advices on launching a link list

[Useless]

Originally Posted by stfuvt

...give me advices on whats the most important and which are the things I should be careful with.I have a script already, now I am wondering about the design - doing it myself or getting someone to do it.

From the beginning - expect quality, but don't demand too much. The people who submit to brand new link lists tend to be the submitters who submit everywhere. And those people tend to build the sloppiest sites and are most likely to ignore your rules. It's a bizarre paradigm indeed. I'm not saying that all mass submitters are bad. I have couple who have always been good to me and their sites are wonderful. But most of them are shit or absolute newbies.

You'll get more submissions with a single recip to the domain's root than if you demand the use of individual category recips.

As far as link list design goes, keep it simple. Advertising should be minimal. Navigation should be easily found. Keep traffic moving towards the listings. This keeps both your surfers and submitters happy. Recently, there was a link list for sale. I don't remember which one or whose it was, but it was a complete cluster fuck. You needed a GPS to find the free site listings. Stay away from bullshit like that. If you want submitters and you want surfers to click around - and hopefully come back - get them to the listings.

Think SEO from the beginning. If your script lets you give your category pages good keyword phrase names - do it. Really think about how your naming strategy and directory layout is going to work for you in the SEs. You don't want to have to make big structure changes later, such as moving link list from one directory to another.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

...Recently, there was a link list for sale. I don't remember which one or whose it was, but it was a complete cluster fuck. You needed a GPS to find the free site listings. Stay away from bullshit like that...

Oh, oh I remember!

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

Really think about how your naming strategy and directory layout is going to work for you in the SEs. You don't want to have to make big structure changes later, such as moving link list from one directory to another.

Very good point. Look at Useless' directory structure and he's got his categories behind a "/tgp/", and I have my categories behind "/linklist/" and I can tell you if we were to both start from scratch again it wouldn't be like that.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Preacher

Oh, oh I remember!

Shhhh! I was trying to be nice.

Originally Posted by Preacher

Very good point. Look at Useless' directory structure and he's got his categories behind a "/tgp/", and I have my categories behind "/linklist/" and I can tell you if we were to both start from scratch again it wouldn't be like that.

I've created 3 other link sites from scratch since WW and none of them have been modelled after it. I do get a few SE hits for people searching for "tgp" each day though. I live to disappoint. If you must put your link list in a subdirectory, choose a keyword that surfers would be likely to search for.