How does it all work?

Anna

Member
Since I am new to all this with topplists I do not have all the basic understanding in place around how it all fit together. But would love to. So I have been trying to look around on the net for sources around how to create a successful (even money-bringing) topplist but alas have not found anything. Do you guys know of a good plays to start?

I have started to understand the basic idea of how a good list can become viral if enough visitors and members, besides exchange of cisitors between site and user, what else does it bring? Will it bring the site up on google for example? How about the members on my list?

When I (hopefully) have a large amount of visitors - do I treat it as a successful blog when it comes to advertizing and similar?
 

Basti

Administrator
Staff member
So I have been trying to look around on the net for sources around how to create a successful (even money-bringing) topplist but alas have not found anything. Do you guys know of a good plays to start?
Well, yea the start is difficult and its as hard as with any other kind of website if you dont have the experience.
I must say i always had exteme luck on my choice on topsites. I started a niche topsite on an popular keyword right on time when only a very few had one of these lists.If you happen to have that luck, your start wont be to hard as only a few members gives you good search result, leading to more and more.
If many of these lists exist, like game toplists, you will have a hard time. You need to overcome so many established lists, which might spent months, years to make their position (also suffered on this once)

That aside, a small start is
- submitting to other topsites in that niche (only the popular ones) until you have grown a little, dont want to send them your valueable members do you? :)
Maybe you gain a few members by this, maybe not. If you do, chances are high that other sites follow. As you properbly know, many webmaster check out their competors, doing the same as them.
- Another good start is link exchanges (based on niche, more valueable)
Emailing web owners is also good, dont waste your time on extremely popular sites on that niche though, chances are almost zero that they will enter a small toplist. Put your focus on the real small sites as a start (going through other toplists helps finding these), on time higher your focus to bigger ones.
- If you have the money advertising.
- Forum signatures with your link, forum posts, blog posts etc etc

Will it bring the site up on google for example? How about the members on my list?
Many Members, especially members (sites) with pagerank will boost your search results big times for keywords you target.
On the other side, the member will gain visitors, Pagerank / better search results
- The rankings member out links are marked with rel=nofollow, meaning that google will not follow that link, therefore not bring the member anything beside visitors. That is, because your topsites pagerank value is divided between allllll the links on that page, giving them almost no valueable meaning anyway.
Instead google can now follow all your other topsite links giving them a higher value, where our eye lies on the stats page, if that page gains Pagerank of 1 or 2 its so more valueable for the member than a follow link on the ranking page. And the stats page is all his

When I (hopefully) have a large amount of visitors - do I treat it as a successful blog when it comes to advertizing and similar?
Partly, in my opinion
on a topsite many visitors and many link clicks is what counts. Pagerank doesnt have high meaning to me

On normal websites, where ppl often sell links/ads the pagerank is often what counts( better Pagerank = higher price, to boost the website from the ad in search results ).
I am one of the less % of site owners who sell ads for visitors, not pagerank. Search engine boosting by links should be made by natural growth (Good website = fans placing your link on various places)
Google also suggest to use rel=nofollow on sold links / advertising. Because you are practically selling your pagerank which is not suggested - ill approve with that statement by now

But its up to whoever run the website to take the risk of selling ads without nofollow to boost the website from the ad in the search results, or not.

But iam entering a big topic here, and could continue forever, so i better stop for now

Hope that helped a little :)
 

Anna

Member
Thank you taking the time! Looove long posts! :)

I believe I have choosen a good niche - fairly small but without any competitors!

Did I understand you right about google: Only the list itself will gain rank when it is growing, mot the sites of members? I guess though that they gain googlerank indirectly via increased number of visitors to their sites. Yes?

Since next on my to-do list is to write a user manual for the users of the site I just want to check with you that I have all the (+) in place:
*A link catalog from/with people with same interests (find new things to read)
*Potential of exponentially increasing numbers of readers of registeted blogs/webpages Increased visibility.
Have I missed any obvious (+)?
 

Basti

Administrator
Staff member
Did I understand you right about google: Only the list itself will gain rank when it is growing, mot the sites of members?
mostly, you gain pagerank through them, they gain pagerank via their stats page ( less site links = higher value for them ). With this the stats page is more likely to gain better pagerank than it would be if google follow the member links on the rankings page.

I guess though that they gain googlerank indirectly via increased number of visitors to their sites. Yes?
No number of gained visitors have nothing to do with pagerank. Only number, quality of backlinks

*A link catalog from/with people with same interests (find new things to read)
Might be good to quote that the most popular site or rather the higher ranked sites, dependning on ranking method, gain the most readers. Like in any other directory

*Potential of exponentially increasing numbers of readers of registeted blogs/webpages Increased visibility.
right

Have I missed any obvious (+)?
You could describe the above very detailed, which lead to smaller sub points, but you got the basic idea there
Another thing planned for VisioList is also making it more like community, where also a little activity goes on beside visitor exchanges. But that require a little more thinking on our end
 
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