Calculating a fair price for Directory Submissions
Have you ever thought about the price you have to pay to have your site listed on a directory? Is it a fair price? Is it too much? On this article we will try to find the right prices for submissions to directories according to the PR of the page the listing appears on, and in comparison to prices for text links. We are also going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of a directory listing when compared to a text link.
Lets start by providing average prices per month for text links placed sitewide or homepage only (single page only) according to PR.
| PR | Sitewide | Homepage |
| 3 | 5$ | 3$ |
| 4 | 8$ | 5$ |
| 5 | 12$ | 8$ |
| 6 | 30$ | 20$ |
We have to mention here that we will use the homepage - single page pricing, as directory listings provide the listed site with few backlinks, when a sitewide link can provide the site with more than 1,000 backlinks. So what is the outcome of a comparison between text links and directory submissions?
One thing that a text link is better than a directory listing is traffic. It drives far more traffic to the linked site as it is seen by far more people. But yet, a directory listing may send far less traffic, but we have to consider that this traffic is highly targeted, since the visitor has probably found the listing after searching for something relative to it. So it’s big traffic against small, but targeted, traffic. We don’t have stats about the exact conversion rates, so let’s call this a tie.
Second thing is the number of backlinkswe get from either kind of links. A single page link will give our site a single backlink. A directory listing will give us at least one and maybe a few more (details page, top hits, latest submissions, etc.). One point for directory listings.
Third is the number of outgoing links. Listings pages usually have more, so although it is not certain if this affects PR passed, it will certainly affect traffic. This point goes to text link.
Last but not least we have to talk about content. Content is almost absent from text links, and when it is there it consists of just a few keywords. A directory listing comes with a full, detailed, keyword rich description, something that will do great job with the SERPs, regarding the listed site.Final point goes to directory listings.
So we have cleared out that directory listings are better than single page text links, given the PR of the page, and the listing page are the same. It’s now time to calculate the right price for such listings according to what we have to pay for text links. To be more specific I have to say that we are going to calculate the price for featured listings, as they appear on pages with higher PR, and tend to stay on the same page for much longer. Prices for regular listings should be down by half.
Most of the times, when someone makes a deal with a webmaster regarding the placement of a text link for one full year, and pays up front, he is likely to get a discount of about 15% - 20%. So average prices for single page text links per year are something like that :
| PR | Price/Year |
| 3 | 30$ |
| 4 | 50$ |
| 5 | 80$ |
| 6 | 200$ |
So prices for a yearly, featured, directory listing should start at this level with a range of up to 50%, according to what is being offered by the directory. Prices for permanent featured listings can cost 50% - 100% more. We can generally say that the following table can be used as a guide.
| PR | Yearly | Permanent |
| 0 | < 10$ | < 20$ |
| 1 | 10$ - 15$ | 15$ - 30$ |
| 2 | 20$ - 30$ | 30$ - 60$ |
| 3 | 30$ - 45$ | 45$ - 90$ |
| 4 | 50$ - 75$ | 75$ - 150$ |
| 5 | 80$ - 120$ | 120$ - 240$ |
| 6 | 200$ - 250$ | 300$ - 500$ |
Of course, when making long term deals (yearly or permanent), there is a risk we have to consider, regarding the value of the links in the future. This risk is up to everyone to determine for himself. Check before you buy. If you don’t trust a directory or its owner, then don’t submit to it. Try to find directories that have already proven themselves. Of course they tend to have pricing options on the high end of our table, but the risk is smaller. Or again, try to find new, promising directories with lower prices and find a way to manage your risk. You might end up with a valuable link, bought at a very low price, making the risk worthy.
The choice is yours…
July 17th, 2007 at 7:47 am
nice article shared there. i never think to compare text links with links in directories as they both provide backlinks and are superior in one point or the other. but one main advantage in directories is as you said - traffic is targeted, no matter what the number is
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:36 am
Good exercise! And although I think the formula and conclusions could be debated by some I think it does a good job explaining the thought process a prospective advertiser should follow when evaluating options.
Couple of thoughts:
I’m a directory owner, but I think you missed a point for run of site links… views. Anyone knows that views are of value.
Annual vs permanent listings:
Unlike annual listing directories those offering permanent listings should get a couple of points because the lifetime value of a listing could far outweigh the one-time investment.
October 6th, 2007 at 3:45 am
Thank you for sharing!