Every day there are new directories being created and keeping up with them can be quite a trial. If you have a series of sites that you submit then adding them manually can be a bit of a struggle.
Solution: have a generic descriptor file for sites to identify the main sections of the site that might be submitted to a directory.
There would need to be some flexibility. In the old days I would submit a subdirectory on a subdomain rather than the root of this subdomain, and the full domain as well.
And the classification system would need to be set up by some controlling body but I’d be happy to use the DMOZ structure, or some Dewey system – and then it’s up to the directory owner to interpret that.
[xml]
I’d envisage having one xml file detailing all of my sites and their main sections.
There could be simple rules, only 1 priority 1 entry for each domain and the information relating to them. It might even contain an email for each site as they may differ.
Putting it to use
When a new directory starts up they can have their normal submit a link section but also have a submit your directory xml file and it will then process that information and submit the sites. It may output the contents for confirmation and to give the opportunity to upgrade to paid submission etc but it would save the dedicated webmaster sooooo much time.
Anyone want to run with this?
I think that’s a fantastic idea! Submitting to directories is a very frustrating experience, especially if you have many sites.
Another approach, perhaps, would be to integrate this into your sites RSS feed. Therefore to sumbit a site to a directory, all you’d need to do would be to point it at your feed URL and it could fetch the info from that. Then all you’d need to do would make sure the results look good on screen and hit submit.
Yep agreed!!! It just shows the power of XML and its bright future 🙂
I think it’s a good idea, both the formatting of the data, and how it might be retrieved/submitted.
I’ve often thought this would be a good idea, and i think something akin to G sitemaps (already an established approach) might serve well.
As usual tho, uptake is the big drama.. you lead a horse to water but make it drink ? In the SEO world ?
Perhaps a directory that makes use of existing G sitemaps as an option.. that way, many webmasters who are already serious about seo need only submit their domain, the rest is up to the directory owner..
One things for sure tho. As long as there are ready made datasets out there (ie ODP/branches), WM’s will defer for simplicity’s sake.
Cheers,
JL
I’ve just thrown together a simple XML document of the main sites that I submit to the directories. It follows the RSS 0.91 format with no extra bells or whistles. I’m going to mess about making an autosubmitter for WSNLinks over at RealState so that you can get a feel for what I’m on about here.
Hey…great idea Sarah! It’s very similiar to the software industry file submission system (PAD). This was organized by the Association of Shareware Professionals. More details here: http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad/
“then it’s up to the directory owner to interpret that”
Bad idea – some people insist that because they can’t be bothered looking for the right category,
that the directory owner should instead waste their own personal time doing this for them.
It’s not acceptable, especially where free submissions are allowed – if it’s nowhere near the right
category, then it’s rejected outright.
If the submitter can’t be bothered making the effort, why should I or any other directory owner?
2 cents.
Quite right Brian! I meant to take the value, convert it into something relevant on the directory and feed it back to the user for confirmation or fixing. If it’s wrong, and the submitter doesn’t take the time to correct it then yes, I would expect the Directory Owner to be less than amenable – especially when they’ve taken steps to make life easy for the submitter.
In my own XML example I’ve dropped the category altogether as it would be onerous to develop a standard template and then expect directory owners to map to it. Easier by far just to start from scratch on that 🙂