<s>
An	O
online	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
is	O
a	O
"	O
Yellow	O
Pages-Style	O
"	O
web	B-Application
directory	I-Application
that	O
specializes	O
in	O
ecommerce	O
sites	O
(	O
which	O
are	O
websites	O
that	O
sell	O
products	O
or	O
services	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
organizational	O
structure	O
used	O
in	O
traditional	O
shopping	O
mall	O
directories	O
,	O
online	O
shopping	B-Application
directories	I-Application
organize	O
ecommerce	O
sites	O
by	O
their	O
category	O
and	O
subcategory	O
of	O
goods	O
sold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
distance	O
,	O
location	O
,	O
hours	O
of	O
operation	O
,	O
access	O
to	O
transportation	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
online	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
serves	O
to	O
aggregate	O
all	O
ecommerce	O
sites	O
in	O
one	O
centralized	O
location	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
help	O
a	O
user	O
decide	O
where	O
to	O
shop	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
is	O
different	O
from	O
a	O
comparison	O
shopping	O
website	O
(	O
which	O
is	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
a	O
comparison	O
shopping	O
engine	O
or	O
a	O
price	O
comparison	O
shopping	O
site	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
comparison	O
shopping	O
websites	O
present	O
product	O
listings	O
,	O
by	O
category	O
,	O
so	O
a	O
user	O
can	O
compare	O
pricing	O
on	O
same	O
and/or	O
similar	O
products	O
,	O
a	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
does	O
not	O
provide	O
product	O
comparison	O
,	O
review	O
or	O
sale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
is	O
different	O
from	O
an	O
online	O
marketplace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
online	O
marketplaces	O
include	O
:	O
Amazon	B-Application
,	O
Etsy	O
and	O
eBay	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
A	O
specialized	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
is	O
a	O
coupon	O
,	O
daily	O
deal	O
and/or	O
promotional	O
savings	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Coupon	O
sites	O
provide	O
a	O
niche	O
web	B-Application
directory	I-Application
centered	O
on	O
deal	O
aggregation	O
by	O
listing	O
only	O
ecommerce	O
sites	O
that	O
offer	O
additional	O
savings	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	O
directories	O
such	O
as	O
the	B-Application
Open	I-Application
Directory	I-Application
Project	I-Application
,	O
often	O
updated	O
by	O
volunteers	O
,	O
lost	O
their	O
prominence	O
and	O
relevancy	O
in	O
today	O
's	O
search-driven	O
internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Before	O
the	O
increased	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
search	O
engine	O
,	O
shopping	B-Application
directories	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
that	O
found	O
at	O
the	O
Yahoo	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Directory	O
or	O
the	O
PayPal	O
Shopping	B-Application
Directory	I-Application
,	O
played	O
a	O
prominent	O
role	O
in	O
users	O
 '	O
online	O
shopping	O
habits	O
and	O
behavior	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Google	B-Application
gained	O
dominance	O
,	O
users	O
adapted	O
their	O
shopping	O
search	O
behavior	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
search	O
engines	O
took	O
over	O
the	O
role	O
traditionally	O
filled	O
by	O
shopping	B-Application
directories	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recently	O
,	O
criticisms	O
have	O
emerged	O
over	O
the	O
limits	O
of	O
using	O
search	O
engines	O
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
and	O
Bing	B-Application
for	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
ecommerce	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
dominance	O
of	O
the	O
SEO	O
structure	O
in	O
search	O
makes	O
competition	O
fierce	O
among	O
merchants	O
as	O
they	O
struggle	O
for	O
positioning	O
on	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
search	O
results	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
methodologies	O
for	O
shopping	B-Application
directories	I-Application
are	O
emerging	O
as	O
startups	O
look	O
to	O
bridge	O
the	O
gap	O
between	O
ecommerce	O
and	O
search	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
ecommerce	O
continues	O
to	O
grow	O
,	O
startup	O
companies	O
are	O
reinvisioning	O
the	O
shopping	B-Application
directory	I-Application
to	O
make	O
it	O
more	O
relevant	O
to	O
the	O
growing	O
needs	O
of	O
online	O
shoppers	O
.	O
</s>
