Best of the Web

 

So, what is BOTW?

It is a web directory that you can submit your site to, for a cost.

Now this is not a service that people generally browse through in order to find your page. Nor is any other directory. So why might you consider it?

It can boost your page rank.  It is a human-edited directory – this fact makes it a better source than other proclaimed paid for links by the likes of Google.

YouTube Video Answer to this topic on Google Webmaster Help

The sub-directories show PageRank in the Google toolbar, their links are followed, and they use realistic anchor text rules.

Karmoxie.com and GrapeThoughts.com were both submitted last year, and  this has had a positive affect on our ranking.

Costs are either a $149.95/yr fee (which covers annual reviews).
Or you can pay $299 if you want a permanent listing.

If it is near Thanksgiving – there is likely to be a Cyber monday deal. We update our Cyber Monday deals every year and so far Best of the Web has been listed the last two years and offers both the yearly and the one-time fee at 50% off.

If you plan on submitting any listings to BOTW, then you might want to sign up for their affiliate program so you can get a 25% recurring commission for any listing you submit or listings submitted through your links.  That’s what I have done. If you get a few signups, your fee can be covered.

Submit Your Site to Best of the Web!

Here is an article written about Google and its treatment of paid listings. A good bit of info, and a video form Google basically saying that since it is manually edited, it is better than other options in which you can just pay to have a link to your site.

http://www.webpronews.com/the-blurry-lines-of-googles-paid-links-policy-2012-05