Posted on November 26, 2012?
Filed Under Content, Directories, Directory Submission, General, Link Building, Local Listings, Search Engine Optimization
Joe has been running around Manhattan all day between meetings and lunchtime is rolling around. He is just dying for a great burger but doesn?t know the area very well. So he whips out his iPhone and types in ?burger manhattan?. Thankfully you run a gourmet burger caf? nearby and your listing on Yelp comes up first in his search results. He clicks the link, notices you have 4.5 out of 5 stars and almost every review mentions how tasty your burgers are. He checks the address, notices you?re just around the corner and his decision is made. You just got a new, lifelong customer.
That is the power of local business directories.
What is a local business directory?
Simply put, it is a website which lists local businesses with a customized page for each of them. Here businesses can offer coupons, special deals, display their contact information, URL, owner?s name and even post media like videos and photos. They are a really convenient way to get information about a business since they?re easy to search, always up to date and trustworthy.
Why are they important?
A search engine?s main goal is to provide highly relevant search results to the searcher for a particular string of keywords. For example, if someone searches for a business name like ?aunt mildred?s cookie factory?, their company website would definitely be one of the results the searcher would like to see.
However, it?s not the only result and the search engines know this.
In recent years Google has increased the rankings of business directory listings for local search terms significantly. In fact, you will notice they often rank right under the company?s official domain. This could be their listing on Google Places, Yelp or SuperPages and is a great way for searchers that aren?t familiar with the business to do a little research.
What are the benefits of being listed?
1. Leads
Directories can be an excellent source of passive referrals and warm leads for your business. Even if your listings only get you one extra customer per day, this can have a dramatic impact on your businesses? growth. Not only is it more income, but it?s a larger word of mouth presence on the street which can help snowball your growth over the course of a year.
2. Ratings
What makes directories so powerful is that the businesses listed on them are rated by previous customers. People share their honest opinions and experiences about their products or services, just like on Amazon. Every business gets a star rating and/or collection of testimonials which can increase the chances of people buying ? if your ratings are good that is. This allows customers to easily rely on the opinions of others instead of going on a gut feeling and hoping for the best. They can make fast, easy decisions and this can be very reassuring.
3. Reputation
Some directories even have a barrier to entry where they will only allow companies that meet certain standards or have specific certifications list with them. This keeps out low value businesses and people will assume you are a solid company if you are accepted. This can be a huge boost for your reputation and goes a long way to build trust upfront.
4. Rankings
Another great reason is that local business directories will increase your rankings for both local as well as ?national? searches. Google Places in particular uses them to increase your relevance for specific local keywords. For example, if someone searches for ?ice cream parlor orange county?, and you happen to have hundreds of directory listings all over the web, chances are you will come up as one of the first results on the searcher?s phone or tablet. This is an ideal way to get more of the local market coming into your store as well as countrywide exposure on regular Google searches with very little effort.
The top 20 business directories
If you are currently listed with only 1 or 2 local business directories you are missing out on quite a few opportunities to get found online. Here are the top, most relevant directories ranked according to the amount of traffic they receive, from largest to smallest. Sign up to all of them and you will be exposed to more than 90% of the total business directory traffic in the US:
- Google Places for Business
- Yellowpages
- Insiderpages
- Bing Business Portal
- Manta
- HotFrog
- Supermedia
- Express Update USA
- CitySearch
- MojoPages
- Business.com
- Citysquares
- Citydata
- Yahoo Local
- Chamberofcommerce.com
- YellowBot
- Kudzu
- Ziplocal
Getting listed in each directory can be time consuming though and you could consider using our?Local Directory Listing service to have your company details listed in each of these directories. Local business directories have become an indispensable part of any business? internet presence. They are a quick and easy win so sign up, boost your lead generation, get more customers and increase turnover right away.
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