During a recent meeting at Enzo Creative, I was discussing the benefits of free business directories and how they can impact a brand’s inbound website traffic as well as lead generation. That’s when Karen Honold of Chatham, NJ said I should write a blog post about it.
It’s true! Free online business directories can become an additional marketing tool for your company. Taking advantage of these directories can provide your business with:
• increased website ROI
• more web traffic
• exposure for your brand
What are free business directory listings?
A free directory listing is a website where you can upload your business name, website address, office address, telephone numbers, type of service or products the business provides, number of employees, the service region and any professional associations.
Some directories include a section for user reviews, comments and feedback. The website host usually offers a paid upgrade which offers your business a higher level of exposure to assist those searching for your type of product or service. The most popular directory sites are run by Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp and Merchant Circle.
Why start an account on the free business directory listings?
Increasing the chances of prospects connecting with your brand is the main reason you should start a free business directory listing. The independent third- party websites are a place where consumers turn to for unbiased reviews which can really help your business (if you’re doing a great job, that is).
The business listings are incredibly helpful in local search. By having a presence in the directories it can result in increased traffic to your website, especially if your business has reviews from customers. The listing, with reviews, will also provide an opportunity for your business to appear more favorably in search results and increase the odds that your business’ name will be featured multiple times on a page of search engine results.
Why is it important to thoroughly complete the listing?
Many business listings are left incomplete and are not used to their best advantage. That means less competition for your business when listed in a search results. Therefore, it’s important to complete every bit of information the directory requests. Uploading your company logo and photos is a great suggestion as the directories will likely show more thoroughly completed profiles first. Uploading photos or videos also helps your business stand out because images are featured in the search results. Sometimes directories will aggregate content between each other so it’s best to provide all of the business information you can.
Here’s how to choose the best free directory listings.
My recommendation would be to take advantage of the free Google listing—at the very least—since so many people use Google for searching. Other worthy free business directories exist on Bing, Yahoo and even LinkedIn. You can also review your website analytics to see how many or what percentage of visitors are coming from the directories you’ve chosen. Retailers and those in the hospitality world should also be on Yelp, Merchant Circle and Foursquare. If you want to see what other directories are available, perform a search for “free business listings” and you’ll see others to try.
What to do about incorrect business information in the free listings?
Many times a business’s contact information is aggregated into the free listings; and sometimes the information can be incorrect. If so, reach out to the site administrator via their contact form and ask that the listing be updated. For example, when Enzo Creative purchased a new phone number the phone company spelled our company name incorrectly. It took us some time and effort to get it corrected on the web but was well worth it to have our company name displayed consistently across the web and search results.
In order to keep a strong, consistent brand presence on the web, from time to time perform a web search of your company name. You may come across incorrect information or aggregated business contact information that needs to be rectified. Take action quickly as the wrong information could negatively impact your search engine rankings.
Why wait to take advantage of these free services? If you need assistance or would like us to take a look at how SEO-ready your website is, give Enzo Creative a call at 908.219.4703 or click here to contact us. We’re more than happy to help.
