Business directories are an important and valuable addition to your online marketing strategy. Not only do thousands of people search every day for business directory on their favourite free directory, but also the majority of business profiles on directories are indexed by Google and other major search engines.

Should I advertise on free business directories?

In a word, yes – links to these business directory adverts (business profiles) are shown when people action a generic search in Google and other search engines, for example, a search for ‘Pubs’ in ‘Wapping’ currently displays all links to pubs in Wapping on business directories, e.g. Beer in the Evening, Trusted Places, View London etc. So if you’re a pub in Wapping then it’s imperative that you are listed on these directories in order to stand a real and quick chance of being on Google page one.

Why is it so important to be on Google page one search results?

People searching for your business or business type usually want to find what they are looking for as soon as possible. The quickest way to do this is to action a search then scan all the links displayed. The majority of user searches will amend their search terms rather than clicking on subsequent pages of the original search. So getting your business to page one in Google and other search engines is critical if you want to achieve new enquiries / customers.

What are the statistics for people that only look at the first page of a Google search?

Well about 90% of searches go no further than page one, and Google alone handle 88bn search queries every month – that’s 80bn page one only search queries. This means you really must have page one prominence as an objective in your SME online marketing strategy plan.

Should I employ an SEO expert to help me get on page one of Google?

Well, there are many SEO consultants out there that will help you build a strategy to achieve this, however, 90% of it is straight-forward, and by spending a few hours a week reading blogs and books will give you a greater understanding. Then a few hours a week making simple SEO changes to your site (on-page SEO), writing good quality and informative articles on your business area and creating business directory profiles (off-page SEO), will produce significant benefits over time. Doing this will really help you get under the skin of SEO, and will help you identify a good SEO consultant from the dodgy ones when you need further help to create an advanced SEO development plan.

What online business directories should I list my business on?

First, the more quality online directories you are on the more chance you have to increase customer enquiries and visits to your own website. This is because each business directory is different, they generally all have their own unique structure and SEO qualities. For example, say you are listed on ten directories with similar content, and then a potential customer searches for your business type in Google – the search results may only display one of the ten links to your business. However, a slightly amended user search may show a link to another free directory. So in summary, you need to represent your business on as many established and quality directories as you can.

Does being listed on lots of business directories have a negative impact?

No – not if you’re clever about your business directory marketing strategy. Simply follow my top 5 rules to advertising on business directories to make sure you make the most of online directory advertising:

1. Choose only well respected and quality online lauterneues  (look at forums and blogs for recommended business directories)
2. Spend quality time creating all the content you can on each, e.g. text, images, video etc
3. Think about what keywords you want to target and include them in the business description and keywords
4. Don’t (repeat don’t) copy and paste your business description into each free directory – create fresh and unique content on each one
5. Look out for upgrades to priority listings and links to your website – remember getting a link to your business website is critical

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