Another forum I belong to has a directory where all members can list their website(s).

This feature does 2 things...  one more link to our site, and also a great resource for finding link trading partners.

So I think it could be a great idea to create such a directory in this forum...?

I’m not convinced a general directory that lists any type of site is all that beneficial > remember that relevant links are far more valuable

However, I have slowly been creating a Webmaster Directory that would allow for industry relevant sites to be listed as I am often asked what webmaster related product/services we recommend

The idea would be to let members comment on such product/services so that we can share our experiences with one another and hopefully narrow in on the best out there

G'day MonkeyGirl. Welcome to the forum.

I've had a look at your three posts and I'm going to make some suggestions for you, with the intention of being helpful. If you take offense, well, that's your choice.

This is a webmaster forum. You should read the forum rules and get a picture of the stated objectives of the forum.

The use you are putting the forum to is more suited to a social networking forum.

Study the current and archived posts and articles and you'll find a wealth if information to assist you in web building and marketing.

A study of these articles and posts will show you why the suggestion about a directory isn't a good idea. In time you'll come to see that a commercial website is a different sort of thing from a social blog. (although they are both actually websites)

You may wish to participate in the forum for a while and then submit your site for review by other members.

I see your site has been built with some sort of a web builder programme, possibly a WISIWYG, online web builder. These systems typically allow little control over the website and people who use them usually have little ability to implement the recommendations made by successful webmasters.

So please feel free to participate in the forum as an eager web builder.

Best wishes,
Laurie.

I was thinking more of a directory comprised of at least some categories. A free for all directory was never in my mind.

This suggestion came because doing link exchange is a painful and frustrating thing...     I have found some tight niche directories where reply results are at 98% (a 'no thank you' is much better than not knowing and having to monitor a link request) and successul results are at about 90%. Now that is much better than just picking sites and trying for it: positive results are very very minimal...

As for Laurie's reply, yes my site is built with a storebuilder. I do have other sites (not ecommerce) built with dreamweaver, so I am familiar with coding etc. This storebuilder is not as flexible as dreamweaver of course, but is flexible enough to be able to build a proper site and do proper SEO etc. And for an ecommerce site, my first one, it was my best solution...

From your post, I take it that someone using a storebuilder cannot be considered a webmaster?

Back to this directory and your comment that this is a webmaster forum... isn't doing link trading, directory listings etc part of a webmaster job?

As for my use of the forum as a social networking, I thought a forum was some sort of social environment? I am a loner (I live in the jungle in a very remote area)  and just now thought I should get out there and talk to people.... I am so not a social person, so this part of your post got me laughing. And no, I am not offended by any of what you said!

OK MonkeyGirl.

Get stuck into the study of SEO on this or other reliable forums and you'll see, once again, that spending your time and effort on link exchanges is not a good use of your resources. You'll be able to find out what sort of links you would do well to chase and how you might get them.

I hope you're not going to give me cause to regret having tried to assist you. Assist you is what I was about, because I felt for you. Please don't use that as an opportunity to keep yourself one up by putting me one down.

Regards,
Laurie.

Couple of comments

1. The forum has enough problem with spam posts to have Nic jumping into another avenue for spammers to abuse. Good traffic can be gained by making input into forums and having you links in your signature.

2. Looking at my traffic stats over the weekend - recip links can be good - some sites never deliver anything, but some deliver worthwhile volumes to make the exercise worthwhile. Plus there are the spidering advantages from Google et al.

3. Site builders do allow good sites to be built - but I guess it is like the argument of Frontpage V hand coding - horses for courses in my opinion. A viable income producing site can be created using any or no tools. Its how it is presented, the quality of the copy. how people are channeled into the sales process etc that matter in the end.

Hey MonkeyGirl,

here's a recent article i read that give decent up to date info on directories and lists a few of the best ones you should consider trying to get listed in:

http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-frien … sion.shtml

This suggestion came because doing link exchange is a painful and frustrating thing...

Good to hear! It's also a fairly useless, time consuming thing, as Laurie said, so you are officially off the hook from ever doing it again!  Yippee!!!

Also I'm one of the few here who doesn't have any sites making me money, and one who is definitely not a web designer, but, even I do not want a directory, so folks can e-mail me for link exchanges, and I can see two others on this board in my niche. Like my site, and it fits in with your niche -- fee free to link with it. If your site doesn't fit in with my niche, I won't be linking back. I do check out folks' links. Don't need a directory to do that.

Laurie really did give you good advice. I think you might not understand enough of his words to understand why it's good advice. Instead of laughing, check out the related sections of the forums and related articles. (There's even a section about social networking, and it has nothing to do with urbanites versus wilderness.) Apparently, you've been stuck reading 3+ year old stuff that doesn't work much anymore. As for location -- a whole bunch of folks here from every continent (except Antartica, and maybe Greenland) -- and one of your two locations is well represented, so feel at home. Snoop all you want. We've been doing it since we've joined.

Welcome aboard.

I have no problem stopping this stupid link exchange!!!  But what controversy as to what is to do and what is not...

Now the biggest mystery for me right now is that my site is only 1 month old and i haven't done much SEO at all... My referrals of yesterday I got 3 visitors from Google organic serp where I was on page 1& 3.  Can't explain it but am happy about it! I just hope I didn't get there because I did something I wasn't supposed to.

Thanks for all the advice, and I'll be reading!

MonkeyGirl wrote:

I am a loner (I live in the jungle in a very remote area)  and just now thought I should get out there and talk to people....!

There's Jungles in Canada? Freaking weird.......

Actually, there are rain forest in Canada!

No, the jungle I live in is in Belize

TheGypsy wrote:

MonkeyGirl wrote:

I am a loner (I live in the jungle in a very remote area)  and just now thought I should get out there and talk to people....!

There's Jungles in Canada? Freaking weird.......

Nah! Boulders, beautiful scenary to watch while waiting for that largemouth or pike to decide if the bait is worth eating, lots of cedar, real Canadian bacon, good maple syrup, great beer (from what I hear), and a real assortment of characters, but no jungles. I also hear there is plenty of walleye, but won't believe it until one is caught on MY line. (Could be a while -- can't get to Canada anymore.)

Hmmm not so sure that people in Canada use the term " Canadian Bacon". To the best of my knowledge that’s a terminology mostly used in the United States. In Asia, do they call their food Chinese food?

Walleye is used in the USA, but in Canada its a Pickerel

To further hijack this thread, check out the article on pigjacking at http://www.newsweek.com/id/107592?GT1=10856