A new breed of web directories is rapidly gaining the attention of webmasters. Unlike existing directories where you can submit your site either for free or pay for a featured listing, these new bidding web directories use a straightforward bid system to denote where in the directory your link will be placed.

These new directories are known by many names, 'bid for placement', 'bid for position', 'bidding web directory' (you get the gist) but they all use the same methodology to determine where the link will be positioned in the directory. There are, broadly speaking, just two types of bidding directory; those that sort links alpha numerically and those that provide categories for the link submitter to select. The former have one disadvantage in so much as the placement of the submitted link will be determined by the initial character of the link that has been submitted. The later give more far more control over where the link will be placed in the directory. They all have one common, important feature though; the ability for the Top xx number of high bidder links to be displayed on the homepage of the site. For bid link sites that have a high page rank, this becomes a great incentive for webmasters to bid high enough so that their link remains highly visible.

The unique point of bidding web directories though is that it is not just the link submitter who can bid on links. Here's a typical scenario. Let's suppose that you are a major sponsor on the homepage of the XYZDirectory. If that directory was listed in a bid link directory, you, as a principal sponsor, could also bid on the XYZDirectory link to ensure that it remains highly placed in the directory.

The question every is asking now of course if whether there is a future for bid for placement directories. I suspect that the very strong bid directories that continue to invest in promotion and advertising will survive and a myriad of wannabes will enter the market over the coming months.

David Bowen
http://www.blendz.net

Source: www.articletrader.com