Paid Directories Reviews Added - GoGuides & Greenstalk

Back in June I created a paid directory listings area to house the directories that switched from free to paid only. It was pretty much just a holding area for directories I didn't want to just trash after spending time to research and review them.

As my web business matures and I can afford to spend some money on promotion, I decided to submit to some paid directories for added exposure. Just as I did when I started with listing in free directories, I am reviewing them as I go.

I started with a list of directories that Google is supposed to consider important, and also looked at one of the free directories that recently changed to paid only.

GoGuides.org is a high quality human edited directory (formerly the directory portion from go.com, formerly infoseek (my old favorite search engine - circa 1998)). They are quite strict about complying with their editorial guidelines, which helps to keep the quality high and thus they are trusted more by the search engines. They offer two submission options, see my directory review for more details. I was just approved as a GoGuides Submission Specialist, so I can now offer instant listings to my clients (I can't just submit sites, I have to provide other services).

Greenstalk.com didn't appear to be a really great directory when I first reviewed it as a free directory. Plus, they did not list me for free. When they switched to paid only, I looked and noticed that most of the listing pages had PageRank and not too many listings, so I thought I would list my site for a $9 one time fee. They give you one main link and description, plus four other text links to special pages.

When I clicked on the pay button, I was surprised to see an option to submit to 9 other directories as well for $49.95 total (this doesn't appear anywhere on the site). I was suspicious at first, but after a quick check of the other directories, they seemed to be a pretty good deal. I am waiting to see how they show up as back links.

I will continue to review paid directories in addition to my free directory listings to help you to promote your sites and improve your rankings.

As always, I would like to hear your experiences with any directories. Comment below or email me by clicking on my name.

martin