The Benefits of Being Listed in a Web Directory like jasminedirectory.com

In theory, there are two main benefits of being listed in business web directory:

1. Increased link-popularity due to a one-way link from a highly-respected resource.
2. Increased traffic due to being listed in a directory that is searched by many people every day.

In reality though, these benefits are directly related to how popular the directory is itself, and how much money you have paid for your listing. Of course, if the link is for free, there is nothing to worry about.

There are thousands of FREE website directories on the internet!


But if you are paying for submission, you need to know some very important facts.
Link Popularity

As far as link-popularity is concerned, you need to factor in several variables:

1. The Page Rank of the directory

2. The Page Rank of the category page on which you are listed

3. Where you are listed on the page

4. The number of competing websites on that page

Where directories win out is the fact that are free or only require a one-time fee. In contrast, authority sites (or most websites with a Page Rank greater than 5 or 6) tend to use text links as a source fo revenue, and thus charge monthly fees. A directory listing then becomes a much better option (but only for link popularity).
More Traffic

Directory listings are also used as traffic building opportunities. How this works is that many directories are searchable for their visitors, so that users can look for information. In theory this is great – you can get lifetime traffic for just a nominal payment, but you should not expect a sudden deluge of traffic from just one directory listing. Here’s why:

Most directories, apart from the top twenty or so, are usually used for link-building and not pure searching. This means that while people may use GoGuides or Yahoo for regular searches, you should expect that the smaller directories are mainly for link-popularity, and plan your investment as such.

Many directories offer listings based on an alphabetical ordering, or a first-come, first-serve ordering. In both cases, your website has quite a big chance of being lost out in the noise.

Directory-search algorithms differ greatly. Some directories, like JoeAnt, base their search on keyword relevancy (which makes it more of an exercise of stuffing your directory listing with keywords rather than making a good website), while others take a more “editorial” approach by factoring in editor ratings. And still, many directories display sponsored listings first, reinforcing the adage that even on the Internet, it’s your advertising budget that talks, and not necessarily the quality of your website.

After you factor in the above points, you realize that there are only a handful of web directories where it is a definite benefit to “pay” to be listed. And even then, you cannot just rely on just being listed – sponsor listings get much more exposure. But before we discuss these dozen or so web directories, I’d like to tell you how you can make sure your website is accepted. business web directory

How to Find Affiliate Programs

By A List, I simply mean trusted and well recognized, not that the experience with them will necessarily warrant such praise. ;-) 

On my latest post about avoiding affiliate marketing scams, a commenter named Chance Hoggan asked the following question in the comments:

“Where would you recommended people go to find affiliate products to promote?”

Since this was also brought up on the Sugarrae fan page on Facebook when I asked what topics people wanted more information on, I figured I’d try and give some advice on the topic.

“A List” Affiliate Networks

A List affiliate networks are typically large and often secure relationships with the largest brands.
So if you’re looking to be an affiliate for a product produced by a “household brand name” you’re most likely to find the program being run through an A List network. A List networks include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Commission Junction
• Linkshare
• Shareasale
• Google Affiliate Network (not to be confused with Google Adsense)
• Pepperjam Network

The pros of using an A List network is that they have the big name companies, they have a long standing of history of being “good for the money” and they offer management to companies who otherwise wouldn’t know what they’re doing. A List networks also typically will offer up merchant data feeds for affiliate use (with some conditions.)
The cons are that you’re unlikely to get any “custom attention” unless you’re a huge affiliate, they don’t always (appear to anyway) have the affiliates best interests at heart when it comes to their big brand partners and not all the in house managers they hire are good at what they do. Additionally, you’re more likely to find “selective merchants” using bigger networks, so if you’re a smaller affiliate or have yet to build a site for the programs you’re applying for, you may find getting approved for those programs to be more difficult than via the other ways to find affiliate programs listed below. They also usually take a bit longer to pay (smaller networks tend to pay every two weeks to give themselves an advantage when pitted against the bigger networks.
Additionally, the networks (rightfully so) take a cut for managing the payment of affiliates and for bringing affiliates to advertisers so that they don’t necessarily have to go out and look for them. Because they’re big name, with TONS of affiliates, they’re able to draw larger fees and commissions from their merchants – which can impact what the merchant has leftover to pay out as affiliate commission.

e-Product Networks

These are networks that specialize in offering electronic products that are downloaded rather than shipped. Think e-Books like Traffic and Trust or paid WordPress plugins like Eclipse Link Cloaker. e-Product networks include (but are certainly not limited to):

• Clickbank
• e-Junkie
• Avangate
• White Paper Source

One of the bigger issues with using these kind of networks to *find* products to promote is that they’re often filled with a ton of crap and a few legitimate, awesome products. It’s like looking for a proverbial needle in a haystack. And I’m definitely not saying it’s their fault people write and (somehow successfully) promote crap. Additionally, you really have no way to know which products are any good without reviewing a copy for yourself. Unless you have a big enough “brand” to send an email and get a free copy, that can become expensive fast.
As an affiliate, I love *using* Clickbank as a network when products I like are using them to manage their affiliate program, but I don’t like using them to attempt to find new programs to promote.

Secondary Affiliate Networks

Secondary affiliate networks are basically smaller versions of the A-List networks… often with smaller brands (and in my experience, many times much less “quality brands”) than their A List counterparts. In other words, you’re more likely to find the latest diet pill fad making all sorts of outrageous claims being promoted through these kinds of networks than the bigger networks listed above.
Additionally, while some of the secondary networks at least have a reputation for always paying and standing by the affiliate in cases where merchants try and pull some shady dealings, many disappear almost as quickly as they hit the scene – sometimes with money owed to you in their pockets. However, when they do pay, they often pay more frequently and offer more methods of payment than their A-List competition. They also tend to charge smaller fees to the merchants, giving more wiggle room to pay affiliate commissions.
Because my sites tend to target larger niches (where “large brands” are what suits my affiliate needs) and because I’ve been burned before by working with smaller networks that have closed down without paying me the full amount owed, I tend to avoid them, so I don’t really have a list to give of them to give you. But a quick search on Google for affiliate networks should be able to help anyone really interested out.
To be clear, I’m not saying they should never be used. I’m simply saying they should be used with caution and check reviews of the networks before signing up.

Indie Affiliate Programs

Indie (or Indy, hell if I know which spelling is correct) is short for Independent. Indie affiliate programs are programs that are run in-house. They don’t use networks and instead are run by a merchant who uses an affiliate software like MYAP to manage the technical aspect of the program while they handle the financial and promotional aspects of the program. Indie affiliate programs may or may not outsource the management of their program professional affiliate program managers.
The good thing from an affiliate standpoint about Indie programs is that because they aren’t paying network usage fees and per sale commissions to a middle man (AKA a network), they often have better payouts for an affiliate. However, if the program isn’t managed by someone with experience, they can also lack good creatives, deep linking and datafeeds.
To top if off, whether or not you’ll actually get paid is pretty much a “wait and see” without a network forcing them to keep funds in an account so the affiliate knows that they’ll get paid.
That said, I personally prefer Indie programs, when run well, whenever possible. If they have a successful program, they’re usually much more attentive to making sure you get the creatives/tools you need to sell their product and are much more open to feedback. The (typically) higher commissions don’t hurt either.
However, on the flip side, if the program isn’t a “big earner” or focus for them, even getting approved can take some time.
The biggest problem when it comes to Indie programs is usually finding them. Try using some of the following search terms below:

• [keyword] affiliate program
• [keyword] “become an affiliate”
• [keyword] affiliate
• [keyword] associates program
• [keyword] “become an associate”

Additionally, you can look at the top ranking sites for [keyword] and check the footers (the most common place you’ll find links to affiliate programs on a merchant site) for links to “Affiliates” or “Associates” pages. If they rank well, they probably get the web “game” and are more likely to have an affiliate program.

Promote What You Already Love

Cliche. But true. If there are products you love – be they e-books, hosting providers, cloud computing services, shopping cart software, physical products… whatever you use and love – check their sites and see if they offer an affiliate program. Nothing will sell quicker than something you can honestly and truthfully endorse, especially if you’re a blogger.
I love the Thesis Theme, Raven Tools, Netwisp Hosting, Eclipse Link Cloaker, Gravity Forms, Traffic and Trust, Crazy Egg and various books from Amazon like The Dip and the E-Myth Revisisted (among a ton of other things.)
Luckily for me, about 80% of those products have affiliate programs. I recommend them all regardless – frequently – but why *not* earn off recommendations I’m making anyway if at all possible?

Look To Your Competition

You can check out blogs or sites that are similar to yours and find applicable affiliate programs that way as well. Check out what products your fellow bloggers or niche competitors are promoting, look for an “affiliates” or “associates program for them and if you find one, try the product (if applicable) and if you like it? Promote it!

Affiliate Program Directories

Honestly, I’m really not sure of the point of these anymore. Way back in the day, before search was awesome, there were sites dedicated to finding affiliate programs from all of the sources above and listing them, directory style, by category.
In my experience, most of the ones I come across seem to have not been updated since they were built a decade ago. I usually find a ton of dead links and defunct (no longer offered) programs when I do attempt to use them. I don’t have one I can recommend using so I’d suggest you stick to “pounding the pavement” to find merchants via the methods above.

-By Rae Hoffman-Dolan