tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127742032011-07-28T18:07:50.657-04:00Find news, resources, and commentary relating to web directories and search engines.boywundahnoreply@blogger.comBlogger441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-49087169077257864402007-08-31T10:48:00.000-04:002007-08-31T10:55:54.578-04:00

Thank you for visiting. You can continued to read and participate in "The Editor's Guide to Web Directories" at its new home, located at http:/www.directoryeditor.com/.

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1142969850970582502006-03-21T14:06:00.000-05:002006-04-05T10:05:36.670-04:00

Posted yesterday in the Zealot Round Table forum was a message stating that Zeal.com is being shut down:Thank you for being a part of the Zeal community and contributing your time and knowledge to the Directory. After trying to put the deserved resources behind Zeal, we have made the conscious decision to shut down Zeal.com. On March 28, 2006 Zeal will no longer be available. We are not selling

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1140626541849729402006-02-22T11:06:00.000-05:002006-02-22T11:42:30.413-05:00

Yesterday, SEW Mod Chris Boggs added new guidelines for the "Other Search Engines and Directories" area. Thankfully, SEW wants to divert discussion of *new* directories and search engines to the BETA Test area and keep the "Other Search Engines and Directories" area for discussions about established directories and search engines.We ask that if you have a new directory or search engine, that you

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1139509465613977342006-02-09T11:25:00.000-05:002007-03-19T15:22:43.426-04:00

I was inspired to post this when I received a phone call from a fellow webmaster - stating that he read in some forum about how the apocalypse is coming for web directories. Even though I know that this does not hold true for quality directories, it still hurts when someone inadvertently classifies your directory with those that have contributed to this generalization. Quite frankly, it sucks

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1138197802752962052006-01-25T08:34:00.000-05:002006-01-25T18:06:47.603-05:00

Thanks to Threadwatch.org for tipping me off on the annual report released by the ODP's volunteer administration.The report was compiled to inform the editor community and public about the development of the ODP project in 2005. It seems that the web's most comprehensive human-edited directory grew almost 5% in the year 2005 - adding 221,552 new listings.The report also discloses the amount of

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1136914672695876742006-01-10T11:54:00.000-05:002006-01-10T12:44:46.816-05:00

When it comes to web design, I have never been one to care much about being the most fancy or even the "best looking." In fact, I tend to favor the usability of a website rather than its bells and whistles. This is partly why I never bought into Flash design.Sure, I think it's fine and maybe even cool to have a personal website designed entirely with Flash Animation but when it comes to

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1134586345970218382005-12-14T12:46:00.000-05:002005-12-14T17:00:45.526-05:00

There has been a slew of blog posts and discussion in various forums on whether or not paid links are good or bad. Much of the recent rise comes from Jeremy Zawodny's experiment on selling links from his personal blog, and from Matt Cutt's recommendations for using "nofollow" tags.Being the "high-profile" blog that it is, many feel that Jeremy is playing with fire by offering site wide text link

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1134082978610441782005-12-08T17:38:00.000-05:002005-12-08T20:31:28.920-05:00

.... to post on this blog.Two holidays have past since my last entry so it's safe to say this little web log of mine has been neglected for some time now. So much so that I have been receiving sarcastic offers from colleagues to acquire this "dormant" destination. Now-now, I still plan on throwing up a few pearls - just not as frequently as before.Anyway, a lot has happened in the past two months

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1129297929912553842005-10-14T11:10:00.000-04:002005-10-14T11:11:22.356-04:00

Since most directories only list web sites that are supported by multiple web browsers, I mainly test in IE and Firefox, since they are used by a lions share of Internet users.The other day I downloaded the Netscape Browser because a site I was reviewing wasn't supported by my default browser - FireFox. I figured it would be responsible of me to test sites in Netscape. After all, it was at one

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1128618171230143602005-10-06T14:59:00.000-04:002005-10-06T16:10:30.613-04:00

If you haven't noticed already, Yahoo! is offering answers to common questions asked by random Internet users. I found "Ask Yahoo!" featured on the Yahoo Directory index page. All questions are read by Yahoo authors and if they choose to answer a question, they will research the subject by searching the Internet and referring to appropriate areas of the Yahoo! Directory. Each answer is presented

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1127226466135051382005-09-20T10:25:00.000-04:002005-09-20T11:14:09.456-04:00

I've been asked on numerous occasions, by friends and family - "What are those 'feed' buttons on the right side of your blog?" This is a valid question for most people (even though RSS 2.0 has been available since 2002). This technology, or a form of it, will mostly likely revolutionize the way we receive our information. It has already done so for me...What is RSS Technology?RSS (which stands

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1126743513482067282005-09-15T16:29:00.000-04:002005-09-15T16:30:29.070-04:00

If you recently submitted to The ODP Directory, aka DMOZ, chances are you have not heard back from them or your submission was rejected. A thread over at WebmasterWorld was started by an Internet Marketing newbie looking for tips to get listed in DMOZ.The respondents offered a mixed bag of advice - but the gist of it is pretty much what I gathered from my own experience with submitting to the

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1126120501918515622005-09-09T12:53:00.000-04:002005-09-09T12:54:17.906-04:00

A human reviewed and edited directory should always provide unique and up-to-date descriptions for its listings. To me, the perfect description gives the user a brief overview of what the site contains and/or what the site is about. This way the reader can anticipate what information he or she will receive upon a click-through to the site. Descriptions should not include excessive keyword

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1126045343980368972005-09-06T17:38:00.000-04:002005-09-06T18:22:24.006-04:00

I read an inspiring article "On the Frontier of Search" archived by Time Magazine. It gives us some insight as to where "search" is headed and explains how we have not even begun to experience the power of this technology. Here's a taste..."You did not have time to book a hotel, your luggage has not turned up on the carousel--and the plane's air conditioning gave you a sore throat. What to do?

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1125458592179036622005-08-30T21:58:00.000-04:002005-08-31T09:58:27.936-04:00

maaan... its tough to see another directory get dropped from the Google index but it's not too surprising upon inspecting Site-Sift.com. Of course there is public speculation as to why the site has been banned - Was it the "off topic" gambling links in the footer of each page? Was it the deliberate PageRank buy on the O'Reilly Network? Or was it a lack of unique content?Odds are, it is not just

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1125012976666657122005-08-25T18:06:00.000-04:002005-08-25T20:24:28.686-04:00

Whoa, over two weeks since my last post! Things have really been heating up this summer. I remember in June, thinking this season was going to be slower and less busy than the preceding winter and spring seasons. That's hardly been the case for the Best of the Web Directory.The moment things seem to calm down is when efforts are doubled - sending new designs into development; creating more buzz

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1123280575246695952005-08-08T18:41:00.000-04:002005-08-08T18:43:14.180-04:00

Today, I added a few Yahoo RSS Feeds to my aggregator. Naturally, I like to see what new sites are sprouting up in the Web Log and Internet categories of both Yahoo and Google. It's pretty exciting to see how fast and diverse the Web Log categories have gotten in these major directories.Right now only Yahoo instantly feeds aggregators with new directory listings - which I think is an awesome

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1123083638038713502005-08-04T17:38:00.000-04:002005-11-25T11:55:48.436-05:00

I was inspired by a post from McMohan in Webmaster World, to list what I feel are the qualities of a good web directory and what webmasters and site owners should consider before submitting their web site(s). Martinibuster, a WMW Moderator, once posted that a good directory will "send traffic as well as bots." So how do we find these "good directories?" Just look for the following qualities (in

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1123020854891388082005-08-02T18:09:00.000-04:002005-08-02T18:14:14.903-04:00

I've been on a real editing tear lately which would explain my lack of posts here. I definitely enjoy helping out with the pending submission queue. It's pretty cool to see the types of websites people submit. For instance, I had no idea that selling auto parts online was such a huge market?!Editing for a web directory can be quite relaxing and educational. If it's not the content that peaks

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1121194043191604922005-07-15T22:35:00.000-04:002005-07-15T10:35:45.426-04:00

A thread over at Search Engine Watch started with tips for finding specific niche directories or categories of directories to submit to. After some good suggestions, there was a caution to "beware of bad neighborhoods."It's true that search engines use a variation of classifying good and bad neighborhoods that link to your site. A bad neighborhood is what Google, Yahoo, or any other search

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1120770115316531392005-07-07T23:40:00.000-04:002005-07-08T07:43:08.976-04:00

When submitting to a web directory, most webmasters, site owners and search engine optimizers want their listing to contain keywords in the anchor text. Most directories steer away from this type of linking because it is an unnatural way to list a resource and it isn't very user friendly.Today, there was an excellent inquiry in the Search Engine Watch Forums... "A question about directory

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1120602714636238102005-07-05T20:33:00.000-04:002005-07-05T21:16:06.530-04:00

Not likely - but a Search Engine Watch moderator seems to have general data to at least have his "theory" heard:DaveN writes: "I have been collecting quite a bit of data just recently and noticed that some WH sites got canned the only thing I can find is a large % of their IBL's are from directories..."In my opinion, that data simply indicates bad SEO. Why are a large % of IBLs from web

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1119452195838405322005-06-22T10:02:00.000-04:002005-06-22T10:56:59.036-04:00

I read in an Axandra Newsletter how Google is hiring and employing "International Agents" to check search results and rate their relevance. According to the article, these candidates will also be filtering web pages that use "unethical" search engine optimization techniques like hidden text, cloaking, keyword stuffing, etc.I like the idea of humans getting involved with the removal of search

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1119284814647378952005-06-20T11:45:00.000-04:002005-06-20T16:53:22.916-04:00

When it comes to searching, categorizing and adding web sites to a directory there are a handful of tools that can help. Here are some that I use and would absolutely recommend: Mozilla Firefox - This web browser is said to be on pace to rival Microsoft's Internet Explorer. So far it boasts more than 64 million users. One major improvement over Internet Explorer is the ability to open multiple

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1118942506627479792005-06-16T23:21:00.000-04:002005-06-16T23:23:01.186-04:00

An excellent read for understanding why Google favors websites with a more natural approach to growing inbound links AND penalizes those websites that purchase hundreds or thousands of links overnight.Here's a little sample:... what Google is trying to do is safeguard the integrity of their search results by ruling out massive overnight link purchases. We're talking thousands of links here.

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1118881430704439792005-06-15T23:58:00.000-04:002005-06-16T00:21:55.723-04:00

Interesting article from USAToday warning employees of the risks involved with blogging. Apparently some employees lost their jobs because they talked negatively about co-workers, bad-mouthed their company, and/or published information about unreleased products... well, what did they expect? You can't be doing that!Now it seems that major companies are handing out employee blogging guidelines to

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1118243875191271452005-06-08T11:01:00.000-04:002005-06-08T11:17:55.203-04:00

With the latest upgrade of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), America Online is offering a FREE Web-based email service. This is an alternative to its fee-based email service and is geared to compete with the Free email services already offered by Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft.You hear that Mom and Dad? Save yourselves the $20 per month (or whatever it is you have been spending since 1997)!!

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117861659098180592005-06-04T01:07:00.000-04:002005-06-04T01:31:38.770-04:00

Turn any iPod and iPod mini into a bumpin' boombox with Altec Lansing's new "inMotion iM7," priced at $249.95. Yea, I know it seems pricey but it is still cheaper than the Bose SoundDock ($300) and has a lot more features. It comes with a wireless remote to select songs and adjust volume, bass, and treble. The iM7 can be powered by batteries or can be plugged into a nearby outlet for AC power.

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117748122734208322005-06-02T17:21:00.000-04:002005-06-02T17:37:08.320-04:00

The anonymous GoogleGuy has organized his posts in Webmaster World, offering some insight and advice relating to the most recent search algorithm update named "Bourbon." He also touches on issues relating to the crawling of affiliate links, (301) redirects, absolute vs. relative linking, and the displaying of random description snippets listed within the Google SERPs... read on

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117722604864278482005-06-02T09:55:00.000-04:002005-06-02T10:30:04.880-04:00

Listening to the Howard Stern show this morning, Robin Quivers reported in her daily news segment that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) says that .xxx domains should be available by the end of this year. "ICANN's vote represents an abrupt turnabout from the group's earlier stance. In November 2000, the ICANN staff objected to the .xxx domain and rejected ICM

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117682559358051502005-06-01T23:22:00.000-04:002005-06-02T08:10:32.896-04:00

I was in the Huntington mall today shopping for some new summer threads and took a little detour into the Apple Store - which happens just about every time I'm in the mall. My girlfriend was commenting that her five year old Dell laptop just isn't cutting it anymore and she plans on getting a new laptop for finishing grad school. As happy iPod owners, the computers in the store have always

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117231203327307902005-05-27T16:48:00.000-04:002005-05-29T16:49:30.250-04:00

There's an interesting thread on HighRankings.com about the future of web directories with respect to search engines.A member there asks, "Given that search engines are getting smarter day by day... Are the days of web directories numbered?"I found it interesting to see that some members think directories targeted to a specific niche will retain more value than general web directories. They

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117144295385304082005-05-26T17:46:00.000-04:002005-05-26T17:51:35.386-04:00

Doh! I just realized that the link provided in my previous post went to Yahoo! Mail and not PhotoMail.The link is now correct.

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1117112936011922832005-05-26T08:35:00.000-04:002005-05-26T17:53:50.656-04:00

I definitely Yahoo! but mainly stick to GMail when I want to send photos because uploading and sending images using a basic Yahoo account is painfully slow. I personally like the way GMail features images as thumbnails but the amount of images you can send at once is of course limited - as it is with most web-based email services.However, it would appear that Yahoo is offering a small software

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1116941272157163122005-05-24T09:01:00.000-04:002005-05-24T09:27:52.186-04:00

There's a somewhat insightful thread over at the The v7 Network on why Google frown's upon link exchanges (aka 'reciprocal links').Luckily for some SEO's, there are other engines besides G$. The question is... will Yahoo! and MSN take a similar stand?

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1116902720766787852005-05-23T20:47:00.000-04:002005-05-23T22:45:20.786-04:00

By "the love," I mean link credit. The dust seems to have finally settled in a discussion over at Webmaster World regarding how Google analyzes links from paid directories. The initial post questioned why Google would give credit from a paid directory if they knew it was selling listings.It was concluded that Google doesn't necessarily give more or less link credit from a paid vs. non-paid

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1116707703459324662005-05-21T15:51:00.000-04:002005-05-21T16:35:03.473-04:00

Finally, I got my head on straight after three days of non-stop drinking and partying in Vegas. Oh man, was it fun! I won some money and then lost a lot more... caught some rays at the pool and fine-dined at Postrio in The Venetian. It was great to spend some time away from the office with the rest of the staff. We even had our top guys from Boston and Orange, Texas fly out to meet us and

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1116282040380790462005-05-16T17:51:00.000-04:002005-05-17T00:03:42.016-04:00

The execs here at BOTW, have awarded the entire company with an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas for three days and two nights - so if you happen to notice an absence in blog posts during the next few days, it is because I am living it up in "Sin City!" :)Yea - I'm leaving my laptop home (good riddance!) and looking forward to a little R and R while trying my luck at 21, Roulette, and Poker.

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1116208821693276062005-05-16T12:22:00.000-04:002006-02-18T01:52:54.993-05:00

I was reading an interesting thread over at SEW about the worth of getting listed in web directories. The majority of posts concede that directory listings provide relevant inbound links that are valuable to ranking in the search engines. If you think about it - this should make sense. Directories organize sites into relevant categories. The search engines "crawl" the directories and recognize a

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1116026476418465332005-05-13T19:14:00.000-04:002005-05-13T23:53:21.710-04:00

"You’ll see all Xbox 360 titles at 720p and 1080i resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound." full articleVisit www.xbox360.com to play some more.

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1115950824894110052005-05-12T21:32:00.000-04:002005-05-26T07:41:22.686-04:00

So I tried to get my long island princess to become an editor for BOTW. The pay is the usual fifty cents for every site added. I was happy to hear that she was interested in the gig and hoped this would give her the opportunity to earn that extra cash she often complains of not having. So we set her up with a user name and password and thought it would be a good idea to let her start with adding

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1115758126635242062005-05-10T16:48:00.000-04:002005-05-10T22:08:27.393-04:00

As an avid video gamer and fan (short for 'fanatic') of the Xbox console, I am looking forward to the un-veiling of the new Xbox 360. Microsoft is reported to release product details on MTV, this Thursday night but some have already been leaked through pictures and eyewitness accounts. Rumor has it that the Xbox 360 will be better equiped to handle multimedia functions like audio and video

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1115738453793437822005-05-10T10:44:00.000-04:002005-05-10T11:20:53.796-04:00

I've had it! I can't get any editing done with this spotty T-1 connection! Using a web-based editing application while browsing for sites to add has been unbearable as of late.It would seem that between the hours of 9 - 5, "normal business" hours, some other firm on our floor is doing something to bring the shared network to a crawl. I performed a speed check over at bandwidthplace.com and my

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12774203.post-1115677790231963012005-05-09T18:51:00.000-04:002005-05-10T10:43:24.286-04:00

With almost ten years of Internet experience, it's a surprise to some that I have never published a web log. Even though blogging hasn't really become popular since the millennium, it's most recent impact on the search engines has generated appeal to publishers around the world.When optimizing for today's search engines, experts will argue that contextually relevant links are key for pulling high

boywundahnoreply@blogger.com0