FreeA spreadsheet + your editorAbout 40 min
Make Every Directory Look Different
If you run more than one directory, each needs its own reason to exist, its own structure and its own look. Copying one site into the next leaves a footprint.
Why This Matters
The worst version is one template with the nouns swapped. Buyers see the same skeleton, the same words and the same layout. It reads as one operation stamping out pages, and Google's spam policies warn against bulk pages and link schemes.
✓ How To Do It
- Write one sentence for each directory that says who it helps and what they do with it. If two sentences match, merge the sites.
- List the entities each directory needs. A directory for one trade needs different fields than another. Add the fields that buyers in that trade actually ask about.
- Pick a different URL structure where it makes sense. Group by what buyers search for in that field, not by one fixed pattern.
- Pick different page types. One may need a comparison page, one a guide per job type, one a licensing page. Do not add a page type nobody needs.
- Change the layout and type. Choose a new color set and a plain readable font, and build the header and footer fresh.
- Write the copy fresh for each site. Do not paste text blocks between sites, even reworded ones.
- Do not link your own directories to each other to pass ranking credit. Link to another site only when a buyer would want it.
- Put two sites side by side on a phone. If you cannot tell the structure apart, rebuild one.
- Never start by copying a finished site folder. Start from your sheet.
Done WhenA one sentence purpose for each directory, a field list for each, and two side by side phone screenshots that look clearly different.
Reference List
Sources
Tips & Pitfalls
- Different does not mean fancy. It means built for a different buyer.
- Shared tools and checks are fine. Shared page skeletons are the problem.
- Do not run a directory you would not use yourself.
