14 replies to this topic

[kevs]

Some directories ask for address. you give a real address?

[bsaric]

If it's company address, why not? Every company have already public adress somewhere.

[Respree]

Do you anticipate viewers of the information to send you mail or to pay you a visit? Do you run the business out of your home and have security concerns? Do you want to run the risk of bots picking up your address and having a mailbox full of junk mail?

As with most things, the answer is "It depends."

Edited by Respree, 14 March 2007 - 01:31 PM.

[kevs]

It's, why add to my junk mail if I don't have to?
If I leave a phony address though, then I risk not getting into directory?

[Respree]

What is the nature of your site, personal or business?

[kevs]

home business

[Respree]

Here are the potential issues I see.

- Lost sales (people sending money to your fake address for an order they'd like to place). Of course, you'll never know the 'how much.'

- Slim chance of the directory trying to authenticate your mailing address, and denying you a listing because you weren't honest about who you were.

- Lost credibility and the resulting lower conversions. Customer comparing your fake address with your real one (assuming, it is appears 'anywhere' on the Internet).

I can't tell you how to run your business. That's a decision you must make. If it were me, I'd prefer to be on the up and up and not open myself up to the potential risks I mentioned.

[kevs]

Res:
the only risk I see is junk mail right? Free directory, they are asking for you address to sell off? why else? I've never see an address listed in directory. Do they list them? I did not know that. maybe I should give them the real address then even if it means an avalanche of new junk mail ( I am planning on submitting to many so I want to get this right) I think it's real unusaul to ask for it. DMOZ and Yahoo don't ask.

[bragadocchio]

kevs, I do agree that you do have to wonder about a directory that requires an address when they don't publish the address, or identify the way that they are using it.

If you don't trust them with your address, should you trust them with a link to your site.?

[kevs]

this one I trust. I started at top of list of recommeded directories. that being said. whats your verdict?

[bragadocchio]

You've opened up a broad question, kevs.

What is it about directories that we trust? Why should we share some of the information with them that we do? What inspires us about them that has us turn over a phone number, even though they have no stated reason for calling, or a mailing address, even though they will never send us a letter?

Is it because someone we trust includes them on a list of directories to submit to?

Is it the privacy policy or security policy (often the same for many sites) that they post?

If I'm going to leave an address, I will leave my address. But I'm going to really wonder why they want it, or need it.

[kevs]

Do you think it's because they use it to make revenue? I can't think of anything else

[Respree]

Why don't you simply ask them why they need your address and what they intend to do with it?

[kevs]

You are joking right? I guess you have a point. I don't even know if you could do that, or even find an e mail to contact. and I plan on submitting to 100+ so just wanted to get a templae to go by, what you would do. It's tiring enough just submitting

[bragadocchio]

It's tiring enough just submitting

Agree to that. Remembering back to some earlier days on the web, the focus of promoting a site was often in finding great places to be listed or mentioned that would attract traffic on their own.

Without search engines around to really do that, the benefit was that being found in a great place, or a directory or site that people actually use, where they are interested in what you do, made it so that your visitors from that source were often very interested in what you had to say or sell on your pages.

I think that there's still a value to considering quality over quantity as much as possible. I'd rather be listed in five or six great sources than fifty or sixty mediocre ones.

So when I'm looking at a directory to be listed in, one of the things I ask myself is, is this a place where people actually come when they are looking for information about a subject, and compare the sites listed and dig around, or is just a list of sites that no one visits?