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

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

• 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!

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

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

Remember to use promo code: SINCE94

Clock’s Ticking
This promo is valid for savings on multiple products and service. It will expire on September 30, 2009… so get your 20% discount today!

Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan…
…was kneecapped by an assailant sent by another Olympic hopeful… Tonya Harding. Just another inspiring example of the spirit of brotherhood exemplified through Olympic competition… and a proud moment for Team USA.

OJ Simpson… steel athlete turned wooden actor
… leads police on a slow chase in a white Bronco. His wife is discovered dead, as is his career pitching rental cars. He is later acquitted and devotes his life to an exhausting search for the real killer on golf courses across the nation.

President William Jefferson Clinton
… scores a coup for peace when North Korea signs an agreement to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections. This of course forever ends the issue of the troublesome dictatorship becoming a nuclear power.

Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley
[Insert your own joke here]

Red Hat Linux 1.0 is released
[No joke.]

Brandon Plewe, a student at State U of New York, Buffalo…
…creates a platform to let the burgeoning online community nominate and vote for best-of-class websites in a variety of categories. From this seed is later developed a well known web enterprise.

The new site is known as Best of the Web.

…

Make Something Happen in 2009
Best of the Web is celebrating its 15th year with a sale on a multitude of products… giving YOU lots of chances to make something happen in 2009. For the entire month of September you can take advantage of this promotion and receive 20% OFF all new BOTW submissions and sponsorship advertising, including the following ;

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

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

• 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!

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

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

All you have to do is remember to use the promo code: SINCE94

Vote Early and Vote Often
The promo code may be used multiple times for multiple products and services during the month of September. Remember - the code will expire on September 30, 2009… so be sure to take advantage of the 20% discount before it’s too late!

Why Submit A Descrip? (Think Big Picture)
Won’t the editor just re-write it anyway? Depends on what you send. If the submitted descrip accurately describes the site and generally conforms to editing standards, it stands a high chance of being used.

I can’t make any promises what effect any directory will have on your rankings elsewhere, but for heavens sake, let’s go on the assumption it helps to write a description that will help people find your site.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
If you do not add a descrip, you’re simply telling the editor that recieves it you’ll be happy with whatever they put there. Why do that? There’s no reason to skip adding a description, if you do a good one the editor might use it. Must enter to win.

Avoiding Common Errors

Title Case Descriptions
Seriously… You Wouldn’t Want To Read A Paragraph Formatted Like This Would You? It Is Harder To Read, So It Isn’t Even In Your Best Interest To Send It Like This. Save Yourself.

[AND OF COURSE, ALL-CAPS IS JUST AS BAD.]

Sending Your “USUAL Description”
It helps to have a unique description. Cutting and pasting the one you have in a bunch of other directories isn’t really in your interest or ours.

Sending A Book
Look at the category where your site will probably reside. If the descriptions are all one or two lines long… how likely is it the next one added will have a descrip the length of War & Peace? It isn’t happening. Send a book, it’s the equivalent of not sending a description. The editor will probably erase it and start over.

Mission Statement as Description
You just submitted a site for Wee, Fleecum, & Flee, LLC, practicing law in Martha’s Vinyard. Maybe someday your hopes and dreams will come true and it’ll rank well for terms contained in sentences that begin…

Seriously, wouldn’t you be better with 1 -2 lines including terms like “attorney”, “product liability”, and “Martha’s Vinyard”? Leave the Mission statement on the wall (to show that you got something from the guys in wingtips in return for the $50 grand), but write descrips based on real world keywords.

Keyword Stuffing

I don’t feel a need to explain why that one would be erased. Adding appropriate keywords is good. Repeating ‘em incessantly is not.

Superlatives / Personal Notes / Calls to Action
The world’s finest this-or-that is hard to prove. We probably won’t include it, so if you send us a bunch of subjective BS when submitting, you might as well have left it blank.

Same goes for personal messages suggesting the person “Come to this site to experience world class (whatever)”. Use the description to tell what the site is about. You can do calls to action on the site itself, not in the description. It looks unprofessional on our end to include that stuff.

What DO We Want?
A quick line or two, (maybe 3 if short) explaining the business and site. Include some good keywords that flow naturally in real sentences and you’re on the right track. Before sending, try reading the descrip aloud to see if it reads well.

Win-Win
Hope this helps. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have on the topic, but it’s pretty simple stuff.  It’s in your interest and ours to have a decent description, and if you submit a unique description we can work with AND it accomplishes what you want, we all win. Saves us time and helps you at the same time.

Regards ~ Rob Jones