Are Blog/Feed Directories REALLY Useful?


When IGotNewsForYou’s blog launched in January, 2006 I went ahead and looked for every blog and feed directory I could find. I submitted it to a ton of them, using MasterNewMedia’s list, but there’s so many it became difficult to track where the blog got listed, and if any updates ever had to be done on the listings.

Some use voting-systems to gain more popularity, some are just plain old directories. Some try and focus on certain niches, other are regional.

Almost none of them generate any traffic.

Recently I read Easton Ellsworth’s post, The 23 Most Critical URLs Where You Should Submit Your Blog or Feed.

So I went ahead and added IGotNewsForYou’s blog to those that I had missed in my previous efforts.

Easton’s got a few important ones listed like Google and Yahoo, which certainly will generate traffic through searches (which they do for regular sites too, of course) but what about all these relative bit players?

A newer player in the blog directory game is Business Blog Directory which focuses on business and corporate blogs. There’s a couple of requirements for addition that are fairly strict, compared to most of the other blog/feed directory sites, including a minimum of three months worth of postings.

Business Blog Directory has generated some traffic, which is a great sign. The stricter entry terms should help maximize the quality of the directory, which I think is where most directories tend to fail – there’s just too much noise.

One of the guys running it, Christian, has been very responsive to my questions and also runs a blog about blogging, marketing, etc. at iBlogMarketing.com which is a great way for him to become a part of the community he’s helping foster.

I’m abstaining at the moment on voting whether blog/feed directories really do help generate traffic (and quality traffic at that!) … but others may have had a different experience. Let me know what you think.

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July 28, 2006 Posted in Blogging by

About Ben Yoskovitz
I recently joined GoInstant as VP Product. GoInstant changes how we use the web, making it shareable like never before.

I'm also a Founding Partner at Year One Labs, an early stage accelerator in Montreal. Previously I founded Standout Jobs (and sold it). I'm a hands-on startup guy, helping companies grow successfully from the idea forward. You can reach me at byosko at gmail dot com.

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