Which Local Business Directory Is Right For You? (Trick Question)
Daniel Flynn
-Managing Your Digital Information eBook
-Run Your Free Business Report
By asking “which local business directory is right for you?”, I am implying that it is alright to list your business in some (not all) local business directories. However, the truth is that you need to list your business in all (not some) of them in order to prevent inaccuracies and maximize the effectiveness of your local SEO efforts.
How A Local Business Directory Works
You most likely have an understanding of what a local business directory is (or else you wouldn’t have clicked on this blog article), but many people do not know how they work. However, knowing how online directories work can help you make them work for you.
A local business directory is a database that packages and stores information about businesses. When a user searches for a product or business type, the local business directory functions as a search engine in that it returns the information that is most relevant to that search query.
Ranking Factors
Local business directories, such as Yelp, use factors to rank the listings for a certain search. Such factors include:
- Relevance
- Number/Quality of Reviews
- Proximity to User
- Categorization
Therefore, it is important to optimize your listings for these ranking factors so that you can improve your ranking for local searches in online directories.
Everywhere You Need To List Your Business
Now that you know how online directories work, here is a list of the local business directories in which you need to list your business. Each of these directories pulls information from the others if they are missing information. As a result, you need to make sure that each of your listings is complete, correctly categorized, and actively managed in order to maintain the integrity of your digital footprint.
- Yahoo
- Bing
- Foursquare
- Yelp
- Mapquest
- Superpages
- DexKnows
- Citysearch
- Local.com
- MerchantCircle
- EZlocal
- YP.com
- LocalDatabase
- ShowMeLocal
- CitySquares
- LocalPages
- LocalStack
- YellowMoxie
- GetFave
- Tupalo
- Avantar
- AirYell
- White & Yellow Pages
- Navmii
- Where To?
- ChamberofCommerce.com
- USCity.net
- YellowPageCity.com
- AmericanTowns.com
- 8coupons
- eLocal
- GoLocal247
- YaSabe
- YellowPagesGoesGreen
- Point.com
- ABLocal
- Opendi
- VotefortheBest
- 2findlocal
- MyLocalServices
- CredibilityReview
- Insider Pages
- Yalwa
- Brownbook.net
- Bizwiki.com
- Allonesearch
- The Internet Chamber of Commerce
- AroundMe
- HotFrog
- Find Open
- pr.business
- Property Capsule
- Cylex
- iBegin
- iGlobal
- n49
To see how you are listed on these directory sites, use our free online scan tool.
Niche Local Business Directories
Surely, there are niche online directories that are not present in this list. However, the listings in smaller, niche directories are often manually entered by the administrator of the directory.
If you find a niche directory that is relevant to your business and allows business owners, like yourself, to create a listing, then, by all means, create a listing in it. However, the list in this article offers a framework for a strong foundation on which your digital footprint can flourish.
The Need For A Site
Although a listing will give your business much-needed exposure, we also recommend you have a website potential customers can visit after viewing your listing.
Not only does a website give you more ranking opportunities, but it also makes your business look more credible to consumers who want more information before contacting/visiting your business.
Business Listings: Your Key To Dominating Local Search
- Increased SEO
- Fortification of Information
- Backlinks
- Increased Reach
Whether you like it or not, modern consumers look for information on the web and they reference online directories to research businesses that can fulfill their needs and desires. As a result, the best thing you can do is to list your business in as many places that you can on the web. By doing so, you offer web surfers a fortified front in your brand’s image that will ultimately build your credibility online.
Pro Tip: Google penalizes businesses that have incomplete, incorrect, or inconsistent information on the web. Therefore, by having complete and accurate in all the places possible, you will look better in the eyes of Google and other search engines.
Competitive Advantages Of Complete Business Listings
Unfortunately, most business owners do not bother with listings because they feel that all they need to do is to list their business in Google and Facebook. In fact, almost all of the businesses that we work with do not have complete/accurate information in the 58 directories on our list and a lot do not even have a Google My Business page.
Having complete business listings does many things for your technical SEO and that’s great. Technical SEO is important for your growth in the long-term, but, in the short-term, having complete business listings will set you apart from your competitors.
Through complete business listings, you will hopefully:
- be in the places that your competitors are not
- entice customers with extensive descriptions and professional photos of your business
- reinforce consideration of your business with an abundance of positive reviews
What Now?
With a list of local business directories on your screen, you could start creating listings and pages for your business in each one. Another option is to get listed in all of them with our business listings package. When you partner with us, we will list your business in every directory. You will also gain access to ongoing account managers that will help you improve your local search ranking.
How? You may ask.
Our proprietary technology allows us to manage all of a business’ listings and reviews from a single dashboard. In addition, it allows us to lock information into place so that there are never any inconsistencies.
For more information, visit our webpage. For more articles like this one, visit our blog.
Next Step?
The worst action is inaction! Our team is ready to find your next big move. Over 20 years of experience means we have the tools to get it done in your local market.
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