Today webmasters are looking for tools they can use to leverage the power of the web in more ways then one. Not only are we looking for tools that are easy to use, we are looking for tools that are robust in features, generate revenue directly or indirectly and that actually perform well. In my personal quest for a tool with these attributes I have been lucky enough to stumble upon PHP Link Directory.
PHP Link Directory has many great features that make it a great directory script. First off it runs on the very popular open-source web platform LAMP or Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP platform. This means you can install it on virtually any shared linux hosting plan. Two it can use mod_rewrite to create static pages making your directory search engine friendly which is important for search engine optimization. You can easily turn static pages on or off via the admin interface. Three is its ability to require webmasters to reciprocate links when they submit their site. This is very important for building up your Google Pagerank which again is essential to SEO. Four is its built in revenue generation feature giving you the ability to charge webmasters for a featured listing. Five is that it has a complete admin section so you can easily maintain your directory via your web browser.
PHP Link Directory compared to other directory scripts is very easy to install, customize and maintain. Installation takes minutes and once installed it is easy to apply a different template to customize the look and feel. You can find free templates offered by the generous supporters or you can simply customize the template files that come with it. Free or paid templates are the way to go if you don't feel comfortable using Dreamweaver or other WYSWYG editors. If you are comfortable using Dreamweaver then editing the scripts templates is a snap.
Revenue generation is built into the script by means of paid link submission. Webmasters can either choose to submit their site for free requiring them to link back to your directory or they can choose to pay for a featured listing. You set the pricing and duration of featured listings and payment is handled through Paypal. Of course generating any revenue from a website depends on its popularity or traffic. Because you can require webmasters to link back to your site though you can increase your Google Pagerank inversely increasing your traffic. Then once you're getting a decent amount of traffic you monetize your site more by adding Adsense ads, Yahoo ads, or even affiliate ads.
If you haven't already done so I suggest giving PHP Link Directory a try so you can see for yourself how great it is. If you run across any problems then check out the active forum. The forum is filled with lots of great information and friendly users that are willing to guide you in the right direction. The community behind PHP Link Directory is just another great feature of this script making it stand out from the crowd. Visit PHP Link Directory
