I'm Just Sharing

Probably only one or two of you know this, but I do have another website that I’ve never talked much about here. It’s called Services And Stuff, and it was my attempt to create a different kind of web portal, i.e. web directory.

Let’s face this fact; I don’t like most web directories. It’s a bunch of categories that all look the same, and you’re crowded in with lots of other people without getting to really stand out in any fashion. The format is also the same on all of them, and that just makes them all really boring.

So, I came up with this thought about changing the model a little bit. I would have categories and allow people to list their links for free. They would also get to add a short, one line blurb about their site, and all of the listings would be relatively consistent, so that there weren’t lots of words getting in the way. And, since I wasn’t charging anyone for their link, I would put in my affiliate links instead, and only charge people if they wanted to advertise somewhere on the site.

It actually worked kind of well for awhile, then it stagnated. What you see now is the second redesign, and I’m not quite sure I’ve still fully got it the way I want it. One of the problems with even minor directories is that they fall outside of the realm of what one needs for proper SEO processes, i.e., enough content on each page to do it right. How the site has maintained its PR3 throughout all these years is beyond me, since I also haven’t done the best job of internal linking with it. The page I’m most proud of is my articles page, although I’ve always wished I could get it up to at least 100 articles so I could create categories for them also. And there’s also a blogs page, which could be used instead of a blogroll. The one thing about this site is that I can add people at will if I so chose to, as it’s been established that one can do that unless requested not to, and I added one of Sire’s site to the mix because, well, we’re playing email chess, so I figured I owed him something for all those beatings he’s taking (yeah, like that’s happening all that often).

Still, it’s my site, and it’s out there, and I wanted to introduce it to all of you. When I start writing squeeze pages for affiliate programs, or other items, I’m going to link them off this site, as it’s best suited for it. Yeah, some folks would say to create a new domain name and advertise it that way, but I’m thinking that if I’m buying new domains, I’m either popping another blog on there or I’m creating an entirely new website. Truth be told, many affiliate marketers use one of their websites to promote their products, and it’s not a bad model if the website already has some web prominence, which this site does have, at least.

Anyway, take a look, if you will, and decide if you’d like some link love to the site, or if you’d like to do some advertising on the site, or if you hate the model totally. I still think the idea is sound, but the process might be Wed 1.0 instead of Wed 2.0, and of course we’re moving quickly towards Web 3.0.