I’ve had a few directories over time but part of this years changes involved converting a dozen or so single page affiliate sites over to web directories utilizing a link directory software application. My goal was to try to use the platform as link exchange tools for the site and also as a way to generate some fresh content through new site submissions.
I took a look at many different packages and ended up selecting WSNlinks.com for a few reasons. First and foremost I chose WSNlinks for the robust tools and features available in their paid directory script. They offer a free directory script but I was looking for a little bit more in a link directory script for these sites and WSNlinks fit the bill. The script was well written from a users point of view. The admin tools are quick and easy to access and you can customize almost every aspect of the directory. WSNlinks is perfect for people looking for a quality SEO friendly directory script with more bang for the buck then any other in my opinion. I’ll spare you the run down but there are a lot of scripts and I tried the top ten I think and WSNlinks is my choice for the better tool to manage multiple sites with.
For SEO purposes you can’t beat this script for site enhancement and management tools. The built in HTACCESS and modrewrite takes care of SEO friendly url’s’ and there are more tools for setting these sites up then I found in any other script at the price point. Even the free version lets you do some cool stuff like set who can submit links and categories but the advanced features in this make it my favorite directory script.
The Sponsor level paid links directory is very cool but my favorite part was the DMOZ importer which allowed me to suck down a category navigational structure based on the webs leading directory and build each site in a matter of minutes when compared to the days it may have taken me in the past with our tools. The DMOZ importer in conjunction with the Tulip JAR file allows me to select whether I want to import just the category structure or if i also want to import the links from DMOZ as well. If you want to kick start a new directory then the DMOZ import is the way to go. You can have a brand new directory up and running from a clean install in minutes once you’ve done one the first time. First time installation and total configuration was very easy and the customization options will have you fiddling around with settings for a long time.
WSNlinks offers a private message system, comments and various levels of users permissions to allow you to set just what members can or can’t do. This script also offers a very unique tool in the Integration Generator which will help you configure your site to work with a large list of other scripts. In one case we took the WSNlinks directory script and integrated it with a PHPBB forums allowing users to cruise from the link directory to the forums under one login. The features we’re very well received in the forums and we have had a great participation across both sides of the site. Integration is not for every site but tying the forum to the directory was a very desirable feature on a portion of our network and has worked out very well.
I was able to take domains with less then 3 pages on average to each site and with the help of these SEO friendly directories no have 1000’s of pages of cached content on Google servers and a big boost in traffic with the introduction of so many new keywords. The domains I used had existing PR value and I was able to boost sales of links by increasing the number of indexed pages to sell links on. I integrated the CARP RSS feed system from GeckoTribe and have the beginnings of my own CMS system. I’m considering a new version with a Wordpress blog integrated but the trouble lies in making it sync with WSNlinks logins properly. There are some issues with password formats outside or my skill set I am working on my but I think I can get it to happen. I’ll showcase my work on that in later posts possibly.
A healthy directory program is an important part of the Index MAX network of sites and should be a consideration for all network managers. Directory scripts like this make better sense to me for use as domain holders then landing pages.Even if it’s a lower grade content you can still get more indexed page then by parking domains at your registrar.
I suggest you test drive the demo at WSNlinks.com when you want to setup some directories.
Tags: Affordable Web, Directories, PHP, SEO
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