Free Directory Listings Gets A New Look and more...

Hello all,

Here's a list of updated features and additions in the resources section:

• Free Directory Listings Gets A New Look
• More Free Directory Listings and Updates
• Switching CSS Style Sheets Dependent on Screen Size with JavaScript

Free Directory Listings Gets a New Look:

I have streamlined the listing format by including a table, for each entry, that lists the main points, so you can view them at a glance. This table lists: Is a reciprocal link required?; type of link (static or redirected); Google PageRank of directory's home page; is registration required; and the inclusion timeframe (either actual or stated on the site). I still include a short review of each directory.

More Free Directory Listings and Updates:

I have added and reviewed 7 new directories in the last week or so. I have also updated the submission progress status on a daily basis. I am using a new list of directories from the great folks at http://info.vilesilencer.com/. They offer a downloadable Excel file containing the directory URL, the PageRank, and include some user defined fields for your own use. This is a great list for future reference. Remember to use some restraint in your link building program. The search engines, especially Google, are thought to flag "un-natural" patterns in areas such as this.

Switching CSS Style Sheets Dependent on Screen Size with JavaScript:

A visitor asked me how adapt their CSS design for different screen resolutions and I knew that I had seen JavaScripts on the internet, but I couldn't remember where they were. So I turned to my trusty helper, Google, and searched until I found several. Most of them were published in various forums and the information was less than complete. I finally found one that looked promising, but it had a few problems too. I posted to the forum where I found the script and the great folks tek-tips.com helped me get it sorted out. I have posted it in the CSS Tips and Tricks section.

As a word of warning, to those of you that get some of your information from forum posts, be careful what you believe and from whom you take advise. Always test what you read in a controlled environment. Some information is incorrect and often incomplete. Since I'm not much of programmer (I hire a great colleague when I need one for projects), I thoroughly tested the JavaScript and method before I posted it for public viewing.

That's it for this post! By the way, as I said I would, I have added a mailing list form to my blog, so you can subscribe to my mailing list. If you want to know when I post something new here, use the bloglet subscription feature or grab one of the XML/Atom feeds in the side bar.

As always, feel free to comment below or send me an email by clicking on my name.

martin

Clickin' It Rich, Free Directory Listings Updates and CSS Tricks

Hello all,

Things are starting to hop around here. I have added some additional items to my resources section:

• Initial review of Clickin' It Rich - an excellent affiliate training system
• New additions to the Free Directory Listings
• Updated reviews of the submission process time-frame (Free Directory Listings)
• CSS Tricks and Tips section

Clickin' It Rich - Affiliate Training System:

I have been thinking about getting involved in the affiliate marketing boom, so I turned to one of my most trusted advisers, John Alexander, the Word Tracker guru and co-founder of the Search Engine Workshops. He recommended Clickin' It Rich, as the must have primer on affiliate marketing.

It is easy to purchase online, and if you buy it soon, it comes complete with some great extras. I read the entire eBook and the bonuses in just two sessions (couldn't put it down). This is an in depth, but easy to understand, step by step guide to getting started in affiliate marketing in as little as five hours.

Authored by one of the premier affiliate marketing experts, Michael Campbell, this system teaches you everything you need to know get a home based, online business up and running fast.

Click here to find out more.

Free Directory Listings:

I have added a few more directories to the list. I'm following the best practices approach to link building and taking it slow, so the process appears natural. I updated my reviews of the submission process, so you will know how long it really takes to get a listing. I have found out what the site claims as the submission time and what actually happens, is two different things with several of the directories.

Following up on the wikidweb.com, the wiki directory of the web, I have become a volunteer editor to help this directory live up to it's potential as a wonderful community resource.

CSS Tricks and Tips:

This is a new addition to the resource section, where I will post tricks and tips in response to your questions and ones that I think will be helpful to you.

My first question came from a website owner in Canada who wanted to use the H heading tags "inline" in a sentence without having a line break, which is the normal way a heading tag is displayed. He also wanted to overcome the large blocky font that you usually see. Thanks to the help of some of the great CSS resources on the web, I was able to find a way to do this with CSS.

Check out the code and an example here.

That's it for now! Thanks for visiting and remember you can subscribe to my blog via the RSS/XML/Atom feeds at the top right on the page or via bloglet.com, who will send you an email when I post to the blog. Remember to sign up for my newsletter on any of the pages on the site (note: I will be adding a newsletter subscription box to the blog pages just as soon as I get some time....so much to do and never enough time).

Please feel free to comment by clicking on the comment tag below or emailing me by clicking on my name. Until next time, take care and enjoy Saint Patrick's Day!

martin

Free Directory Listings follow up and Wikidweb Directory

Updated for wikidweb information: (03/12/05 18:36 EST)

Sorry to take so long between posts. My main computer died and I had to get a new one. I'm glad to get a new one, but changing everything over is a real pain!!!

Now on to site updates.

I have been adding directories and reviews to the Free Directory Listings page. I have found that most of the directories take quite a bit longer, for submissions to appear, than their stated inclusion time frame. I have also noticed that not all the directories have true static links, some use redirects and some are using the "nofollow" attribute. This obviously diminishes their effectiveness for link popularity purposes. I will be updating my reviews to reflect this type of information. I am also working on a new review format that is easier to understand "at a glance". More on this later.

Wikidweb Directory

Wikidweb - "Wiki Directory of the Web" is a brand new wiki driven directory that is very interesting and well worth watching to see how it develops. While the potential for spam is great, they claim to have anti-spam measures in place.

A wiki, for those of you aren't familiar with them, is a collaborative website where users can add to and edit the content. Wikipedia is probably the most well known project on the net. Here is their definition of wiki.

Wikidweb allows users to add new listings and edit already established submissions. I added a listing for webseodesign with only minor difficulty. To get your listing in the correct category, you have to read the editing help section to find the wiki code. I could not find, on their site, how to add a new category or sub-category. Their existing directory structure is quite sparse. This might pose a problem for anyone that is not technically inclined. I posted a "discussion" note on the site owners user profile, as I could not find any contact info (I really hate when they don't include that).

I then tried to add an established client's site and although the submission posted, it did not contain a live link because "the site was not on the white list". Apparently their anti spam mechanism works from a list of approved sites, rather than a "black list" of banned sites. This doesn't make a lot of sense, as to why it accepted one listing and not another. (see update below) The only difference was the client's site is a .us domain and mine is a .com. I will follow up on these inconsistencies when I make contact with someone at their site. There is a thread at SearchEngineWatch, that was started by the site's owner, in which I will ask for clarification.

When I was looking at the source code of the page I submitted, I noticed they are using the "nofollow" attribute, which makes this directory useless for build link popularity, but might generate some visitor traffic.

All in all, I think this is an interesting idea and I will add to my review as new information is available.

(added later)After some dialogue with the site's owner, I figured out the category/sub category part and the owner also straighten out my client's site submission problem. Their category matrix structure is very unique. The lack of a category was my error, as was the way I edited my link that caused the "nofollow" attribute to be added. I am going to try out somemore things on the site, including helping to add some input to their help system. I also found the contact information. This site needs some more help information, but I think it is an interesting project.

That's it for now and as always your comments are welcome and you can contact me by clicking on my name.

martin