The same mistakes over and over again. PHPLinkBid Directory Owners Beware!

I own and run a PHPLinkBid Directory site - fortunately, I know enough about scripts to install it myself and get it configured to run properly. (OK, I've made a note to myself to buy some add-ons and find a prettier template - but these things are cosmetic.)

These link bid sites are a good way of getting backlinks for your web site - especially the ones such as PHPLinkBid which have RSS feeds for categories. There are many other directory scripts published which offer similar RSS feeds.

Link Directory scripts generally cost money - some a few dollars, others many hundreds of dollars. So you would think that someone spending money with a view to making a return on their investment would take the time to make sure that the directory is working correctly. As I surf the net looking for other places to buy links, it amazes me completely that the configuration of the directory has been ignored.

For instance, I have come across several directories where the owners obviously have forgotten to find the section where they put in their paypal address - so someone wanting to buy a link ends up sending money to a duff paypal address. This is hopeless - and very frustrating.

PLEASE - if you run a PHPLinkBid site, check to see that your PayPal address details are correct.

... my other beef with directories is that people are unrealistic about the prices they can get when they are starting up their directories. My recommendation, especially for the first few months, is to start cheap - $1 per listing to start with is great - that way, your directory gets populated with links. The whole purpose of a link bid directory is to encourage people to pay more to be on the front page of your site - so you need at least ten purchased links to encourage the competition to pay to be top of your link directory.

Oh, and don't forget to promote your own directory - because the more popular and visible it is, the better your results are going to be.

With that in mind, please don't forget to check out my own directory and place a bid - I am actively promoting it too - and as I do so, you will get the benefit of my efforts in bringing traffic to the site. :)

Medical Transcription, eBay and Life in General!

What a day. I had it all planned out to perfection. Silly me!

My plan was to set up a small blog about training to be a medical transcription secretary - I used to work in a hospital and for the first few weeks was completely at sea when it came to the medical terminology. So, it makes great sense to me to take a dedicated training course to learn the ins and outs of the business. .... and that's just in the UK. Knowing that other countries have many layers of requirements for medical and insurance claims, I suspect that getting a good training in the business of medical secretarial work is absolutely essential.

Have I written this blog yet?? Well no - because I then got involved in my sister's problems with eBay. Not a problem, really, because she successfully bought a kitchen
- and needed to pay for it. That's when she ran into the PayPal obstacle course. It's just that the paypal monthly/annual payment limited were exceeded by the amount she paid for the kitchen - so she instantly had to learn about getting her paypal account verified. It's all done now, but boy did it take some effort. Why so - well, clever as she is, my sister gets excited and flustered when hitting a problem like this; her recourse is to phone me and get me to talk her through the process. Fine, not a problem, I'm keen to help. It just takes time!

Anyway, we're making progress and all I have to do now is get my life on track :) - bake some cookies (Empire Biscuits, if you really want to know!), write another blog post, take a picture of the beautiful cherry blossom in Helensburgh - oh, and I should really put on a washing, hang up a washing - and more!

ps, thanks to http://www.sxc.hu for the image .... great site with some amazing pics.