This week has been kinda nuts. A month ago, I got this DM:
And now it looks like a few more people are falling down the rabbit hole of directories.
To help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made along the way, I want to share some harsh truths about building a directory for the first time
1. Building for purely monetary gain is a recipe for failure
Passive income is sexy. But the work that initially goes into it isn't, especially for these directory builds.
Maybe you're built different, but for me, a money-only approach has never worked.
It clouds my judgment, leading me to rush processes that need more careful thought.
If life was a video game, I'd be a generalist general, where the treasure lies in acquiring new skills.
When I started building directories, monetization was third on my list of priorities, which is why I think my first three directories were "successful".
For me, the game was always about figuring out what truly works in SEO. I didn’t want to blindly follow advice from the internet.
I wanted to master a transferable skill that could serve me long-term, no matter what business I pursued.
2. Expecting fast results? Directories may not be for you
In 2021, I was sitting in a jacuzzi at a hotel in Patagonia where I met a power couple in their late 50s.
The wife owned a majority of the ski resorts in the west coast of the US & Canada. The husband owned a construction company that paved a bunch of the highways we use in America. They also had 12 kids.
When I asked for one piece of advice that led to their success, the wife answered, "It took me five years into running my business before I knew what the heck I was doing."
It's common knowledge that SEO takes months before seeing results. But it can't be understated.
The best advice I have if you're building your first directory (or any business) is to promise yourself that for 1 year you'll do everything you can do build a useful web asset and expect nothing to happen.
You'll probably see a lot of progress, but this sets you up for success.
FYI it takes 3-6 months for my websites to reach a few thousand visitors/month, on average.
3. Ego interference is real
On the pod with Greg, I was showing the simple pillar page static directory approach that got my first directory to 60k/monthly visitors where I said "it's so dumb, it's inspiring."
And it's true.
But what looks easy (especially to smart people) can easily mislead you into thinking you're better than your competition - that it's easy to outrank your competitors.
Even the greatest SEOs I know are on their toes right now. Things are changing quickly and constantly.
The odds that you've spent more time understanding organic traffic distribution on the internet is unlikely.
4. Tools matter and allows for deep research
One of the most common questions I get from people building their first directory is "are there any cheaper alternatives to ahrefs? it's so expensive."
The answer is yes, of course!
But there's a reason I was willing to invest $1200 back in my first year of building directories (when ahrefs lite was $99/mo).
It ties back to my main goal - learning the fundamentals of an SEO-first approach. I needed to see what the expert SEOs were seeing.
Here's what I see in my mind when when people opt for cheap vs. industry leading SEO tools:
Technically, they both can work.
But how much further and faster you can go without compromise? Well, I think the answer is pretty clear.
If budget is an issue, I recommend checking out ahref's starter plan ($29/mo). I've also played with keysearch before and it wasn't a bad option.
p.s. not affiliated with ahrefs or keysearch. Heard amazing things about SEMrush too.
5. A lack of empathy is bad for SEO
User intent is a biggie in the SEO world.
Figuring out what truly matters to your future website visitors requires you to put yourself in their shoes.
What drives their decision making? And what challenges are top of mind for your audience?
Even for something as trivial as a dog park directory - I spend a lot of my time combining deep research and an empathetic approach before buying a domain, scraping data, or building the site.
For example, at first I thought it was the amenities that a dog park offered that drove user behavior.
But upon further research (via reddit), the challenge with findings dog parks is actually the risk that other dogs and dog owners pose.
It doesn't matter how nice the fenced-in areas, water fountains, and benches are at a dog park because if the dog owners who frequent there suck, it's a dealbreaker.
This means that if I can offer context around the safety of a dog park during my data enrichment phase, this can unlock massive value and lead to return visitors (+1 point for SEO).
6. Relying solely on AI for ideation isn't enough
Like many of you, I use LLMs everyday at this point.
Claude (or should I say "clode"), Gemini and ChatGPT are my besties forreal.
But for finding underserved directory niches, using LLMs only show you the tip of the iceberg.
It's a good start, but my confidence in building within a directory niche comes from:
- Ahrefs - for keyword research, competitive research and backlink research
- Reddit, Youtube and TikTok for social listening and sentiment analysis
- Google maps reviews for understanding what is universally valued (i.e. finding shade, water, benches for dog parks through review tags)
7. Your greatest opponent: Overthinking
If you don't know where to start, you're probably overthinking it (sorry, but true).
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of steps to building a profitable website directory.
It can be daunting, especially if this is your first directory build.
But remember, directories are a distribution first business model.
No traffic = no chance of monetization.
So my recommendation for new directory builders is this: Prove to yourself that SEO works.
You can achieve this by creating a simple directory with 2 pages (home and location page) targeting 1 keyword, in 1 location.
It's unlikely that you'll monetize your site with this approach, but if you target a low competition niche, the confidence you'll gain from seeing Google reward you with impressions and a trickle of organic visitors (measured through Google analytics) is akin to making your first internet dollar.
Break the ceiling of your own objections, and you'll start to believe it's possible.
Ok that's it for today! If you discovered my tiny corner of the internet from Greg, I appreciate you.
If you want to meet cool and smart directory builders, check out my free directory community here: https://ship-your-directory.circle.so/
Best,
Frey
