Online business directories, or business listing sites, are often regarded as the online version of the Yellow Pages. This simply isn’t true. The internet is more clever than most of us truly understand, so online directories are much smarter and more useful than the physical version could ever be.
For anyone who might not know, a business listing site is an online collection of businesses, collating their information – this could be location, category, often even reviews – for customers to search. A particularly good one is enests.co, which allows for verified reviews and an overall star rating, making it easy for customers to gauge public perception. But there are many other online directories, and if you want to make a big change to your business, you should sign up to as many listing sites as you can.
It’s easy and quick to list your business on an online directory, yet it can greatly affect the number of customers you bring to your website. If that isn’t reason enough to sign up right now, let’s get into some technical reasons why you should sign up to an online directory ASAP.
Exposure
Online business directories give you exposure. This exposure can be country-wide or even in your local area – for example, SLC Top 10 is a comprehensive business listing site that includes the top things to do, and services available, in Salt Lake City, Utah. SLC Top 10 lists everything from the best auto repair shops and best legal services to the best bars and restaurants, and even the best photographers in the Salt Lake area. Having your small business in a curated “Top 10” spot such as this in your city or region will increase the chance of new customers finding your business; help build your customer base which will, in turn, increase your profits; and also improve your reputation. And remember – the more business listing sites you sign up to, the more customers you will potentially attract.
SEO
Is SEO one of the most important factors in an online business’ success these days? Yes. Guess what: signing up to online directories will improve your SEO. For maximum difference, sign up to as many directories as you can.
Think about it: with more logs of your business online, there are more chances a searcher will come across your business. As long as you use plenty of keywords in your profile on these business directories, people looking for what you sell will find their way to you. For example, when they search ‘tea company,’ you are more likely to appear in their searches because your SEO pushes you to the top.
Signing up to online directories will also help your local SEO. If you sign up to a local business directory, search engines will more frequently pull your company up to local searchers, driving your customer numbers up.
Higher rankings on Google
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Ranking highly in Google searches is essential to finding new customers. SEO is often lauded as the way to get your rankings higher, which is good advice. However, SEO takes a while to kick in fully. Sometimes, it can take around six months before you start seeing the results of your SEO practices.
On the other hand, online directories can shoot you to the top of Google ranking very quickly. This is because Google trusts online business directories, so it will often put directories on the first page of results.
By signing up to plenty of online directories, your profiles will likely appear very highly when customers search for businesses like yours.
Brand recognition
When using an online listing site, customers won’t always choose your business. They might not even click through to your website. However, the next time they see your business (on another listing site or elsewhere), they will recognize your name from the last time they saw it.
This familiarity is more likely to cause the customer to buy from you. In addition, it is more likely to make them trust you, and this of your reputation positively. The benefits of trust and a positive reputation are endless. With trust, you aren’t only likely to have a customer buy from you; you are likely to create repeat buyers.
Sign up to a business listing site now.
There’s no time like the present: sign up now! As aforementioned, the impact of online business directories is felt quickly, so there’s no time to waste. Try to sign up to as many as possible and make your information clear and SEO-focused.
