Is Looksmart a Ripoff?

[KevinC.]

From my notes from a few years ago it just said " snobby engine"

Anyway, I recently went on search engine watch, and it said that looksmart is now really influential and powers a lot of engines etc. So I figured lets try it again, only $149.00 a bargain. I havn't heard back yet, but I have since learned a couple of things that don't look to promising.

One -- if they reject you, you don't get your money back. It's so absurd I didn't read for it when I applied. I find that ridiculous, unethical, immoral, and criminal. Am I wrong?

Secondly, and more disturbingly, when I did a search for various artists, the only ones listed were like 75% dead, and the rest were so famous that they certainly did not submit themselves. In other words, I didn't see anyone who was like -- Joe Smith -- sculpturist in Monterry. It was only like " Picasso -- new show at the Met" Very historical, very snobby. Nothing in the way of practical commerce.

The searches yeilded lousy results. Why are they getting such great press?

[MsSearch]

:hi: KevinC

I find Looksmart to be a great investment...for the MSN traffic alone. LS does have many partners including MSN, AltaVista, CNN, Juno, iWON, many smaller ISPs, etc...but MSN is the winner (for me, at least) when it comes to traffic. Not many people search at LS, i think it's mostly just webmasters searching for their site listings.

Have you submitted to Yahoo? They only offer a $299 pay for review...at least LS offers an 8-week $149 submission which is currently a one-time fee. Yahoo is now charging an annual fee. In their terms, the fee is for a review to be accepted into their directory and it says that this fee is non-refundable...LS has human editors who need to be paid to do their job...

As for the many sites you think did not pay to be in the directory....they may not have paid. They may have been submitted to the directory before the pay for review was set-up. I know I have client sites that I submitted for free (way back in the days of free submission--ah, the good ole days) that are still in the directory.

After submitting your site for $149, you should have received a confirmation email with an order number. It will, most likely, take the full 8 weeks for the Basic Submit service. If you followed their submit-a-site guidelines, you should have no problem getting accepted. Good luck and once accepted you can re-evaluate the benefit of a LS listing...

[KevinC.]

Thanks, actually I did find more commercial parts of Looksmart. Hence, I think the odds are I will be accepted, I'll let you know. And $149 is ok for added exposure.

Yes, I've been with Yahoo for several years. Obviously a much better directory.

I stand by what I said that look smart, as a directly seems snobbish and mediocre. And I don't remember reading anywhere when I gave my credit card number that you could be rejected and not get your money back. How dishonest. You find out about that later on FAQ etc or on this forum, or when they tell you. Just my opinion.

Kevin.

[dvduval]

I think Looksmart is fairly reasonable. The main reason they would rejest you would be if you had something that appeared illegal, racist, that sort of thing.

I tried their Looklistings and wouldn't recommend it, but the Category listings do work. Keep in mind you can buy up to 5 Categories.

And as MsSearch noted, Yahoo is at least as important when it comes to paid listings. Be sure to register at dmoz.com at well (free).

[MsSearch]

As for the no refund issue...You must agree to their terms of service prior to finishing the submission process. By agreeing to these their terms, you acknowledge the fact that this fee is non-refundable...Most people probably just check off the Terms of Service box without actually reading it...

thats business....if you wanna be listed you gotta play by their rules....:(

and as Dv mentioned....ODP is free....

[ihelpyou]

hey Kevin, Looksmart snobbish? Oh no. You want to find some snobs, head over to Yahoo where no one will email you back on anything.

LS has always been there if you have a question. They will respond to most anything. Can't say the same about any other major directory.

Also, Yahoo also has a no refund policy and are strictor about it than LS is. And yes, the terms are clearly stated when you submit.

[KevinC.]

Your right, I don't read the terms before applying, but after reading posts, I now have a better opinion of Look Smart.

(Actually in real life, when I sign a document I read every singleword, but on the web I seem to scroll down quickly to where is says "accept")

Look smart only gives you one category, while with Yahoo it's two correct?

Is it worth it to buy more categories on Look Smart?

And when someone goes on msn and other looksmart affiliates and type in a search in the search box " red pants for people under four feet", are they getting results from inktomi or looksmart? How does that work?

thanks, Kevin C

[KevinC.]

PS Doug, actually Yahoo has a phone number, you ask for "directory support" and you really get a live person almost every time. One guy even made a change to my description on the spot.

I called back a few weeks later to some gal, and she said, no, you must make changes on the site, and "do you remember the name of the guy you spoke to?"

Generally though, it's nice to know you can call.

Kevin C.

[ihelpyou]

hey Kevin, only a few sites will ever get two listings from yahoo. Not very many.

You can pay for more listings in Looksmart.

At MSN, if the search term is popular enough, the Looksmart listings will always show first. Of course, after the Overture 'paid' listings.

If the term is not very popular, Inktomi listings will be shown. It all depends if MSN has any LS listings in the database for the term or not.

If you do ever have problems with your LS listing, simply reply back to the editor who listed you and they will get back to you fairly soon.

This thread explains things:

http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/t2243/s.html

[KevinC.]

I had two listing in Yahoo for the longest time and a very long beautiful desciption. The one day I noticed I hadn't gotten much calls from Yahoo and went to check it out. One category was chopped of and the description went from like 24 words to 8 words.

Kevin C.

Does anyone out there buy extra categories from Look smart and find it good value?

[ihelpyou]

In short, oh yes. Many do. :)