Comments on: When Is A Directory So Much More Than A Directory?

By: Brendan O'Connell

Brendan O'Connell — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:55:57 +0000

Hey Boris, re:” Would that be Thomas, as in Thomas registry?” Yes, Thomas Register, Thomas Registry, Thomas, Thomas Regional and The Big Green Books are http://www.ThomasNet.com.

BTW: I think I could write a thesis on 301’s.

By: Eric Sopp

Eric Sopp — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 07:05:11 +0000

Brendan is completely right, content is key to the success of a website and its traffic. Unique content, coupled with a program like VSET, is what drives a website success.

With advent of directory management popularity all of a sudden, this is a great article that all directory managers should read.

By: Brendan O'Connell

Brendan O'Connell — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:44:08 +0000

Donna,, if your readers are interested in how B2B Buyers Search and the role of directories they should read the excellent (and free) report that Gord Hotchkiss put together recently that Search Engine Watch reviews here: http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3625977

By: Boris

Boris — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 06:26:43 +0000

Would that be Thomas, as in Thomas registry?

By: DazzlinDonna

DazzlinDonna — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:02:29 +0000

I didn’t mention anything about pricing or revenues because I am not privy to any of that information. I know very little about Thomasnet as a company. But I love the work they’ve put into an online resource. Whether or not it’s expensive…whether or not it’s profitable…I wouldn’t know.

Oh, and just in case anyone was confused…this post wasn’t any sort of paid review. It was just the result of me having an interesting conversation and I thought I’d pass along my thoughts about it.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:52:38 +0000

When it’s a true, vertial search engine and on-line database such as the one offered by a firm like GlobalSpec

By: Jay B.

Jay B. — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:54:58 +0000

Nice commercial for Thomas.net. Too bad you did not mention the extremely high prices they charge and customer satisfaction rankings that have gone down the tube. Why not compare Thomas’s revenues in 2006 vs. previous years. They have just a fraction of their former income…..there must be a reason!

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:11:12 +0000

I don’t know if one should ever not worry about SEO. The basic techniques can be taught to staff to ensure that they are incorporating keyword friendly content in the basic key areas of the pages.

Of course everything depends on what stage the site is at, but there is no question that once a site develops some meaningful traffic, it’s all about adjusting the call-to-actions to maximize conversion rates. They not only need to be present an visible as Brendan said, but they should also be constantly tracked and adjusted.

Nice article, and good to hear a larger company that has a good Internet Marketing strategy – it seems that many of them are in ‘catch-up’ mode now…