved in quite few topics concerning various directories that appear to have been manually removed and/or penalized by various search engines. From those discussions and my research over those years, I've put together a list of Basic Don'ts when developing a directory. Remember, these are just the basics...

Don't launch prematurely

Sure, it's okay to alert members within a community where you are known to get some initial feedback but, do not make any public announcements until you've really looked things over. And, I do mean look them over. From top to bottom and left to right, make sure you've got it covered.

Don't use an off the shelf directory script

Unless of course you've changed every footprint that the script may leave. Sorry Script Makers, there are too many abusers of your scripts out there and the footprints your users leave are very easy to track, even by the most unsophisticated types. If I were a search quality engineer and noticed these footprints were abusive in nature on a large scale, I'm going to take out your entire user base, no questions asked and no explanations given.

Don't generate a directory based on your entire taxonomy

Sorry all you "my site has over a million pages indexed" types. I've seen what you have indexed and you've made a major mistake in your strategy. Filling the search indices with empty categories is not a valid strategy. You do realize that the search engines will index just about anything first time around, right? That is not what counts. It's what happens after the fact that counts.

Sure, Googlebot will ferociously attack a dynamic directory and index thousands, hundreds of thousands and even millions of pages. Even if those pages are void of any real content. It is unfortunate that this happens, but it is the nature of the beast. You can be assured that if you are filling Google's index, or any SE's index with that many pages, a search quality engineer is going to be on top of things. And you can also be assured that your competitors will be too!

Don't use deprecated markup in your development process

Sorry all of you "it has to be in tables types" or, "you don't need to validate types". These days, if you plan to make an entrance, you need to do it in a way that sets the next level of standards in your chosen space. Keep it simple. You're a directory and that should be your main focus. You are presenting information for the user, present it professionally both visually and semantically.

Don't run AdSense

Sorry Google, but I think this is a mistake for any directory launching these days that is serious about establishing their initial brand in the marketplace. There are plenty of AdSense Directories out there already, no need to continue adding more. Once a directory becomes established, advertising of this nature may be an option, but not at launch or, anytime shortly thereafter.

For those of you running AdSense, don't put it above your directory results. Don't blend the AdSense in with your directory results. Don't trick the user into clicking your AdSense listings. This is becoming common practice with many directories I see occupying the space. Sure, trick your users into clicking your AdSense ads. Eventually this strategy will backfire. Or, maybe it won't. Either way, "I feel it is a short term deceptive strategy and very unprofessional."

Don't buy links

Sorry Link Brokers, but I think this is a mistake too. You, as the directory owner/administrator may want to invest some time in seeking quality link partners and, there may be a monetary investment involved. But, those high quality link partners are going to be your bread and butter as they say. Forget about the numbers! Focus on the quality of the link, not the quantity of links. This is another major mistake I see being made by today's directory promoter.

Don't brag about anything

Sorry all you Egomaniacs, but this is definitely a mistake and one that search engine representatives don't take kindly to. I know how good it feels to reach certain goals and I too like to brag every now and then. But, when it comes to promoting a directory these days, keep your mouth shut. Sorry to be so blunt, but this is a major downfall for many. The search engine representatives do read the forums and blogs. Many SEO's snitch on themselves and then blame it on an algo. In all probability it was a manual ban because they were touting 500,000 or 1,000,000 pages indexed by Google, most of them void of any content other than standard includes.

Don't get involved with rings of any kind

Sorry all of you "friends" out there who decided to develop a network of directories that are basically self-promotional outlets for your products and services and/or those of your friends. This is not about promoting yourselves, this is about providing quality information for your visitors. Wow, what a concept that is huh? One that I see many have forgotten.

Don't expect to get rich overnight

What a flawed concept that is these days, especially when it comes to developing a directory. Sure, some of you guys/gals have made some decent numbers but, it didn't come overnight, did it? It takes dedication, loyalty, devotion, integrity and, a sincere passion for whatever niche you may be targeting.

Last but not least, don't let "them" get you down

If you find yourself involved in discussions concerning your directory, do not, I repeat, do not talk down to your prospective client base. If you as the directory administrator are not adept at discussion in a professional community environment, then don't do it. Have your senior editor or whomever else has the marketing skills required to address any issues about your directory at the public level. Hire someone if you have to.

Don't forget, you are representing your directory, first impressions are lasting impressions. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool. Leave a strong first impression and watch how quickly the word spreads.

2004-12-29 - Further discussion and comments are welcome at WebmasterWorld...

The Don'ts of Directory Development

Don't use an off the shelf directory script

Unless of course you've changed every footprint that the script may leave. Sorry Script Makers, there are too many abusers of your scripts out there and the footprints your users leave are very easy to track, even by the most unsophisticated types. If I were a search quality engineer and noticed these footprints were abusive in nature on a large scale, I'm going to take out your entire user base, no questions asked and no explanations given.

I've watched the directory space for years with great interest. I've seen them come and go. I've seen them get penalized and outright banned. Over the years there have been a plethora of topics at various search engine marketing communities concerning the penalization and/or banning of a very large number of directories. After spending untold hours researching, I've come to the same conclusion I did years ago. You cannot use an off the shelf script in its raw form.

Nor can use an off the shelf script with just a few minor tweaks, everyone else caught on to that. If you are going to do it, you're going to have to start from scratch. Yes, you can use one of the canned scripts but, you need to make sure that you change every single footprint that script may leave, and I do mean every one. Here are a few common footprints that are sure targets for search quality engineers...

For those of you new to this, let me share a little history with you.

Years ago, there was a program called WPG (WebPosition Gold). It was a great concept and one that many adopted and used. Unfortunately, many were also abusing it. Well, at some point, the abuse reached critical mass. The search engines were tired of the resource drain and made a very severe move and wiped out a large portion of WPG users. AltaVista did this and it was one of the largest bans in search engine history. And, that ban was all based on a file with the name of blueline.jpg, a very distinguishable footprint left by WPG Doorway Pages.

Note on blueline.jpg: We've investigated this (image file name) carefully as many refer to it as blueline.gif. We dug up a very old copy of WPG and reviewed all the image names and there was no blueline.gif. There was of course a blueline.jpg which we believe to be the original file name. WPG did respond to this footprint issue in later versions by changing the file name to bluelinenew.gif. It was too late then, the damage had already been done.

Next came programs like Zeus. Another great concept but one that was flawed from inception. It didn't take long for Zeus users (1,700+) to find themselves completely banned from Google's index. Or at least those that used the free version.

Then came networks like SearchKing. And the list goes on and on.

With the proliferation of directory scripts that have flooded the market, it appears that everyone has jumped on the directory bandwagon. Please, take my advice and stop now if you don't plan to invest some major time and finances into developing a directory with integrity and quality content.

And, for all of you script developers out there, you really need to hire a professional marketer and technical type from this (Search Engine Marketing) industry. You have to understand that many of your script users are not techies and are causing some major damage out there, to themselves, the search engines, our industry and, the integrity of your scripts.

You need to address the fact that your users will gladly drop a few hundred thousand empty category pages into the indices. You need to prevent this from happening. If a category is not populated, there should be a feature in place to prevent it from being indexed until such time that it is populated. There are hundreds of things that many of you are doing wrong and it is causing harm on a global scale.

Once the abuse starts with these types of scripts, it is only a matter of time before users of those scripts will have blanket issues to deal with. It is much easier for a search quality engineer to take out an entire user base than it is to try and figure out which users are the abusers.

2004-12-29 - Further discussion and comments are welcome at WebmasterWorld...

The Don'ts of Directory Development

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