I was asked to review a blog directory, and I thought sure, ok. Blog directories aren't a dime a dozen yet, right? Well, maybe I was wrong on that. There seem to be a lot more blog directories than I thought, but I guess that was inevitable. In any case, here is my review of the Alive Blog Directory.
The blog directory appears to be a new addition to the already well-established Alive Web Directory, so I'd assume that it will be well promoted and probably used. My guess is that it may actually send traffic, although that's just a guess at this point. But the site has a decent Alexa ranking (taken with a couple of grains of salt of course), so the traffic might be viable. In addition, I know I've personally actually used a few blog directories in the past to find interesting blogs, so the potential is there for some traffic from a listing.
The very first test of a directory is whether or not the page your link will be on is cached, and if so, how recently. I assumed since it was new that the interior pages would probably not be indexed very well yet, but the very first one I checked had a recent cache date, as did the other few that I checked. That's pretty impressive, and is a good sign.
The overall design is clean and attractive, so that gets a thumbs up.
This is a paid inclusion blog directory, and there are no free options. The prices seem a little high to me, with the lowest option being $34.95/year, and the highest option being $224.95 as a one time fee, with 5 additional links.
A blogger's budget usually isn't that high, so I'm not sure how many bloggers will take advantage of this. On the other hand, business blogs are becoming more prevalent, so the pricing might be perfectly in line for businesses.
Because the directory gets traffic, and the interior pages have recent cache dates, I'd say this directory is worth considering, especially for businesses with blogs, but the pricing structure might scare away the average blogger.
The above has been a paid review. Keep in mind that while I sometimes accept forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, and other types of compensation, my opinion cannot be influenced.