Archive for August, 2008

06th Aug 2008

Are micro directories the future?

Today we saw 2 announcements for very focused directories.  This is an interesting online trend which highlights the practicality of micro directories.

The first is for Roofing-Directory.com which focuses on connecting consumers with roofing contractors that will repair or replace your roof.   The site supports commercial and residencial roofing companies and is currently available in California, Florida, Illnois, Maryland and Virginia.   Contractors are pre-screened with an assurance from the site that they will provide a free estimate before starting work.  The cost is $10 for a lifetime inclusion for a roofing company and free for consumers.

The second directory we saw was local-attorneys.com, which focus on connecting consumers with legal council in their area.  The site includes a variety of different legal fields and is available in most states.  The cost $50 for inclusion in the directory and free for consumers.

Are micro-directories the future?  With web search it would seem to be a good strategy to use these directories to increase your visibility to consumers.  Its not clear how these micro-directories will stand up in the long term though with consumers not maintaining a relationship between the different sites.  The major directories services build up a level of trust and assurance with consumers so that consumers return and re-use the directory.  It will be hard for these micro-directories to build use trust, their biggest value might be as a SEO link provider.

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05th Aug 2008

Ziplocal.com adds more reviews

Ziplocal.com has added reviews from Gayot, WaySpa, The Globe and Mail, EYEWeekly and Sweetspot.ca to its directory service.  Users generated reviews can be a great way for a business to stand out in a crowded directory listing.   The challenge with user generated reviews has always been avoiding people that try to manipulate the system.  By combining reviews from multiple sources it looks like Ziplocal is in a good position to avoid this sort of abuse.

Ziplocal has also added a new feature for restaurants that lets users make a reservation with the restaurant via the OpenTable system.  The system has very few listings in Canada though, with only 92 in the Toronto area.  This could be a great differentiator for the Ziplocal in the restaurant category, which is generally a high use and value category for directories.

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