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Site Promotion – Web Directories

Web directories vary in size and scope according to their modus operandi and aim of their existence. Some will be very general and list websites across a broad range of categories, countries, languages etc. other directories will be far more specific – house selling and property for example.

Probably the most famous web directory is Yahoo – certainly, it is the company with the most commercially recognized name since Microsoft has expressed an interest in buying it. Another important directory is the Open Directory Project (OPD) that has extensive listings and offers its services for free to search engines and directories.

There have been numerous efforts over the history of the Internet to make directory access and development easier; recently, social software techniques have led to new areas of classification, with Amazon.com adding tagging to their product pages.

The listings offered by directories generally fall into a small group of types:

Free Submission – Listing by the website owner is free as is review.

Reciprocal Link – The website owner is obliged to offer a return link to the directory in order for their sites submission to be accepted

Paid Submissions – Pretty obviously, the website will either pay a one-off or recurring fee to guarantee submission

Featured Listing – Costing more – the website is given prominence over other sites in the directory. Obviously the more you pay the higher the prominence. This is a particularly effective marketing strategy in a very competitive market where listings may run into the hundreds and thousands.

Bid for Position – As above but where the prominence is decided by auction; highest bidder getting the best listing. Better than the above because it can mean you get a prime listing for a low price, worse than the above because the price can be artificially inflated and cost more than the standard commercial rate.

Affiliate links – If a sale is completed by the website following access via a link from a directory the directory is paid an affiliate fee.

The above are used primarily by the larger commercial directories to make their day-to-day maintenance more manageable. The more esoteric the directory the more likely it is to be manually edited. These directories are created and maintained by editors who admit websites and links based on the policies and direction of the directory.

Most edited directories, including the Open Directory Project, are edited by volunteers who often specialize in a particular area. Though popular, they are notable for having a couple of drawbacks: submission acceptance can be a very tardy process and there is a tendency for editors to argue amongst themselves. To rid the directories of the clique-ness that has developed many directories now use wiki software to allow for higher participatory rates and broader access. The main drawback of this though is that the standard and quality of the editorship tends to decline.

Both the professional and amateur webmaster should be using the web directories to maximise the possible exposure of their site to attract visitors and/or custom. Submission to web directories is a basic and popular SEO technique used to promote a website. It is also different to search engine processing because it is not fully automated -there is a human element to the listing process.

As a basic guide, the interested webmaster should look primarily to Yahoo and the OPD for listing unless, of course, they are in the specialized marketing area that may well preclude the larger directories. Web directory listing should be the first action carried out by the web site owner who is keen to popularise their product.

My Home-Based Business Experience of Twenty Years Shattered in One Year

In business, experience speaks loudly. Textbook theory cannot come close to the value of experience in the field. Something took place, however, when I unexpectedly added textbook learning to my experiential learning. My business will now never be the same.After doing business from my home for over twenty years, I finally decided to finish my schooling and get my college bachelors degree. In my 40s, with five children at home and a cart full of chores to do each day, I did it by studying online, late at night after the kiddies were sleeping, and on weekends.The first question a friend of mine asked me – and now I ask of it myself – “Why did you do that?” Why did I spend $25,000 for a piece of paper? Albeit, it is a gold embossed parchment with my name stroked elegantly in calligraphy, embraced in a dignified vinyl blue presentation folder that now sits poised upon my fireplace mantle. Why?My degree is in Business Administration. Everything I learned in my business classes I had already experienced in real life. Nothing was theory to me. I was studying what I had done on my own. I was studying what I had figured out over the years through the grinds and grunts of creating my own business.I felt at times, I was teaching my teachers. Though now I do understand about statistics and managerial finance, I do not yet grasp the applicability of this newly acquired knowledge in my current business. Maybe later.This is why experience speaks so loudly. Experience means much more than anything business school emphasized. All the examples in the textbooks were good critical case studies. Nonetheless, in my home-based business, I deal with real decisions made in a confluence of real-time issues.Quickly. Get the right price. Talk with the supplier. What’s going on with the late shipping this week? Our customer has changed its requirements and needs different packaging? Why is our revenue down this month? Nothing like these immediate issues that mute textbook studies. Answers in life are demanded and not graded, except by profit margin, a ruthless teacher.Okay. School did teach me something, I have to admit. The college degree has allowed me to take a macro look at my business and at some of the methods I was using. I did learn from school to look more upon my business than merely to work from within it.The main lesson, however, I learned from taking my classes online did not jump out at me suddenly. It took about a year following my graduation to look at my business approach, evaluate its efficacy, and rewire myself. Only because I was slow. Literally, I had to re-”wire” my business brain.Why it took so long? Beats me. Since I was online, maybe I had did not realize how much I had become one with my online courses. But the shift I took, I directly credit to my online schooling. I did my schooling at home, as I do everything — at home.I had taken my entire college degree program online at home and thought nothing of it. The opportunity that that provided me, to finish school despite the schedule of family and business life was so close to my past business experience, I just kept going as if nothing was different.I get it now. Everything has changed in business. The online world caught up with me. I observed that the online world had changed schooling fantastically. And, as you must be fully aware, it has changed commerce, so much so that if I am not doing business online, then I will be churned into cottage cheese soon.My business school experience taught me that I must develop my business online. That’s not what any experience told me, nor was it any class I took. All the schooling hinted at it but did not directly point to it. When my home-based business experience conjoined in my mind with my online schooling experience, a brain-shift took place.All my twenty years of experience began to be shouted down by the online opportunity before me. “Wow,” I thought. “I have got to tap into the online world for my home business.” That future is happening now.Two reasons, real quick, why I must take my home-based online: 1. It is available to everyone. Whether you are big or small, you can create just as much presence online as anybody else. 2. The market is unconfined by geography. I can go worldwide. I, the home operator, can have a huge presence and an international market. Only online can that be so readily done.For me to learn this obscurely, it was worth the fat college bill. Only wish I could have learned it sooner, via experience, as now I am online

Tops Reasons to Start a Home Based Business Franchise

For those who want to start a business from home, there are many home based franchise business options to choose from. In fact, more and more prospective investors and entrepreneurs are entering the business world with this unique franchising concept. In fact, there is plenty of home based business franchise for sale today in different categories such as business services franchise, clothing franchise, and so on. Due to the franchising concept, entrepreneurs don’t have to start a business from scratch. In fact, they need to work on a successful business model and concept. This is due to this fact; success in any popular franchise business is very high.If you get to enjoy the benefits of running a home based franchise business right from the comfort of your home, you can easily combine your career with family responsibilities. Here are some major reasons associated with this unique business concept:Personal Freedom: The most enticing aspect of buying a home based franchise business is the personal freedom you can enjoy. You can have control over how you want to spend your time and enjoy life. You will be your boss and there will be no one to order you as what to do and so on. If you are good at time management, home based business can be just the perfect solution for you as you can earn as much as possible.Enjoy financial benefits: Apart from personal freedom, there are attractive financial benefits also in a home based business franchise opportunity. As you don’t have to travel to reach your office, you can enjoy huge savings on commute time, gasoline and transportation expenses. Since you work at home, you don’t have to pay anything for rented office premises. The earning potential is directly proportional to the amount of time you are devoting to your business.Less Stress: Running a business from the comfort of your home can reduce the stress of trying to meet the demands of your work life with those of your private life. Here you can devote you time in running a business as per your convenience. Since you are the boss here, there is no office politics and deadlines imposed on you. You only need to follow the deadlines and schedules you have set for yourself to enjoy success. If you think it is necessary you can hire someone to help in your business.Increased productivity: It has been noticed that working at home help in increasing the productivity level. As you get to save time on commuting, more time available can be devoted to work. More importantly, as it is your business, the enthusiasm of doing better is always high. If operated effectively, it can be like having your cake and eating it, too.Given these benefits and more, the trend toward home-based franchise businesses is clearly just beginning. Today there are many home based business franchise for sale in the market including computer consulting, tutoring, cleaning, financial consulting, senior care, landscaping, marketing services, home décor, and so on. Choose one that suits your interest and budget and be your own boss.