How to Start An Article Directory Geared for Success

By Donna Knight

Maybe you’ve heard that an article directory can make a killing in affilite or Google Adsense income, but there are some more things you need to know when you start yours.

Here are the first basic steps involved in starting your own article directory: 1) Get an article directory script. 2) Buy a good domain name that gives some indication of what your site is about. 3) Buy hosting for it. 4) Set the script up or get someone else to set it up if you don’t know how to set up scripts.

Obviously an article directory script won’t do you any good if you don’t do anything with it. The number one internet business killer is lack of action. You would be amazed at how many people buy everything they need to start an online business and then do absolutely nothing with it.

Once the site is all set up, your next step is to get traffic to the site. Here are some more things you need to do to draw traffic:

1. An empty directory never did anybody any good. The first thing you need to do to get some traffic to your new directory is put some articles in it. No one wants to submit to an empty directory. There are plenty of article directories out there with free reprint articles. With all the other article directories out there that you can use as a source of articles, there’s no excuse for your directory to be empty.

I don’t recommend buying an article directory script that has articles already in it. You do not want your directory to look like everyone else’s with the same articles.

Consider starting an article directory geared towards a niche. That way you won’t be competing with other article directories for traffic. Everyone knows that niche marketing can be more profitable than catering to an untargeted market, and this applies to article directories, as well.

2. Don’t be the only author on your site. Start your directory out with articles from other authors. Then you can add your own articles to your heart’s content. The exception to the rule would be if this is a site where you’ve specifically stated up front that the purpose is to showcase your own work, but you welcome other authors to submit their work as well.

3. Keep your directory backed up. Web servers are more stable than personal computers, but they’re not perfect. Data corruption and hard drive failures on web servers happen very rarely, but they do happen. Many web hosting companies do backups but some charge you to restore from the backup. When choosing a article directory script, choose one with built-in back-up capabilities or choose a web host that makes backing up your site very easy, such as Cpanel hosting.

4. Submit your own articles to other article sites with a link to your own article directory in the resource box. Keep in mind that if you are submitting ghostwritten or private label articles to your own directory, you cannot submit these articles to other sites unless they are significantly modified–I’m talking 75% or more. Yes, that’s right! You may need to write a few articles of your own. This is not a big deal. If you have private label articles, you can use these to get plenty of ideas to write your own articles.

Submit your article directory to the major search engines, including Google, Yahoo, and other high traffic search engines. Don’t pay anyone to submit your site (unless you’ve got money to throw away). You can do this yourself for free.

5. Syndicate it – Be sure to buy an article directory script with RSS capabilities built in so that web content publishers can link to your site for fresh content for their own websites. One key to continuous traffic is to update your content regularly. Syndication is a great way for your updated content to get re-published over and over again. Search engines love syndicated content.

6. Don’t stop! To keep your site alive you need to either constantly add new articles or constantly promote your site or preferably both.

One mistake I see lots of article directory sites making is that their target market consists of article authors and content seekers. Of course you need authors, but think about it. Are authors really going to click on ads on your site? The people who are most likely to click on ads are people seeking information. Authors come to your site to get visibility for their work, not to buy something. Information seekers are frequently potential buyers doing research before they choose to take out their wallet. Market your directory to information seekers as well as authors and webmasters.

Give visitors to your new site something useful to start with and your traffic will grow from there, along with your profits.
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Donna Knight is a Computer Trainer and Website Promotion Specialist. She has built over 250 websites and helps new site owners promote their site cheaply. For tips that will help you save money and save time when marketing online, visit her Internet Marketing Tools and Reviews blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com. Copyright (C) 2006 Donna Knight.