Online Specialty Directories
Unfortunately, I am in the market for a divorce attorney. As if we don’t have enough to worry about with address changes, my last name change, custody arguments, etcetera, I am burdened with the task of finding unbiased information about divorce law.
Upon searching for terms like “Divorce Law,” and “How to file for divorce,” the major search engines – Google, Yahoo and MSN – all turned up websites for expensive, biased attorneys, or spammy websites with absolutely no information, other than a bunch of keywords designed to get me to click on an add.
What happened to the good ol’ days when the Internet was a resource for information? Now it seems search engines only turn up sites with annoying windows popping up in your face, some snake trying to steal your money, or a load of gibberish!
After a few days of frustration, I stumbled upon what’s known as “specialty directories”. The one I was interested in was called, The Divorce Directory, but I’ve actually seen them for all kinds of law subjects like, Bankruptcy and Personal Injury, as well as Cosmetic Surgery, LASIK Surgery, and more.
After digging even deeper, I found The Invisible Web, a Directory of resources which are invisible to traditional search engine spiders, ranging from resources about Art and Architecture to U.S. / World History.
There’s also Kinderstart, a directory of information specifically related to the care of young children. People are encouraged to leave comments and/or rate sites listed in the directory.
These websites weren’t run by lawyers or doctors trying to funnel me into a “free consultation,” didn’t have any pop-ups, and were chocked full of useful information. I’ve actually created a folder in my favorites menu for these types of websites. I have one for fitness, dentists, doctors, pet care, dating, and about twenty other topics.
From now on I’m giving the big three search engines one chance. If I can’t find what I’m looking for on the first page, I’ll be taking my searches to the specialty directories. Maybe if we all do this they’ll finally get off their butts and stop promoting spam as a legitimate resource for information.
