Make Money Promoting Directories - Best of the Web’s Reseller Program

Best of the Web (BOTW) is known as the internet’s oldest web directory and is currently one of the most authoritative directories around, alongside other juggernauts like Yahoo, DMOZ and Business.com. I was submitting some websites to Best of the Web when I noticed that they had an affiliate program that seemed rather lucrative and interesting.

Best of the Web’s Reseller Program allows you to earn money whenever you refer webmasters who submit their websites to Best of the Web. You’ll get 25% commission on all successful referrals and will earn annual/monthly recurring commissions on approved paid directory listings and category sponsorship.

Commission payments are made via Paypal or Check within 15 days of the end of every month when your earnings reach $50 or more.

Best of the Web’s main attraction is their directory listing services. They charge an annual or one-time review fee for websites, which ranges from $69.95 per year to a one time payment of $199.95. Blog directory submissions incur a one-time fee of $39.95.

Some notes from Best of the Web on the referral process:

You may either specify which sites customers will be originating from so that we can credit you for referrals accordingly, or you can use your unique tracking code by appending it to any links.

As with sites you represent, referred customers who use the BOTW Directory Submit Service will earn you commission. Listings that renew annually will also earn you commission annually.

Referred customers who sponsor categories within the BOTW Web or Blog Directories will also earn you MONTHLY commission for the life of the sponsorship.

It seems that you’ll stand to earn the 25% commission even if you submit your own websites. Best of the Web also offers some very nice looking affiliate banners, logos and flash buttons, which you can use to promote their website.

How should I promote their affiliate program?

You have the choice of either promoting it passively or pro-actively. A passive method that doesn’t require much effort or attention would be simply to display the affiliate banners or text links on your website.

The active way would be seek out webmasters who are interested in increasing their Page Rank, exposure and site rankings. This can be done through PPC campaigns or just simple word of mouth promotion.

It’ll work best if you are providing a link building or SEO service because you could probably include submission to BOTW as part of your general service package.

This interview with Greg Hartnett from Best of the Web is a good introduction to Best of the Web and web directories in general.

Harnett talks about the benefit of getting listed in a web directory:

Getting listed in a quality directory can prove very beneficial to a site owner. Through proper categorization, a site owner should expect relevant traffic from the users of the directory.

Additionally, most search engines tend to value listings in a directory as a trusted link. Due to the editorial control of a directory listing, search engines view a listing in an authoritative directory as a sign of confidence that your site is a quality resource.

Do any of you out there have websites listed in Best of the Web or other paid directories?