From phpLD to Digital Marketing Firm Sales Director

I thought I would just pop in and say hi. I created phpLD about 2006. Before that I had created some tools to assist in doing things like link exchanges, and link requests in quantity. And during that time it was such an effective way to rank a website. I remember getting into the to 10 for "shoes" on Google. I showed a poor Indian man in Bhubaneswar, India how to use this tool (pre-phpLD) and he went on to create a multi-million dollar digital marketing firm.

Fast forward to January 2024: I am the sales director and the number two at the firm with over 100 employees in 3 countries (India, China and America). Pre-Covid there were 600 employees, but lockdowns made it impossible for people to come to work, and the infrastructure (and some other reasons) in this city in India just didn't support remote work well enough.

But now in just 4 months since I arrived, monthly revenue is up 50% and will quickly hit 100% and beyond in 4-6 weeks. It is such an amazing thing because I was never involved in this company until January. But the person I showed how to do the work I came to find is deeply appreciative of what I did 19 years ago (and all the team here that have worked here for 15 + years). And now I'm rising together with them. How cool is that?

I will say that submitting to phpLD directories is not a thing anymore! No need to buy my product haha unless you have another use for it. That said, there are lots of ways to gain links even in today's market, and finally I have an insider look at what works and doesn't work using the data of a firm that serves fortune 500 companies (maybe a few less currently, but still lots of data).

There are still some directories that can perform well in certain niches (software for example), but overall human edited directories are a think of the past. A big exception is when they are FILLED TO THE BRIM with lots of great content. Content is still king, especially when humans were deeply involved in producing it. I wonder how long that will last! Any ideas?

 

Nice to hear from you bro...I'm one of the user of phpld at the time.

 

It’s fascinating how the digital landscape has evolved, and your insights on content and directories are spot on content truly remains king, especially when it's crafted with care. What do you think the next big shift in digital marketing might be?

 

i was user of phpld back 2012...wow. 12 years ago.

 

Hi, @dvduval
Nice to hear you again.