Blogcatalog is another blog directory.
One immediate noticeable omission is the inability to search through the blogs. One may browse the directory by category, but there is no way to search by entering keywords. Browsing is OK when the directory is small, but when it gets to be a certain size browsing becomes inefficient.
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UPDATE: The owner of the site commented below letting me know I had missed the location of the search box. My bad. Visually, my eyes were drawn to the “Submit A Blog” and “Blog Directory” buttons which are front and center on the screen.
Ideally, it might work to blogcatalog’s advantage to make the search button more “front and center” like the other buttons. It would add to the usability of the site.
The search results screen is very visually clean, easy to read and follow. Listings are in alternate white/grey boxes. Each listing includes the name of the Blog, a link to that blog’s blogcatalog info page, a description of the blog, and a link directly to the blog.
The sidebar includes the top 10 searches and the most recently searched. Both are helpful. Though I have to wonder why 14,000 plus people have searched for crayfish!
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A number of blogs that are listed are either defunct or have not posted in months/years. If a directory is to be of any real service, the entries must be current.
The Popular Blog section allows users to view popular blogs by rating, most visited and most hits. Rating is based on the rating that other users have given the site. Most Visited is actually a misleading title. This list shows the number of people that have visited the Blogcatalog information page for a blog. Highest hits records those blogs that have been visited the most from people visiting off the Blogcatalog link. This latter category should be the one labeled Most Visited. The current Most Visited category should be renamed to something else. A good name escapes me. As it is, this information is only valuable to the actual blog owner. By comparing the # of visits to my info page versus # of hits coming from blogcatalog, I can determine whether my info page is enticing users to visit my site or not.
Of course there is a place to submit your blog. Standard fare.
Is it worth it to submit your blog? It can’t hurt. I have much more traffic from other blog directory sites at the moment. Only time will tell.
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Paul Flyer loves to research the web and find resources and tools for building, maintaining and promoting websites. Based in Saint Louis, MO, he works in management and spends his free time sharpening his web development and copy writing skills. Feel free to contact Paul with any questions, comments or ideas. He is also available to help you with your own website.
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Hey rwt,
You’ve listed some great suggestions–many of which are either already planned or are now on the list of things to add.
I appreciate you taking the time to review BlogCatalog, however. The more feedback I receive from users–the better I can make the service.
Also, there is a way to search through blogs. On the main page–check next to the navigation. There should be a search box.
If you have any other suggestions–I would love to hear them. You can assure that I’ll get them if you e-mail them to me…however I’ll check back on this blog in a few days to see if you’ve replied.
All the best,
Brad Jasper
Thanks for leaving a comment!
I am glad to see that 1) people as yourself do appreciate feedback and 2) they have a vested interest in improvement. That is all very encouraging.
I see the search box now. If I were to make a further suggestion, I would make it more visable noticable. It matches the color scheme of your site and blends into the background. If you want your directory more competive I would make the search box front and center like on Feedster. People are used to this kind of placement on search sites and directories in general. Your kind of site is MEANT to be searched, whereas a site like mine its only offered as a convienence.
I will post an update to my original review as well.
BlogCatalog is the newest kid on the block when it comes to blog directories. BlogCatalog meets two primary goals: a) Supply blog creators with greater exposure and b) provide visitors searching for unique blogs with a growing selection of well-organized blog-generated content. At BlogCatalog anyone can submit the URL and description of a public weblog and see it listed within the growing number of user-defined categories available. BlogCatalog is brand new, and basic addition of new user-defined categories requires a 24-48 hour lag time for approval. If you are into increasing the reach and exposure of your independent blog site head now to BlogCatalog and submit your site while gaining all of the advantages of being among the first to be listed. Provide also specific comments and feedback to Brad Jasper, the developer of this free open service. BlogCatalog has also been listed at number 78 of the ever-growing RSSTop55 Best Directory Submission list.
BlogCatalog just went through a major redo. The front end looks similar however many of the search features that were missing have now been added. Many of the defunct blogs have been removed and a ranking algorithm should push better quality blogs to the top of the results.
Im really interested in your feedback on the NEW BlogCatalog
Blog catalog is a great platform but there is so much out there that it is a struggle to get any meaningful traffic. Lets hope they clear all the crap off, i am sick of people asking me to kiss their adds