Directories have come in all shapes and forms over the years, but Big Web Links Bid Directory is taking a different approach than I have seen before. They have asked me to write a short review of their website/concept of web bidding, and indeed I shall try to present a balanced assessment of its prospects.

Concept
It’s quite a simple concept really. You register and pay for the listing of your website on their directory. Unlike other directory, though, you can pay for your link to be shown on page 1 of the listing or indeed be ranked on the top of the page. As you see here, Shareware Downloads has paid more than the #2 slot, so their ranking is #1 on the page.

The advantage is quite simple: new websites in theory won’t be hidden away if the “contribution” is big enough. Additional listings are included if your website is ranked within the top 10 or 20. Perhaps what is truly unique is that after the initial listing fee of $29.90 is paid by the listing owner, anyone else, yes ANYONE, can contribute money to increase your rank. The highest contribution total will rank at the top of the list. Naturally, those who sign up earlier and keep bidding up their rank will find that it cheaper at the beginning to stay at the top, possibly gathering some good uniques. It’s Alexa is already 65K and rising. The home page is PR7 after the recent updates on Google.

The sign up form has a neat guide that helps those signing up to edit their placement so that it appears in two favored locations. I’ve done a dummy sign up to show you how it works. The red line highlights where InvestorBlogger would appear, and the rest of the block shows how much I would have to pay to be listed higher or lower. (see the graphic). That is a nice touch.

Contradictions
The success of this website really hinges on three contradictions: first, why would anyone pay to rank someone else’s site higher? There has to be a quid pro quo for this site to be successful. In other words, if you want a 3rd party to bid to increase the ranking of a site, what does that person get out of it except seeing their favorite site jump up the list?

There is also another problem that might dissuade people from bothering: since you have to pay an initial registration fee, when there are only a few sites on the boards, it should be easy to get your site shown on page 1 or 2. But what happens when the website becomes well-known, and dozens of websites are found in each category? Why would I pay a $29.90 fee just to end up with a ranking on page 25? That’s no better than Google’s search engine. Ah! You have control: you can whatever you want to be listed on the top of the page… it’s not difficult, just open up your digital wallet! It’s quite likely that, to remain listed at the top for anything other than a few minutes, it would become expensive fast, and it’s conceivable bidding wars would erupt on very popular sites with big ad budgets.

A final contradiction is that it is not clear (to me at least) people would use a site or indeed trust a site that allows listings to be bid up. Google still has quite a large ‘trust factor’ in its search engine. I’m not convinced that this will be a success in the long term, as I think there are far better ways to build up your PR, readership and so on.

Conclusion
The directory will work very well at the beginning for smaller websites on thinner budgets, for sure, as many categories have NO (Yes, NONE) entries. Later on, the directory will be a good way to attract visitors if your budget is big enough. I’d be interested to know what you guys think of this service. What future does a directory with solely paid listings have? Comment away.

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So my April results are in, and it’s quite a mixed bag compared to March Results, and decidedly so, compared to February’s Results. Nevertheless, it’s a big improvement over six months ago. And keeping results like this has provided me with some direction! Naturally, the scale of the results to those of John Chow’s are quite pitiful! But then, I’m just starting out on this “Alternative Income” game.

Payperpost: $157.00
Google : $3.22
SR/ReviewME : $48.75
Other Blogs: $10.00
Adlinks : $17.47
Stockbroker: $104.79
Hosting : $135.39
Bank A/C Interest : $17.51
Total: $494.12

Payperpost has provided quite a few opportunities this month, and I have been fortunate, but I’ve taken fewer opportunities from them than previously. Still, the per post average has risen nicely once again. Additionally, I received an offer through SponsoredReviews for a review that netted a nice amount. Additionally, a new customer registered for my hosting service and I’ll be reviewing them shortly once their website is complete. The Active/Passive ratio, however, fell to only about 56% of the total. Perhaps, though this was due to the slightly inflated link income in March.

So, it seems my quest for generating passive income really needs much more focus to help bring it about! Wishing you all prosperity.

General Stats:
PR Rank: 4
Alexa Rank: 3 month 122K* (1 day: 91K est.)
Technorati Rank: 161K* ( a decent jump!)
Overall Tack Rating:

Since last month, the Alexa rank has jumped significantly (note how the jumps are getting smaller each time!), and Technorati Ranking has also improved a great deal. I have maintained my Tack Rating, but increased the number of positive reviews’ feedback.

PR Rank is still 4, but it is looking a little shaky. I will need to do some serious work on improving my rating. But as Alexa shows, traffic is increasing, almost a 1,000 uniques per 30 day period is almost within reach.

Signups to the feeds are now between 30-40 per day on average, and showing some signs of life.

* updated 4/30/07.

One good way to save money is to search the online classifieds for free to see what good quality merchandise is available.

The free classified ads here offer a wide selection of items that you can purchase, including autos, jobs, real estate, and even new & used ads. Nicesale.com offers a wider range than many, and quite a lot of depth to their items.

In addition, you can find numerous ways to slice and dice the data, by region, by category, by sub-category, and even by labels such as ‘Green’, ‘Business’ and ‘Non-Profits’. The site is pretty responsive, too.

Buying non-new items is hardly new, but there are many advantages to buying such items: rarity or scarcity value (antiques, to name but one advantage); you defray the upfront depreciation of buying ‘new’ (think cars, for one); some items have a huge 2nd-hand price advantage (older books, CDs, etc.); and the excitement factor when you discover the ‘great’ find of the decade.

There are of course some caveats that you need to remember: you don’t get a warranty; if it’s broken, you need to find out before you buy; due your due diligence on an item; if it’s valuable or expensive, try to find an estimate of its true value; and don’t be taken in by ‘antiques’!

When you go to visit the seller, ask why they are selling it, try to figure out if they are in a hurry to sell, try to gauge how much interest there is in the offer, be prepared to haggle the price, too; and, if you can’t get what you want or need at a good price, be prepared to walk away. There’s always going to be another chance to buy most things. Lastly, if it’s a second hand car or computer or similar such item, try to take a knowlegdable person with you! They can advise on the lemons you might want to avoid!

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