The Problem With Directories & How They Will Survive

Years ago, it was common for a friend or colleague to send me the URL of a cool directory they found - excited to share this collection of gold nuggets all in one place. It's not that search engines weren't good enough - I could obviously go on Google and type "cool scripts" if I wanted some cool scripts. But someone already spent 5 hours digging through Google and putting together all of their favorites -- that's a major time saver! There might even be some great links that I wouldn't have found on page 14 of Google results.

The same is true today - search is great, but humans are even better. Niche directories can be pretty darn useful. The problem with some directories now is that:

1. There are too many of them
2. Most directories cover dozens of topics and don't appeal to any one specific interest
3. A lot of them are full of SPAM
4. A lot of them are unmoderated or poorly maintained
5. A lot of them have thousands of irrelevant links

This list could probably be expanded on, but these are most of the big ones. The unfortunate result is that even good directories face tougher challenges, and users rely less on directories as a valuable resource.

Despite the new challenges that directories face, the fundamentals of search haven't changed much over the years, and search is still incapable of delivering the same type of topic-specific, human-reviewed results that you find in a highly relevant and well managed directory. In fact, I daresay that human involvement in search results is often a bad thing; the sheer volume of sites being indexed makes it impossible to review every site which results in inaccuracy across the board.

The need is still there for quality directories - the Internet is just too big of a place. But a crucial shift is needed in the way directory owners run their sites, and the software powering our directories must evolve as well. phpLinkBid is tackling many of these challenges with the next version and will continue to evolve as it has for nearly two years now. What else can be done to equip Webmasters with the tools they need?

Will directory owners raise to meet these challenges? What can be done to overcome the faults of directories in the past? Most importantly - how can directories be a reliable and useful resource for everyday users in the face of these challenges? What would make you bookmark a directory and go back time and time again?

I'm going to refrain from digging into these questions too much right now, and instead invite you to share your ideas and opinions on these questions.