I am researching the value of putting my site
(www.designerlinensoutlet.com) on paid directories for Yahoo and
Business.com.  Yahoo is $299 and Business.com is $99.  What kind of
ROI can I expect for this?

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Request for Question Clarification by serenata-ga on 29 Jan 2004 07:08 PST

Hi Sheila ~

As mentioned in the comment below, it would be hard to determine your
ROI for either of those paid listings.

You might have a better chance with Yahoo, but be aware the payment of
the $299 does not guarantee inclusion in Yahoo's directory or search
engine. It merely pays for a faster consideration for inclusion.

As for Business.com ... who do you consider to be your market for your
product? Business.com seems more a B2B (business-to-business) site,
and if your market is predominantly the consumer, there are better
ways to develop links and awareness.

It would help to know what it is that you are looking for in terms of
the market you are trying to reach in order to give any kind of
answer, even if it is more a 'guestimate' than an outright figure.

In some markets, with some products, a 1% ROI is considered terrific.
In others, it would mean closing the doors and going out of business.

Thanks,
Serenata

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Clarification of Question by sheilahowell-ga on 02 Feb 2004 07:25 PST

Serenata - I didn't realize that the $299 for Yahoo was just for
faster review.  Thanks for pointing that out.

I did contact business.com and was able to get a ballpark number of
potential customers that go use the home/bedding directory.  The
numbers appear to be high enough to justify the annual fee.  We do
have a small merchant segment.

The main focus of the site is consumer.  For customer acquisition we
are willing to breakeven or slightly less.

Thanks, Sheila




Thanks, Sheila

I'm afraid no amount of research will lead to any quantifiable conclusion.

Unfortunately, there are too many variables involved.  If you can
predict your conversion rate, then you'll need to know how many
visitors Yahoo will send you by listing in their directory in order to
calculate ROI.  Impossible to answer.

I will say that Yahoo is one of the more important directories to be
in you're going to be selling product online.  You should also get
into DMOZ (free).

Seems like you have a new site.  I would start by reading all you can
about search engine optimization and building your pagerank.