Bid directories have many benefits and have become popular with web site owners due to the considerable direct traffic and exposure provided.  Listed below are some tips to help bid directory owners maximize revenue, benefit for web site owners, and convenience for submitters.

• Include categories in your bid directory.  The initial version of the most commonly used bid directory script did not include the option for categories.  The alphabetical categorization method provides a very poor experience for visitors that might otherwise browse the listings.  It does not provide any meaningful categorization.  This is a vital element for anyone other than those bidding to the top, and now that options are widely available for bid directory categories, there should not be any reason for using the alphabetical system exclusively.  An important consideration to remember is that, even though there is significant benefit for doing so,  not everyone is interested in bidding to the top of a bid directory, and would be happy with a decent-position, valuable category listing.  However, if there is no true categorization, the link becomes much less valuable.  In fact, when submitting the Alive Directory Blog, top placement on the homepage was not an interest. Placement on the first page for the Blogs category was the goal.  If there was not a Blogs category, a submission was not made.
• Don’t make submitters enter the bid amount more than once.  Since the script version update that implemented categories, the behavior of the most commonly used bid directory script forces submitters to enter the bid amount on two pages.  Not only is this inconvenient, but the submitter may not enter the same amount the second time around.  This issue will likely be addressed in a future version update.  However, there’s a tweak available to address it in the mean-time.
• Minimize the pages it takes for submitters to complete the submission process.  Bid directory submission should be as quick and painless as possible.  The more convenient it is for the submission to be processed, the more likely you are to receive more submissions and increases.
• Use a custom template or quality free template.  Using the default script template gives the impression that you do not care about the directory very much or are only trying to make the "quick buck".  It’s perception, of course, but trust is very important for web directories (especially bid directories), and anything you can do to increase the trust in your directory should be a goal.
• Don’t manipulate bids.  This has been said before, but it is important enough to say again.  Manipulating bids in any way, including doubling the bid amount as a promotion or "submit to a certain site, and receive a bid", etc., brings into question the fairness and trust of your bid directory, and bid directories in general.
• Implement tweaks to make the directory’s submission process more familiar to submitters.  The more consistent the submission process is to other directories submitters are "used to", the better.   Tweaks such as current category pre-selection on the submit page, standard multi-line description fields, etc.  will produce better results for the quality of your directory (fewer mistakes), and therefore less work for you in making corrections.
• While manual review of initial submissions is highly recommended (either before listing at all or soon after automatic listing), bid increases for already listed sites should take immediate effect.  This is very important for maximizing revenue from your bid directory, and adds convenience for submitters.
• Make it easy for submitters to find the submit link.  Although it is very nice to have a submit link that blends into the directory’s interface, it can be more difficult for users to locate it while speedily looking to submit.  In this case, it may be useful to add an additional submit link elsewhere that would be more visible to everyone.  The last thing you want to do is frustrate customers.  Ensure the submit link actually contains the text submit, add, or similar.
• Add tweaks to make your bid directory unique, such as banners on detail pages, deep links, etc.  Anything to make your bid directory more beneficial for web site owners is a plus.
• If you provide description fields for deep links, ensure that they are not required fields.  This requirement will result in many aborted submissions from those that do not have descriptions prepared for each deep link.
• Ensure proper categories are in alphabetical order.  Otherwise, browsing becomes inconvenient, and it is easy to overlook the best category for finding or submitting a listing.
• As with any directory, be very careful with your database.  Be sure to make regular backups.  It’s even more important with bidding directories as listings do not have consistent amounts.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 26th, 2007 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Tips for Directory Owners. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.