Build a Directory Listing Website: How to Make Money with a Directory Listing Website

Are you looking for a viable online business you can do from home with little capital. Then you can build a directory listing website and earn steady income.

There are many money making opportunities such as article writing, ebooks, affiliate marketing, referrals, blogging and a directory listing website.

 A directory lists websites on their pages including links and addresses. Some are built specifically for a target niche while most are open to every subject.

Some have restrictions on adult content and certain niche groups. One of the top directories that have a high PR rating is Dmoz.

Directories submissions are either regulated manually or through software. To succeed with your directory business there are a few things to consider

Why Websites Succeed

Building your directory website is about the easiest part of the job. Any website seriously looking to succeed needs proper management and maintenance.

Your web directory is serious business and needs lots of traffic and good listing. The site should be search engine optimized and easy to navigate. It should have good Google ranking to make any impact.

Select a Niche

Building a website that accommodates every genre is very difficult.  As a sole business owner or webmaster you need to focus on a specific niche.

Narrowing your focus create credibility for you directory as a leader in your niche of choice. Your directory can even focus on a single geographical location or district. A narrower field creates targeted traffic and better search engine optimization.

Make sure the niche is marketable and financial viable because a major source of income is placed advertisements. The earning potential of your directory is closely related to the niche of choice.

Websites that are in your niche group will find your directory as a valuable resource. There are many niche groups to consider some are tutors, dentistry, music, entertainment or news sites. Others are sports, hospitality, agriculture and education.

Traffic is everything

Although great improvement is software and ready-made templates are available building a directory requires lots of effort. The same amount of effort you use in building a good website is the same as building a directory.

A web directory is built on websites listed on your site. A new web directory struggles in the early days to attract webmasters.

Webmasters generally look at data and statistics of web directory before listing their website. There is no reason for a website owner to list his site on a directory with PR 3 and bellow. They gain nothing in link building and avoid such directories.

Without listing and visibility there is no traffic and no traffic equates to poor search engine visibility. To get lots of submissions offer free listing to build up content on your directory.

Content

Your web directory needs lots of targeted content to succeed. Content is key to running a successful website, targeted content even better.

The content should be keyword rich, have alt text, and image attributions. Your website should be easily navigated with good effective layout.

To reach interested webmasters promote free listing through Facebook advertisements, social media platforms and Google Adwords. Don’t go crazy however spend a little to gain a lot.

Another very effective method is to hand select websites of importance. Before listing the website it is good to contact them. Not many will reject this offer because the more external links they have pointing to their websites the stronger it gets.

Search Engine Optimization

The major challenge for web directories is having adequate content. Listing websites addresses and links provide little in content so integrating a blog section isn’t a bad idea.

Make your website easy to navigate and list by creating category section and adding tags. Use Meta tags, labels and sub sections to properly categorize websites.

 Content Marketing

If you have integrated a side blog into your design this will help in building content. The content you write should be on your websites niche.

You can run reviews, spotlight on websites in your niche and interviews on key players. You can use this formula to steadily build content to internal links on your web directory pages.

 PPC Advertisement

One of the most effective methods to generate traffic to your directory is through pay per click advertisement.  Generate lots of traffic to your directory while attracting websites to list. Also use targeted advertisement to generate traffic.

Checks and Reviews

The best web directories have staff that manually checks and reviews websites listed on their directory. A top directory like Dmoz takes six months before listing your site after manually checking your site.

To reduce spam, malware and undesirable sites manual check each one before listing. Make sure your directory has software to tackle these issues.

How to Make Money

There are many ways to make money with your directory. Some major sources of income are paid listing, advertisement networks and private paid advertisement.

Private paid advertisement is selling advertisement space to websites that list on your directory. This is done by offering them visual imagery, videos and better placement.

You can seek companies interested in placing advertisements on your directory. Use Google Adsense to generate income or any network you fancy.

Money Sources

1.    Commissions

2.    Paid higher ranks

3.    Sell advertisement space through Adsense

4.    Direct advertisement placement

 Conclusion

Web directories need proper planning and implementation to succeed. Choose the right niche, add content, manually moderate listing and add paid listing.

Generate income from the paid listing, and advertisement networks. You can build your directory website using a pre-designed Wordpress directory theme.
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