LookSmart is very similar to Yahoo in scope, although they can't yet match Yahoo's level of traffic like in the good old days.
In the spring of 2002, LookSmart decided to move from a "pay for placement" model, which was similar to Yahoo's Directory, to a "pay-per-click" model with a fixed cost of 15 cents per click. Initially they forced all existing accounts, even those that were pre-paid, into the pay-per-click model. Their actions caused LookSmart to lose credibility with the Search Engine Optimization Community. In addition, many web sites report that they are not receiving the clicks that LookSmart says they are sending. This means the actual cost per real click is much higher than 15 cents, further reducing LookSmart’s reputation as a reputable site Submission resource. Because of these factors, we do not recommend them.
Directory Zeal
Finally, note that there is apparently still somewhat of a backdoor that can get submissions into LookSmart's directory for free. This involves the volunteer-organized Zeal.com directory. If you become a volunteer editor and pass Zeal.com’s test (read their guidelines carefully, it's a cheat-sheet for the test!), then you can submit sites to Zeal, and sites submitted to Zeal often appear in LookSmart. Obviously, this is not something you'd want to abuse, but it seems like a good way to get deserving sites -- although only non-commercial sites -- into LookSmart.Zeal's user guidelines, which contain a style sheet on how to format submissions to Zeal, contain lots of tips that can help you make more effective submissions to other directories, too, so it's well worth your time spent reading them. Join Zeal as a member to gain access to these guidelines.
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