Interesting comments on this blog

[justme]

It really makes me think.....

http://boobba-baby.blogspot.com/2006...stly-suck.html

[Scott]

Sure there are some sucky toplists out there but there are also some great ones. I myself use top lists extensively to promote many of my sites which is what got me started on Go Top 100.

There are sucky search engines and sucky directories as well. And bad link trades. The point is be careful who you link to - don't just add your site to every toplist, directory, link exchange you can find.... not all are created equal.

Having said that I know of at least a couple hundred awesome top lists on gotop100 that I would add my own sites to in a heartbeat if I had sites in those niches.

Also - about her comments about most of them not being ranked in the search engines.... the stats from last month in Go Top 100 show that the toplists on Go Top 100 received over 20,000 visits from the big 3 search engines.

[BoobbaBaby]

HI, this is the her who made the comments on Boobba Baby Blog. Since I have been getting some repeated emails from many top 100 list owners I would like to comment again on these lists.

My main problem with top 100 lists in my particular industry (baby boutiques) is that many of the moms are using them not to drive traffic but to generate income from ad sales. There has been a recent rise in the number of these lists. Even the newcomers on the scene have become aggressive about soliciting ads from members. Many eBay auctions have been held for these ads. Many of the lists were not ranked when I wrote my original post. But of course anyone who seeks membership and gets others to think that their list is the place for a site to be seen they will join. In turn all list members will put links on their sites to these lists causing a link casting a vote for the Top 100 list. So, the list members GIVE the rank to the list from their own ranking. The higher ranked the members are themselves the higher rank the list will become. The only other way to beat this is to get HUGE amounts of members.

I do not knock all 100 lists. I have found some that lead to WONDERFUL sites. Those lists have lead me mostly to message boards or brilliant blogs. Top 100 lists used in this application can lead you to a great place in cyberspace you may have missed or overlooked using JUST a search engine. Like Dave says and I even had said over a month ago, "The point is be careful who you link to - don't just add your site to every toplist, directory, link exchange you can find.... not all are created equal. "

Dave thank you for letting me voice my opinion and like I said some of these lists the ones actual internet surfers find on sites and click can lead you to magical little places on the internet. I recently found a mothers board that was for mothers who had lost children. I spent hours reading stories I would have never read and finding out that my pain is not unique to me. If it had not been for that one link to a top 100 list on a depression site I found I would not have made new friends.

Again, I will repeat that it is only in the baby boutique industry that I have found these lists to manipulate what those of us who are new to internet business percieve as desired traffic. We join thinking we will get many HITS (I am not meaning sales) from customers in all actuality what we are getting is hits from other boutique owners the ones on the list using the list. After talking to many moms and I mean many, many I realize we are the ones using these lists. So, to make this very long story short these 100 lists for my industry seem to be a way for the competition to check eachother out. Maybe not so good when some of the moms are stealing images, templates, and even content of others sites.

I am not trying to offend anyone I just want more of us boutique owning moms to know what we are actually signing up for and where our money is going when we advertise on these lists.


Thanks again,

Ana Lidia Bjorkquist
Blogger Promoting Moms

[Dirty Butter]

I have stayed away from toplists for our two online sales websites for some of the very reasons you have stated. All it does is send my potential customers to other potential sellers.

Our blog toplist, on the other hand, works to our own blogs' advantage, as it helps to develop a community of readers. Our blogs are related to and linked to our sales websites, so the BLOG VILLAGE toplist, in its own way, helps our business.

[Scott]

I have always thought along these lines: if they are clicking links to other sites - they were going to leave without buying something anyway. Why not trade them for another visitor or two from a top list?

Having said that - I still believe it's best to try to sell something BEFORE presenting them with links to leave the site, or open the top list in a new window.