The Importance Of Listing Your Business On Online Directories
Posted on 28th April 2020 at 12:08
Remember when you wanted to find a business or service, and you had to dig out the Yellow Pages from the cupboard or drawer next to the phone? Back then it was the only way to find what you were looking for.
Every year the huge yellow book would be delivered, and you would use this to get access to local businesses. Every business would be in there – they couldn’t afford not to be.
Then along came the internet and everything changed. Suddenly people had access to everything on their computer, and then later their phone. They could directly access any business or service they wanted. The very idea of listing a business in a directory seemed to be redundant. But as with so much technology, this may have been a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
If your business is not listed, then you may want to rethink your strategy. That’s because online listings are not just about getting your name and number out there. They also offer significant search engine benefits. As you might know, SEO is a core part of any digital marketing strategy, and if you’re not on the first page of search engine listings for your service (at least in your local area) then something is very wrong.
Here are some very good reasons why you should be listing your business online.
1) It's easy
That’s right. It is quick and easy to list your business in most online directories. It will only take a few minutes to do so for most of the big sites. And it’s not just easy for you. Customers looking for your business in a search engine will be able to see results quickly and easily too.
Online listings increase the visibility of your business in one of the simplest ways possible. No coding, no advanced technical trickery, just inputting some simple facts.
2) It's not just contact information
Back in the old Yellow Pages days, you could list your phone number and business address. Online directories allow you to include much more. You can include opening hours, maps to your location, photos of the premises, even information about special offers — all of which have marketing potential.
Depending on the nature of your business, you can also include product information and menus, as well as staff bios and other relevant customer information. You may even be able to link to your site or other relevant content such as videos and blog posts — the more the merrier.
3) SEO benefits
Search engine optimisation is all about making your online presence more visible to the algorithms that produce search results. Having your business listed in the right online listings pages means your name and relevant information is in a place where it can be seen easily.
This is particularly true of the Google My Business listing or Facebook. These are hugely important listings pages in terms of SEO visibility. Others like Yelp or Home Advisor also have big benefits for your search engine rankings.
Whether you like it or not, a huge majority of online searches are carried out using Google. So, being listed on their various business platforms is essential for business. It is all about creating a web of information and links that makes your site more visible to the search bots that carry out the searches.
What you need to remember
Of course, listings are most effective when they are done in a certain way. Here are some things you need to remember when listing your business.
1) Be consistent
Make sure that you are being consistent across all listing sites. That means using the same company name, address, and contact information every time you list. However, you also need to be aware that some listing sites lift data they deem to be relevant, which may be inaccurate. So, you should regularly check to ensure that wherever you are listed, the details are correct. For example, when we are listing our site online, we try and include the term ‘it’seeze Web Design Knutsford’.
We use these terms consistently across all our listings platforms as this produces the best results in terms of visibility. There are hundreds of credible listing sites out there, including The Phone Book from BT, Facebook, and various newspaper listings sites.
2) Be prolific
The more sites you can list on, the better. The aim of Google search results is to provide accurate and useful information. If your business appears on multiple sites, then it looks more legitimate and will be deemed more useful by the search engine. Of course, you should always only try and use listings sites that are trustworthy and credible as this will also reflect better on your business.
3) Add reviews
Don’t be content with just having contact details. These days people want to know your business is reliable. The most obvious way of doing this is through customer reviews, so enable this option wherever possible and engage with your customer reviews (yes, even the negative ones) to prove that you are a business that can be trusted.
4) Get some help with your business listing
If you want to list your business but don’t know where to start, then get in touch with us today. As Cheshire web design specialists, the team here at it’seeze Web Design Knutsford can help you to create accurate and effective listings that will boost your business.
Just as back in the day you couldn’t afford not to be in the Yellow Pages, these days you need to make sure you are listed online. We will work with you to make sure your listings are SEO ready, and contain all the relevant information so that search engines and customers can find you quickly and easily.
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