BusinessCheck.Org announced the launch of their new "Safe Shopping Sites" directory on Friday. According to spokespersons with the organization the new directory is expected to launch on July 01, 2004. The directory is one of a kind as it will only contain websites that reflect businesses that have passed a series of verification procedures conducted by their organization. This new approach is expected to give online shoppers a feeling of comfort knowing they are purchasing from reputable businesses. Other search engines list millions of websites from all around the world giving no regard for legitimacy, reputation, morality, or otherwise. This apparently is the primary reason why online shoppers fear handing over their payment information to just any internet business. As a matter of fact the fear of online shoppers not trusting internet businesses is amazingly high at 73% according to recent statistics.

The benefit for merchants being listed in the new directory is not having to worry about competing against millions of other websites like that of other search engines. The "Safe Shopping Sites" directory will limit the number of websites to only 100 per category listing. Spokespersons for the organization state there will be approximately 5000 reputable businesses listed in the directory once it's full. They go on to say the 5000 businesses listed in their directory will be places the public can feel confident about when doing their online shopping.

The benefit for businesses that make it in the directory may be very profitable. Unlike other search engines that charge by page impressions or click thru rates, businesses are able to pay a one time fee to lock in their ranking within the directory for the year. Better yet they get the first option to renew their listed ranking at the end of the year. How much traffic could this mean for the merchant? According to webstat reports the organization currently receives nearly 50,000 unique visitors per day and steadily growing at a tremendous rate. Once the new directory is launched they are expecting those numbers to double within a matter of weeks and continue to double every few weeks due to the number of repeat visitors who will be shopping online within the new directory.

The only downside is the directory is limited to 5000 businesses. This is great for the shopper because who usually searches past the top 100 results in a search engine anyway. However, the millions of websites across the globe unfortunately will be left out. Who will be within the lucky 5000?

Could this "Safe Shopping Sites" directory idea be the next era in search engines across the globe? The idea sure sounds like it would help ease the minds of skeptical people which could very well lead to an increase in sales for merchants. We shall see if others will catch on and where it goes in the near future.