Paid Inclusion
Paid inclusion is a term that is used to mean directory listings that you have to pay for. The cost to benefit is figured differently than it is with Pay Per Click.
Paid Directory listings are those that you can only get if you pay for them. This includes Yahoo Directory listings, and a whole range of other directory listings. To even get into the directory, you have to pay a fee.
With Yahoo, you have to pay a hefty fee to even be CONSIDERED for a listing, and then there is no guarantee that you'll GET the listing! And since a lot of businesses don't bother to pay for a Yahoo Directory listing, Yahoo supplements their paid listings with generic search engine results. So just because you don't pay for a listing does not mean that you won't get traffic from Yahoo. They just list the paid ones at the top, and the supplemental listings below that.
Some other directories ONLY list those sites that pay, and some supplement in the way that Yahoo does. Some have a higher fee for top listings, others do not, and determine final placement by relevancy, or other criteria.
Directory fees may be a one time fee, a monthly fee, or a yearly fee. Lower cost does not mean you got a better deal, but in general, one time fees are more likely to be a worthwhile risk, as long as they are not astronomical, and as long as the directory can return relevant results and has a good reputation.
Directories frequently have you write an ad or site description, which they will use instead of metatag or content matching. Writing a good ad is important if this is the case.
You also have to make sure that your ads give you CUSTOMERS, not just window shoppers. That the traffic actually increases your revenue from the site. If it doesn't, then no matter how much traffic it brings, it won't be worth it. Ads that bring lower traffic amounts, but higher income will actually be a better buy.
The cost to benefit issue is fairly simple. IF you can make enough additional profit from the site to cover the cost of the listings, then it is worth repeating. If not, then try something else.
For directory listings, do a net search and see if you can find some comments on forums about whether or not they worked for other people. This is no guarantee that they'll work for you, but you can often get a feel for the potential by reading comments from other users.
Flat rate fees can often be a more affordable option for new businesses, and if you choose well, and manage them intelligently, they can get you traffic at a far lower rate than Pay Per Click. Do the math - at $.05 per click (a conservative amount!) you can spend $1 per day for 20 clicks. If you pay $5 per month for paid inclusion (yes, there are options at that price and many even lower), you only need to get 100 clicks before you are already ahead.
The down side is that if you do not get that many clicks, you end up wasting money. The potential for losing is not terribly high, but it is there.
They are worth considering, and worth doing some math to figure out how much you have to sell, or how much you have to earn from Ad Revenue in order to afford it though. If the target is reasonable, then give it a whirl and see whether it works!
Written by Laura Wheeler
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