Of course this subject is not new and is discussed many times on webmaster’s forums but I hope this information can be of some benefit for those newbies who does not yet decide on the choice.
Directory business hits rough times this moment and for those who plan to start a directory it must be a crucial moment to choose the right direction of development.
Hundreds of directories are born and die every day just because the strategy of their business was not thought over well.
So, what is the best choice between general and niche?
My opinion is of course niche. I explain why.
That’s not new for webmasters that there are thousands of general directories on the net. Because of huge quantity of poor quality directories and link farms SEs tend to ignore them and do not show on first pages of search results. Moreover it is quite hard for general directory to occupy place on the first pages because they lack really quality content, which is probably the most important factor for the web popularity nowadays. And in addition I’m sorry to say that but ordinary users do not use or use them scarcely ever to find information they are looking for.
Some can object that general directories enjoy more traffic than niche. I do not agree, though it depends on the promotional efforts. Anyway the main audience of general directories is webmasters. Thus if you created a general directory to revenue from ads this is not a good way as webmasters prefer to ignore ads and rarely click them.
If you plan to accept listings for some fee do not be so naïve thinking that someone will pay you for nothing. First you need to have something to give back as decent PR or traffic. And that is not an easy task to promote general directory nowadays.
Most directories are created not for users but for SEO purposes. But that is not a secret that links coming from the relevant websites are more precious than coming from some obscure subject oriented website. This is one more plus for niche directories from the point of view webmasters wishing to get better results from their promotional efforts.
Besides niche directory can be supported with articles on the subject of the niche and get more traffic and visibility from SEs.
In my opinion the main advantage of niche directory is that can be actively used by internet users as a resource of information and attract quality target traffic. That costs a lot. Thus websites owners will willingly pay you money to be included.
Resuming all said above niche directories have future in modern internet world and super niche even more.
Though I do not call you for regarding this article as a blueprint for action, but if you are serious about your business you should consider all aspects of the matter. As well as right the choice of right directory software. But this is the topic for a new article ;).
And good luck with your directory!
