traffic drop when paid

Zombie · #1 (**permalink**) 03-10-2007, 06:16 PM

has anybody noticed when the have gone from a free directory to a fully paid directory, if the was a significant drop in traffic?

i wondered because i notice m0st of my traffic comes from other directorys and directory lists where i am categorized as a Free Directory. If i went paid this would change

solidghost · #2 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 05:43 AM

Do you mean drop in submissions or traffic?

sizzler_chetan · #3 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 07:44 AM

I have seen and experienced this in one of my friends directory.

It was a free directory which changed to 10$ paid one, and the first think that changed in 2 weeks was the alexa rank which dropped by a lot and also the no. of unique visitors also decreased as people mostly used to come from free directory lists and then as the directory was excluded from the list, traffic automatically decreased.

Zombie · #4 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sizzler_chetan

I have seen and experienced this in one of my friends directory.

It was a free directory which changed to 10$ paid one, and the first think that changed in 2 weeks was the alexa rank which dropped by a lot and also the no. of unique visitors also decreased as people mostly used to come from free directory lists and then as the directory was excluded from the list, traffic automatically decreased.

yes, this is what i meant. Did you find that it eventually picked up again?

TC · #5 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 09:15 AM

Being listed as a free on any directory list stands to reason why we can expect to receive an increase in traffic, so it also stands to reason that if our site gets dropped from the free directory lists there will be a noticable decrease in traffic.

If we're going to become a paid directory I suggest making a slow transition over to a full paid directory. This allows for the continued flow of traffic from the free directory lists and give the directory owner time to advertise there directory on high traffic sites to target the visitor who do not mind paying to be listed in a quality directory.

In conclusion, before making the decision to change over to a paid directory it's best to first, establish your directory as a quality directory that offers value for anyone wishing to list in it, secondly advertise your directory, you want it to become as well known as possible. However, even this doesn't guarantee success as a paid directory, but certainly will increase your chances.

Thanks,

admin

WatchOut · #6 (**permalink**) 03-12-2007, 10:15 AM

This happened to me aswell, I had launched a directory and had it running for a couple of months, and I decided to make it a paid version, cause the directory had great traffic, and I thought it would fit it better if it was a paid directory, so I changed it to paid directory for a week, I had one buyer but the traffic stats decreased a lot, so I decided it would be better off going free, again.

Kind Regards,
Meti

Kev · #7 (**permalink**) 03-13-2007, 10:13 AM

Doesn't it depend on what your in the directory game for? If your in it for profit then I'd rather have three paying visitors than a thousand non paying visitors. Traffic for vanity, money is sanity kind of thing.

The problem is that a chosen few have created this myth that free directories are SEO friendly when in reality that is the biggest load of rubbish since the beginning of PR.

imho, it will only be a matter of time before some drastic changes are seen with the masses of free directories and paid ones may just get a look in. Until then its simply a case of speculating to accumulate and invest, invest and then invest. PR=$$$

solidghost · #8 (**permalink**) 03-13-2007, 09:10 PM

Perhaps rather than relying on just the directory for traffic, have something else on your site. Like a blog? Or even a theme download site.

WatchOut · #9 (**permalink**) 03-14-2007, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kev

Doesn't it depend on what your in the directory game for? If your in it for profit then I'd rather have three paying visitors than a thousand non paying visitors. Traffic for vanity, money is sanity kind of thing.

The problem is that a chosen few have created this myth that free directories are SEO friendly when in reality that is the biggest load of rubbish since the beginning of PR.

imho, it will only be a matter of time before some drastic changes are seen with the masses of free directories and paid ones may just get a look in. Until then its simply a case of speculating to accumulate and invest, invest and then invest. PR=$$$

I can only agree with you Kevin, you are very correct if you are launcing a directory which shall make money, PR is the way to go, but if you are launching a really good directory for users, and you want them users to have the ability to add their websites for free, but as you mentioned above PR is the key to everything..

solidghost:

Yeah, I agree with you, starting something unique can help the directory grow, and hopefully be quite big at a short time period.

Thanks,
WatchOut

Zombie · #10 (**permalink**) 03-14-2007, 09:32 AM

i think most people who run a website want traffic, and i would rather have more than less