Shimon Sandler Interview Greg Hartnett From BOTW
Greg Hartnett runs Best Of The Web (BOTW) directory, and for those that don't know, BOTW is the Internet's oldest web directory. This depicts the character of Greg Hartnett, and his focus within the directory niche as an industry leader.
Shimon Sandler really stuck it to Greg, and most likely made him a little uncomfortable with general webmaster related questions... you know the one's, PageRank, Costs, Rankings, and those type of general everyday questions, that nobody really tends to ask someone of Gregs calibre. Its great that Greg took these questions so well, and provided quality answers to some of the more common questions that circulate the forum communities. You can read the entire BOTW interview here.
The questions you will find answers too are:
- What is a Web Directory, and how is it different from a Search Engine, or Internet Yellow Pages?
- What is the benefit of getting your site listed in a Web Directory?
- Are web directories just acceptable Link Farms?
- Are there any web directories, or "Spam Directories" we should stay away from?
- Which directories are considered to be the most trustworthy, and why?
- What reasons would BOTW decline a site submission?
- Why do some directories have free submission, and others have a fee? What's the difference?
- How is BOTW's submission fee determined?
- Is it more important to get a link on a relevant niche directory, than a comprehensive directory like BOTW?
- Is it important for online marketers to use the smaller web directories, or is submission to BOTW good enough?
- Google said it will devalue links that are bought for the sole intention of increasing PageRank. BOTW costs money, and many people buy it for the PR. Are you worried BOTW's links will be devalued?
- For people concerned about Google PageRank, can people rely on web directories as a valuable link in their link portfolio?
- Should site owners expect click-thru traffic from a web directory? Or, are web directories really just for link popularity?
- What are the top 3 most popular categories, and their top sub-category?
- What if someone submits their site, and after inclusion in the directory they decide to radically change the site? Is there some kind of detection process in place for deception?
- Are there any enhancements, or new features we can expect from BOTW?
- Why would someone use BOTW's Blog Directory instead of Google's Blog Search or Technorati? What's different about BOTW?
- BOTW is the internet's oldest web directory. What changes/adaptations do the web directories today need to make to survive?
- I read the official announcement of why the Zeal Directory shutdown. Do you think there is another, untold reason why they shutdown?
- What was BOTW's involvement with the thesis Backrub by Sergey Brin and Larry Page?
- What is your biggest challenge?
- What's the best part of your job?
For all intensive purposes, Greg answered questions that most directory owners simply avoid due to the unstable balance between directories and search engines, in that the search engines hold the key to our traffic, and for some directories who do blatantly sell PageRank and those type services, their days are numbered, though its very easy to tar an entire industry (as small as it is) with the same brush.
A very thought provoking interview in my opinion, and a must read for directory owners, marketers and webmasters as a whole.
