If your goal is to earn money from Google Adsense through content or article directories, you're better off setting your sights elsewhere. Directories are not high performers when it comes to Google Adsense ads and if you expect a good stream of income from these, you're bound to get disappointed. However, there are other things that you can expect from creating directories and if you look closely, they could be your ticket to finding a good source of revenue.



What directories can offer you

Online directories are repositories of Web content; usually articles, write-ups, news, video and audio clips or links to other websites. They can be part of a group of sites found on a larger host site or they can be independent. People go to these sites either to submit content and links or to find them.

Directories are beneficial in several ways:

They bring in traffic.

If you understand how, traffic can be used to bring in revenues through your directory. Once you set this up, visitors come to pay you a visit like writers and site owners who want to submit their articles and webmasters who wish to submit links to their websites. Traffic can be a good source of either cash (if and when you charge for links to your website) and lists for your Internet marketing efforts.

They can get you paid directly.

Again, charging for links will help you monetize your directory. But this can only be done if your site has already built a reputation, is generally popular or at least has a niche following and enjoys a high volume traffic. You can also charge for links if your directory is enjoying a high PageRank. Your directory's popularity will mutually benefit other sites because it places them in quality company.

Directories provide reciprocal links.

Reciprocal links are simply links that point back to your website. A high ranking directory can do this. More links mean more traffic and better relevancy for your directory.

Creating directories

You could create a basic directory using good old HTML or you could make it easier on yourself by using applications such as Wordpad, Dreamweaver and FrontPage. If you're computer savvy and know your way around scripts, you can use those instead and simply build a MySQL database. If you want a cheaper way to do it, check out directory scripts being offered for free online.

Determine your subject matter.

What is your goal in putting up a directory? Make this clear from the get-go. This will help you design a well-organized website. You should also decide at this point on the type of subjects you want to include on your directory. It's a good idea to offer a variety of subjects. Try popular subjects such as finance, credit, gaming, travel, Internet marketing and the like.

You could also take one general subject and then offer to post content that are related to it. Instead of attracting a general-interest audience, you can cater to a niche market instead. You could build a strong following this way.

Provide original content.

Content found in your directory will be contributed from multiple sites. It's highly possible that those articles will appear in other directories as well. As such, you probably can't claim to have original material on your website. Since original content has a higher value for page ranking, try to produce original content on a regular basis. Write your own articles or pay for unique content. You can also try to do research on high-value content and then produce materials with those subjects.

Check your webhost for compatibility.

Creating a directory means you will be offering it from a hosted page so it's a good idea to ask your webhost if it can efficiently run your website. Get a hosting account with a provider that offers you sufficient disk space and plenty of support. To give you an idea of what you will be looking at, let's take a look at hosts such as Hostgator.com. They charge a monthly fee of about $7 in exchange for an account with 50GB of disk space. For $10 a month, you can increase that capacity to 100GB. There are several other host providers that can offer you similar services. Simply look them up online to compare which one will give you the best service.