First, the name. There are around 10000 directories on web. Many are very old, powerful, with huge traffic, very good advertised and have lots of people behind them. That means you need an original name. "Free Web Directory" is already taken, so think deeper. Let's take, for example, my "My Green Corner". Well, it definitely has originality. It sounds good, it's one of a kind, and I could go on with all the hype. But here are the bad things: 3 words, very long domain name and not quite a directory name as well. Hmm, the first letter is very, very bad chosen too. In front of "m" comes "a", "b" and so on, and many guys out here see things alphabetically. But what could be a good directory name? From my personal experience, I think it should have the word "directory" in it. And it should start with "a". Or "1", although numbers are not always a good idea. And it should be an easy to remember name. For example, "Aviva directory". A good directory name, with a lot of advertising and money spent around it, equals a successful directory. But what if you don't have money? I didn't had any money when I started this, and I assume you don't either. Or maybe you have the money, but you are not risking them. So if advertising comes out of the question, a good named should come in. Go fishing, do some thing inspiring, or just lay in your bed for a few days and think about your directory name. These day are the most important for your directory. You may also want to take a look at Google trends, or at the zeitgeist list, if you want to see what are the most searched words on web for free.



For my directory, I have spent a week at the mountain. When I sat down on the chair, ready to chose my directory's name, I was seeing green everywhere.

Second fina a hosting. There are 2 types of hosting: free, and paid. If this is your first site, you can definitely settle down for the free one. There are many free hosts that don't require a banner on your page, just type "free hosting" on Google and you're done. Look at some features, see if php is enabled, if they provide mysql. Look at the bandwidth, see if they provide around 2Gbs, and if they are, you have found your hosting. But, because almost all free web hosing is not so reliable, doesn't offer 24/7 customer support, doesn't have php enabled, has different bandwidth and processor load restrictions, I recommend you choose the paid one. For somewhere between $50 and $150, many, many hosting companies offer good uptime, and almost all the features you need to build your directory. Choose a good name, or ask around on some forums about hosting.

And 3rd, gather links. There are 2 kinds of links: "good" and "not so good". I will explain what are good links. "Not so good" links are all the others. Good links are links that come from sites related to yours. For example, other directories, seo companies, and so on. It is like this because of the growing complexity of Google and other search engine sorting algorithms. So, if you find your link on a page of site that has the main subject related to a directory, that's a good thing. Good links are also links from sites that have no connection with yours, but the page from where they are linking you has many other links to similar sites, meaning links to other directories. Great links are .edu and .gov. These are most trusted by search engines, because they have a non-economical value, but are also the most hard to get. If you find good sites, don't hesitate to contact their webmaster and to ask polite for a link exchange.

Also don't hesitate to apply to a manual directory submission service, or post on some blog, or even try so social bookmark your site.