If I was To Start An Article Directory Or Content Site....

1. 69

   waynetposted 15 years ago

   What would be the main features of interest for new members?
   
   I mean it would obviously have to be user friendly and free to use like other content sites, but what do you suppose are the top things that new members would want?

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      skjnkjposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      well it depends on work. A content site may also work fine for you if you worked properly. But I think Article Directory will be easy option rather than Valued content site.

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      1. 69

         waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I think there will be a probability of it being an article directory though, as this just sounds more better to start off.
         
         Cheers Now!

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   2. 73

      livewithrichardposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I started my directory at 411article.com and created categories for hubbers to add a complementary piece for their hubs in order to get a backlink. 
      
      Most directories request that your articles be at least 500 words but I lowered my requirements to just 200 words.  I may change that down the road when it gains in popularity but for now, the main reason for authors to contribute to article directories is to get a backlink.  I discuss that in my new hub.
      
      Hubbers cant send their hubs off to article directories because it will harm their chances of earning adsense here on HP, so creating a short complementary piece is a great alternative.
      
      I found the best script available for an article directory and it's listed on my sites homepage.  The great thing about it is that it's open source and easy to edit and comes with great support.
      
      For hubbers and others that are in revenue sharing sites, duplicate content is harmful, but duplicate content on my site will only harm me.  I'm allowing it for a short time, maybe 90 days or so, just to get the site populated, but my script has a dupe content checker and I review everything that is submitted personally to make sure that illegal stuff isn't slipped in.
      
      It takes a lot of work so if you are considering a directory of your own, check out my site and see if you like it.

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      1. 69

         waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Richard!
         
         I have already selected my article script and have planned out certain features to pay someone to add, your article directory looks very good and I can see myself starting this up with minimal cost too, so that's a bonus!
         
         Thanks everyone else and yes spam control Maddie is one of my top priorities....
         
         Now anything else?

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         1. 73

            livewithrichardposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            You're welcome.  My site is 2 months old, it has an Alexa ranking now and is still a PR0.  It has over 8500 articles and 1700 authors.  The traffic is building too.
            
            I built my directory specifically to allow authors to get backlinks. If you think publishing the same article in hundreds of different directories wont work, then go to my site, choose any article, copy the title and search it in "" on Google.  See how many come up.  Not only are they indexed, they count for a backlink.
            
            I'm backlinking the site as often as I can.  It will never be like ezine or any of the other biggies, but then it wasn't designed to be either.
            
            When you build your site, check out the forums at digital point.  There are some good workers there that can do certain quality jobs for you real cheap, like banners and logo's and tips for backlinks.  Try scriptlance.com too for more programming types of help.  You can find pros there that can build your spam controls or just about any modifications you need to your script.

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   3. 57

      tjthudium1996posted 15 years agoin reply to this

      use blogpspot, and use a google costum search, i do that and it works extraordinary well. get your templates from finalsense.com they work great. hope that helps

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2. 55

   Dame Scribeposted 15 years ago

   I would suggest don't let it be a eyesore, easy to navigate, and fast to load jus some ideas

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   1. 69

      waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Yes that would be my main priority, although a good design will come later on down the road...I could make sure that it looks tidy until a budget requires a professional design. Thanks!

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3. 55

   Dame Scribeposted 15 years ago

   Give it a *Power* name too

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4. 69

   Maddie Ruudposted 15 years ago

   Spam controls.

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   1. 73

      livewithrichardposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      sorry I didnt think it was too spammy, should I remove the title to my site?

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      1. 69

         Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         No no no!  I was saying, as a suggestion to Wayne for his site, that he incorporate spam controls.

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         1. 73

            livewithrichardposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            lol okay, yes that is a good suggestion.  The site and script I use allows the site owner to control if HTML is allowed in the body of an article.  Some are allowed in the authors resource box.

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         Uninvited Writerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         No, I think she was saying she would ensure her site had spam controls...

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5. 60

   Ambitionposted 15 years ago

   when i go to your site ( she told me)
   i was searching for categories and don't find them and when i entered again then with some effort i find them. Your categories are hidden behind this blue color combination.
   So, you can think about color combination.

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   1. 71

      AEvansposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      So what are you saying is shetoldme belongs to live Richard?

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   2. 69

      waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry there, that isn't my site, it's just one that anyone can join to increase their backlinks....

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         Ambitionposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         whats ur site
         
         don't include dot com

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         1. 69

            waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            It doesn't exist yet!!
            
            I was gathering feedback for my article directory project!!

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6. 60

   Ambitionposted 15 years ago

   no i am commenting to waynet's she told me.
   
   how you related my comment to live richard

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   1. 71

      AEvansposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Ibelieve it was the way you stated it, "When I got to your site (shetoldme)" the way it was worded sounded like it was his site and youwere explaining to the third party what you do not like about it.
      I am on shetoldme and I have to admit that the layout is a little messy but I am certain that in due time the site will have been formatted much better.

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7. 68

   JohnnyComeLatelyposted 15 years ago

   How will the articles rank in Google?  That's the main issue.  I think that probably relates to your ability to weed out the spammy stuff, something Hub Pages doesn't always do a good job of.  Then again, ezinearticles are spammy almost by definition, and they rank quite well.

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   1. 69

      waynetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Ways of spamming are also becoming far more sophisticated and technical, so I guess I would have to get some great spam detection software that will handle all of that and something that gets upgraded every now and then!
      
      I suppose I would have to set a limit on the word count, that would eliminate some spammers for each article submission....cheers JCL!!

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8. 47

   johnr54posted 15 years ago

   Here's what I look for in an article directory.
   
   - Followed links in resource box
   - Articles are cross linked so they stay in the Google index (I don't have to send links to them to keep them in the index) (Take a look at the sites with big traffic - Hubpages, Ezines, Buzzle, Articlesbase they all do this) - I can tell by looking at an article page and the number of cross links whether or not a site has any decent traffic.
   - Human review to keep the spun crap/ duplicate content out
   - Author RSS feed so I can promote my articles with ease
   - Back links to the site that proof the site owner wants to build PR and traffic
   - Easy re-publishing of articles
   
   Revenue sharing is nice, but not necessary.  Paid option to distribute the article would be a nice option.  iSnare seems to be stumbling these days, an option to them would be nice.  Articlesbase gets them to a small distribution list for free.
   
   There's other things you can do but just doing that would put you above the crowd.

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