May Promo: $25 off BOTW Blog or BOTW Directory Submission
Talk about a title that makes the rest of the blog post anticlimactic… just figured every once in a while we ought to post the executive summary version. Title says it all, if you use the promo code you get a $25 discount on sites submitted to the directory(s).

PROMO CODE: 25BUCKS

By the way, if you were already toying with submitting, this is a great chance to do it… as for example that drops the price on a BOTW Blog Directory submission to $50. A 33% break is pretty special. As far as the regular directory goes it isnt as large a percentage, but if a penny saved is a penny earned, Ben Franklin woulda gone nuts for this idea.

—- if you’re on a drivel free diet, snip here —-

Now that you’ve decided to save $25…
Let’s discuss what you should do with the extra $25 you *aren’t* spending. I’ll toss my top 10 suggestions, none of which involve sending it directly to me, though if you want to do that I’m game too.

Top 10 Alternative Uses for the Spare $25

• 10- Send $25 to Public TV and demand they play Monty Python all day Sunday in return
• 9 –  Get 25 items from the McD’s Dollar menu and invite co-workers to a black-tie dinner
• 8 –  Tip the fire outta that cute bartender… should pay for itself in free drinks later
• 7 –  Get the Celestial Steed and impress your World of Warcraft friends with the new mount
• 6 –  Pay full market value for all 2500 of my wife’s Beanie Baby collection
• 5 –  Make a downpayment on shipping 2500 Beanie Babies to someone really evil
• 4 –  Get that thing on late night TV that’s “Only $19.99!” and
  • finally make real Juliann Fries
  • fix those nagging scratches on the car
  • get those 6-pack abs you always wanted
• 3 – Upgrade to the Pro Account on Flickr and get unlimited storage
• 2 – Finally take that “defensive driving online” course that’ll lower the insurance rates
• 1-  Buy unexpected flowers in hopes of getting several of the above items later

If you have more to add, you’re welcome to put them in the comments section. Bound to be some stuff I missed. Aside from that, we hope you put the money to good use.

Best wishes ~

Supporting the Troops
Well, we had an editor deployed to Iraq last year(the lengths some people will go to just to get outta editing… sheesh!) and we wanted to do something nice about Christmas time. After all, she’s thousands of miles from those she loves and stuck in a sea of olive drab even on a good day, so there’s gotta be something we could do.

There’s always the choice of doing the Bob Hope thing for the troops, but let’s face it, the USO wouldn’t actually have us. Granted a couple of us may sing a bit, but in my case at least if I ask for requests the most common one calls for a song I don’t know that’s apparently named “Wouldja Please Siddown and Shuddup”.

[I've checked, isn't in the karaoke catalog, maybe I'm spelling it wrong.]

Barring developing better pitch and a knack for tap dance we hit on a plan to go with our strengths. BOTW is known for two things… a great directory and some Kick-A T-shirts. [You can order those however you want.] As the editor still has ties back to the directory, staff got a list of the folks in her unit and put together their own version of the familiar BOTW long-sleeve T for the whole crew.

This one’s sure to become a classic. Pics are below. Feel free to gawk in muted wonder at the glory.

On the downside, the unit got scattered all over the theater before a group shot became a possibility (who knew the military would put their operations ahead of a good photo op?), but through the magic of the internet we finally got our hands on a picture of our own intrepid warrior to provide proof that they got there. I understand some of the editors shipped cookies too, but I’d have doubts about what percentage of those made it all the way.

Name of the unit and the editor with-held just in case this might be interpreted as an advertisement by a serving member of the military, but regardless… hey youngster… you know who you are, as do we, and we just wanted to let you know we miss you and appreciate you.

Regards from us to ALL those who stand guard while we sleep.

We look forward to your safe return.

Why Choose a Category?
While it isn’t an issue by any means, it is amazing how many submitters leave the choice of category entirely up to the editor. It just seems worth a shot to state a preference. In a directory this size there are generally several places one site might fit. This post will give you an idea how to offer the editor your personal preference should you desire.

So why not make it mandatory?
The simple answer is that we provide a service, and it just isn’t an issue to us. We’re happy to help, and making sure it goes to the right place is part of the editors job anyway. The point of this post is to help if YOU want to state a preference. We’re fine either way. The absence of a category selection will in no way affect the probability of site acceptance. Acceptance is determined by the content of the site.

Nor will submitting to a category we think isn’t suitable adversely affect acceptance. If the review editor determines it is more appropriately placed elsewhere, they will put it where it goes. That said, we do make an attempt to accommodate if there’s a judgment call to be made and you have stated a preference.

How DO we tell BOTW which category we want?
In order to automatically have it submitted to the category of your choice, go to the category where you think it goes and hit the “Submit Sites” button (in the upper right corner). Follow the prompts from there, and the system wiill tell us where you want the site.

But how do I decide which IS the right category?
As stated, in a directory this size there almost always is more than one place a site could reasonably be placed. Let’s use as an example, a Family Law attorney in Los Angeles. The method I utilize to seek placement is to simply open BOTW and implement a user side search. The techs recently enhanced it and it is easily the quickest way to find a good spot for a site. I’d type in “family attorney los angeles” (without quotes) and see what the results are. From there I narrow down by looking at the contents of the most logical categories that appear in the results.

Regional vs Topical
Like most general directories, our primary two “trees” are “Regional” and “Topical. Looking down the matches in the example above, you’ll notice choices that seem right on both sides. This will not be true for every site… for example a site for an online shopping service IS best placed in an appropriate category of Shopping & Services while a brick and mortar retail store is best placed in the Regional category for the city in which it resides.

Why? Because users across the world may use an online shopping site, but seldom go online to decide whether to drive to the store in Denver vs one in Miami. Regional is generally the best fit for a brick-and-mortar operation. [And don't forget to put those in BOTW Local too... the more hooks in the water, the more fish on the table.]

The lawyer example is intentionally selected because it IS an ambiguous call. Granted, nobody will typically try to decide between a family lawyer in Miami vs Denver, but that isn’t the way the choices will be set up because in this case there’s a Regionalized Topical category that’s tied to Regional through See-also links and @links. Whether something resides on the  Regional or Topical side is a non-issue if they are tied together properly.

See-also’s and @links?
If you look closely you will note an @ symbol on the end of the name of some of the subcategories you might choose. Though it will physically act like a subcategory, it is really just a navigation link to get you to the right place (ie – either the correct Topical or Regional subcategory). An @link tells the user “this is a natural subcategory” and takes them there even if it isn’t physicall below it on the directory tree, while a “see-also” link tells the user “if this topic is of interest, here’s a related place you should see”. They’re similar in use, but not exactly the same.

In both cases they are just structure that makes sure the user can find what they want. To those not in the directory business that may seem a little convoluted, but basically it is just a way of keeping structure navigable. The alternative would be to always have overlapping but totally separate subcategories, and it’d make it harder for users to find the material they seek.

Continuing with the family lawyer example:
You’ll notice you eventually end up making a decision between a regionalized Topical category…
Society: Law: Services: Lawyers_and_Firms: Family_Law: North_America: United_States: California:
or placing it in the Regional category strictly for Los Angeles legal sites…
Regional: United States: California: Cities: Los Angeles: Business and Economy: Legal Services

Cool, a choice. Which of those two is “better”?
Depends on who you ask. BOTH work. I’ve seen some people show a knee-jerk preference for Topical, but in the age of contextual search engines (and directories play a part in contextual search results) a listing in Regional is highly effective place to be.

Bottom line… in this case it IS a judgment call, so stating a preference will assist us in making the call.

Hope this helps, and happy submitting.

Online Visibility – The Holy Grail
Every webmaster wants better visibility and targeted traffic. Best of the Web assists in that quest via a number of products… the Best of the Web Directory and the sister site, BOTW UK & Ireland Directory, the BOTW Blog Directory, and BOTW Local to name a few.

We also offer multiple site solutions for customers with 20 or more sites, and recently we’ve added “bundled discounts” for those that wish to use a multi-prong approach for even better results.

Moving to the Next Level: BOTW CATEGORY SPONSOR
One way to enhance visibility beyond those means is a BOTW Category Sponsorship. Category Sponsors are displayed at the top of a relevant directory category, and to drive even more targeted traffic, Sponsors now appear alongside BOTW Local search results and the recently enhanced BOTW Directory search results.

Making a Good Deal a GREAT Deal – Give it away FREE
Right now your first Category Sponsorship is FREE for 30 days and afterward bills monthly at a 30% Discount! This offer is valid only if the sponsorship is ordered during the month of March. To take advantage, use Promo Code “THIRTY30″. Thirty percent off is pretty darned good… but getting to test it out for FREE first makes it a no-risk proposition. Nice bonus.

Note to Resellers: Here’s an opportunity to have fun. How hard is it to give away FREE ads? Enjoy.

RECAP: Promo Code THIRTY30 gets you…

• 30 Day Free Trial – (a $50 value)
• Premier placement in a relevant category.
• Featured visibility alongside the search results of the BOTW Directory and BOTW Local.
• Control your marketing message.

Caveat – Quality and Relevance Count
In order to present users the most relevant sites available, sites in the BOTW Category Sponsorship Program must meet the same editorial guidelines for relevance and quality as listings in our directory.

Are YOU Ready for the Next Level?
If you’re ready and your site qualifies… here’s where to get started!  BOTW Category Sponsorship

BOTW Local Premium listings 50% off thru February 28
BOTW Local is a map related business directory that helps people locate local vendors. As a service to both vendors and users we allow a free listing (called a “Jumspstart”). For an added fee you can get a Premium listing. Premium pages provide prominent placement and expanded business details like email and website links, coupons, special notes, etc.

Is a Physical Location Required?
The BOTW Local service is designed to help users find local vendors for products or services. It does provide a map to those operating out of a brick and mortar location. Still it is a simple fact that many legitimate vendors and service providers do not operate out of an office or storefront, so a P.O box IS accepted in lieu of an office location.

To view the site see: http://local.botw.org

To upgrade an existing listing in BOTW Local:

1. Sign in to your existing BOTW Local Account
2. Got to “Manage Listings” section
3. Start activating the added features available to Premium listings
4. When prompted, enter promo code to save 50%

Promo Code: YOUSAVE50

BOTW Local – Designed to Drive Traffic

A Botw Local Premium listing is a good tool to help you drive more people to your website and increase awareness for your business. For more information on the benefits of a Premium Business details page, visit http://local.botw.org/premium.

Sign up today and save 50% – you pay only $15.

Regards ~ The Best of the Web Team

Congrats! If you’re reading this…
You survived the first decade of the new century. We lived through the “Y2k scare” and strolled into a decade where the internet went from “cool novelty” to “economic lifeline”. Huge fortunes were made by some, and in a decade when “real” employers were saying goodbye to longterm employees… internet entrepreneurism became a major force.

New industries entirely online came of age. People that once went to the mall to get ready for Christmas began to go to “Google” and “Amazon”.

We learned a lot of new words… Adsense, SEO, PR, Digg, Facebook… and we learned new meanings for old words. “Twitter” went from a sound to an action. “Text” went from a noun to a verb. Spam was once somethiing you didn’t want on your plate, now it’s something you don’t want in your inbox, directory, or forum. Now if you talk about anticipating “caffeine”, you probably aren’t on your way to Starbucks.

The national media scoffed at “bloggers in pajamas”, and lost. [Now they're establishing their own blogs and playing catch up.] Where once having a website meant your company was “cutting edge”, now NOT having one means you just aren’t considered. For the most part these changes occurred over the course of the last decade.

Moving into 2010…
In a decade of change, Best of the Web has played its part. We went from an early awards program to a directory helping map the best sites on the net. We added a UK and Ireland Directory, a Local Directory, and other products.

Now we’d like to play our part helping folks get their website and their products in front of more people than ever. BOTW now has more than 20 million listings spread across the Web Directory, Blog Directory, UK Directory, and BOTW Local. We are happy to offer a promotion good through the end of January: SAVE 20% on All NEW BOTW Submissions and Sponsorship Advertising.

When prompted, enter the following Promo Code: NEWYR

Save 20% on new:

• Directory Submissions – Discount the annual or the one-time review fee and get listed in the Internet’s Oldest Directory.

• Monthly Sponsorship Ads – Save on the monthly rate for all new sponsorship ads.

• Blog Directory Submissions – Feature your blog and save on the annual review fee.

• Blog Advertising – Discount on all new sponsorship ads in the Blog Directory.

• Premium Local Listings – Discount the monthly and annual rate for your Local Business Profile listing.

• Bundled Marketing Package – Get your US Business listed in BOTH the Web Directory and BOTW Local for a fraction of the cost. Save 20% on the yearly fee!

The code may be used multiple times for multiple products and services in January. The code will expire on January 31, 2010 so act now to get a jump on the new year.

Happy 2010 to all from the Best of the Web team!

To protect the good name of the many legitimate practitioners in the BOTW Affiliate Program and to protect the interests of potential submitters to our directory products, BOTW staff is offering an alert regarding a known scam in progress.

SCAM ALERT:

An individual is advertising unrealistic discounts on BOTW submissions at Digitalpoint in THIS THREAD and THIS THREAD. The same offer is also shown at webhostingscoop.net in THIS POST. The poster at Digitalpoint goes by the name Arale, and may be employing shills to “verify” his service.

Best of the Web wishes to warn potential submitters that BOTW has no affiliation with the service shown. The BOTW referral ID of the original poster of those threads has been identified as an individual whose submits are removed from the directory as it is part of a known scam.

Anyone that responds to that offer or similar offers by that individual elsewhere with intent to obtain a listing at BOTW does so at their own risk. Again, it is NOT associated with any legitimate BOTW offer and will not result in a listing in the BOTW Directory, the BOTW Blog Directory, or any affiliated product.

~ Thanks

Rob Jones
Best of the Web Directory

Putting Our Cards on the Table
Best of the Web is happy to announce they’ll be sponsoring a Charity Poker event in Las Vegas next week for the PubCon Search Conference.

This is the third year in a row for us (hey, if it works, why not?), and this year our beneficiary will be the Toys for Tots program initiated by the US Marine Corps Reserve.

Toys for Tots Program – http://www.toysfortots.org/
The Toys for Tots program has been an ongoing event since it’s conception in 1947. The objective is to…

…help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.

Though many toys are collected through local drives and public participation, the need often outpaces supply, and then some just find it easier to donate cash so the funds can be targeted where needed most. Our children are the future, and helping them have a great Christmas in what may have been an otherwise rough year seems a worthy goal.

For some examples of some lives impacted by the Toys for Tots program, see actual accounts posted on their site. These show that even a small positive influence can leave a lasting impression on a child, and motivate her or him to pursue a path to a productive adulthood.

The Players:
Return of the Botw Boys
In addition to sponsoring the tourney, BOTW will have 4 team members playing in the tournament… Greg Hartnett, Brian Prince, “the Good Rob” (aka Rob Schmidt*), & Adam Sussman. * Last we heard Schmidt was still claiming his previous high placement was “luck”. Those are the guys to watch, the ones that say they’re good seldom are.

If YOU are interested in playing…

…Or just being a guest, see the Purpose Inc Texas Holdem Poker Tournament at Pubcon page to register.

If the lure of the cards isn’t enough, remember that players and guests also get free drinks… Nov. 12th from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Mirage hotel.

Go sign up… you can help a worthy cause.

The charity party BOTW hosted at SMX East was reportedly a rousing success. Aside from those present having a great time, the party raised a considerable sum for a worthy cause.

Earnings for the Charity
The party raised over $11 thousand dollars to fight Multiple Myeloma and Blood Cancer. There were also some great raffle prizes awarded as follows:

RAFFLE PRIZE WINNERS
All winning ticket holders contact Greg Niland to claim your prize.
SMX West All Access Pass (or SMX East 2010) – Justin Seybert
SMX Advanced All Access Pass – Damon Clifford
Search Engine Land Premium Memberships – #446158, #446251, #446391, Christine Gaynor, Monica Barber – Contact Greg Niland for prize
2 SES New York Conference Pass – Christine Gaynor & Steve Caraballo
SEOmoz Advanced SEO Training DVD – Damon Clifford
SEOmoz 1 year PRO membership – Shiva Sharif

Our thanks to all that attended and made this charity party a success… and to the rest of you, hope you can make it to the next one.

Get Out the Party Hats, it’s SMX Charity Party Time
SMX East is on the way, and BOTW wants you to enjoy the trip. Come join ‘em and the rest of your friends at Town Tavern NYC (134 3rd St… Corner of Ave of Americas) on Monday Oct. 5th from 8-11pm.

Come do a little conference networking and have a good time.

Besides friends & free booze (wait, we need more?)… there will be raffles. As usual, proceeds go to charity, so the fun is for a good cause.

Prizes include:

• SMX West All Access Pass (or SMX East 2010) ($1395)
• SMX Advanced All Access Pass ($1395)
• 5 Search Engine Land Premium Memberships ($149)
• 2 SES New York Conference Pass ($1395)
• SEOmoz Advanced SEO Training DVD ($499)
• SEOmoz 1 year PRO membership ($799)

Tickets are $50 (again, all goes to charity since Best of The Web and Clix Marketing are picking up the bill). Proceeds will go to fight Blood Cancer and Multiple Myeloma, and the receipt for the ticket will keep your accountant happy at tax time.

Tickets are available at: http://www.imcharityparty.com/ .

Of course if you can’t make it, you can still help by purchasing raffle tickets, but it’ll be more fun with you there. Hope you can make it.