Directories and Search Engines

DirectoryContest.com is a unique contest set up as an attempt to determine the strength of general web directories. Started by Mike Dammann, the final rankings will be determined by Google’s search results for the search term directorycontest.com on on February 6th 2007, 10 AM PST.

Web directory owners can participate in this contest by simply adding a link to the DirectoryContest.com blog as a Standard or Featured listing. The link can’t be a site-wide link, or located on the homepage of the directory.

The listing should not appear in a new category named for the contest, and the title should be one of the three titles below:

Directory Contest
DirectoryContest.com
Directory Contest – DirectoryContest.com

The top 10 directories will win prizes, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 directories.

Good luck to all the participants!

Ever wonder what the future holds for general web directories? First and second tier directories will always have a place on the net, but what about the smaller, general web directories?

Consider that the average new directory utilizes a popular free script, the default or free template and a readily available category DB, I’m convinced that the future is not so bright that I’ll need my shades.

Add that these new directories are launched on the same webmaster forums and likely receive the same submissions from the folks that frequent these forums just like the directory before it and the picture becomes just a bit clearer. Ever notice the same listings in the same categories over and over again?

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Why do some webmasters submit their sites to paid directories when there are an over abundance of free directories everywhere?

Does a paid directory provide more value or a better link than that of a free directory?

Is it worth submitting your site to new PageRank 0 directories? How much value is there in that?

Why pay to be included in a low PageRank directory when you can get an equivalent listing elsewhere for free?

Perceived value.

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Now out of beta, Google Desktop 4 is available in 26 languages plus a Japanese beta version. Read more?at Inside Google Desktop.

Google Sitemaps has been renamed to Google Webmaster Tools and there’s a new Google Webmaster Central Blog, your one stop source for information regarding crawling and indexing on Google.

Google Webmaster Tools provides tools and information to keep you informed and increase your crawl coverage and visibility on Google.

For example, if you notice your site is being indexed using both versions of your domain (www and non-www), you can now tell Google?your preferred domain URL format for crawling and indexing. Check it out.