A paid directory as a monetization model for your blog

I started my first blogs when I was 25 in Switzerland. For most of us (including me) it could be a significant barrier if you do not master the PHP language.
Economic model to be listed as a company.

Paid directory for blogsPhoto rights from Fotolia

My beginnings with blogs and directories on the dark side of the internet
In parallel to my activity as a blogger, I created vertical directories with my partners. These were a kind of specific yellow pages for hairdressers, electricians, psychologists, etc. We had easily set up about 30 in the same style. Given that 30% of search engine visits at that time (and it is still the same today) are regional, we thought it was a good idea.

We managed to rank well without azerbaijan phone number library much effort for long-tail keywords like “electrician Braunschweig” or “hairdresser Ilmenau”. 1 year ago there was still not much that was really technically good and bug-free. Now maybe things have changed.

If you now consider

This to be spam and that the main telegram data activity was focused on creating Made for Adsense type pages, I agree with you. The curious thing is that these directories evolved over time as companies registered every day. After a couple of months they even provided real value for the user as along with the ads there were more agb directory and more internal results that did not come from Google advertisers. Over time we decided to include a paid registration version for all those businesses that wanted to stand out from the rest and have even more visibility than Adsense ads. The surprise was that some companies started to get interested in this option and some even hired it. Our joy was only short-lived when Google detected that we were using some blackhat techniques that were not allowed and our 30 directories went down the drain.

How to create a paid vertical directory on a blog?

All this helped me a lot to learn my lessons and understand what really works in the long term. The idea of ​​the directory was good but the execution maybe not so much. Today I would change small things and combine it with the world of blogs.

Target audience and value of your paid directory

Before thinking about how to do it, you have to stop for a second to put yourself in the shoes of potential customers. It is very clear that a directory could be a source of income but if you are not clear about what it contributes, you probably will not get very far. Imagine that you have a blog that talks about beauty tips. In that case, you could be an interesting site for hairdressers, personal shoppers, spas, etc. and other related businesses since you can help them to be closer to people interested in their services. Including a link that points to the advertiser’s page would send them visits directly to their website. I would make them nofollow so that Google does not classify you as a link seller and penalize you for it.

3 ways to create a professional paid directory on a blog

I have not thoroughly investigated the “technical” creation and implementation of a directory as a section on your blog. I also do not plan to create one in the short term in case I easily find someone who can help me with the subject. You have different options to do it.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top