Published on January 29, 2012 5 Top Tips for top directory listings
To get your site noticed, business directory listings are a good way to get your site in front of potential customers and build up links back to your site (which are considered votes by search engines). They shouldn’t be the only thing you do to build links to your site, but they are a good place to start as they are where customers may go looking for businesses in your industry and are not just links.
How can you get the most from directory listings?
1. Choose your directories wisely
Not all directories are created equally, and Google values directories that have a manual review process prior to listing you – even for a paid listing. This ensures the integrity of the linking process Internet-wide and means that your directory listing is not just a sponsored link. When you’re looking for a good directory look for the following:
- “Brand name” – directories that are well known the world over, like Yellow Pages, will always attract traffic and are a good place to list. Not all of these “big name” directories give you a link that will be indexed back to your site in the search engines, but are places that people can find you. The more quality places you are listed in, the better your chances of finding new customers.
- Quality appearance – a directory owner who has taken the time to make their site look professional and appealing is obviously looking to do more than just create a directory for search engine optimisation purposes. They are actually trying to get people to visit the directory and use it. It’s like anything – if someone takes pride in their shop/business appearance, they are more likely to care about ensuring your listings have as much chance of getting found as is possible.
- Who else is listed there – have your competitors listed in this directory? If so, then you may want to be listed there too to “level the playing field” when it comes to a count up of quality search engine backlinks.
- Location and composition of the directory. A niche directory for your specific industry may be more worthwhile than a general one. A shopping website directory may be better for your online shop than a general one. An Australian shopping directory may be a better place to list than an international directory. Look at the domain name of the directory too – a .net.au or a .com.au indicates to visitors and search engines that it’s Australian, which is a good place to start
2. If you have time, write a unique description
There are many directory listing services which promise mass submission of your listing to hundreds or thousands of directories. How many of them do you think will get indexed by the search engines if your listing description is the same in each of those directories? Search engines do not like duplicate content unless it’s an explicit reference to a piece of newsworthy material (e.g. referencing a research paper or a news item for attribution reasons). So try writing a unique description or reasonably unique description for each submission you make.
3. Refer to the services of the category you are listed in
If a customer is searching for a particular phrase they may find your listing via a search engine, but what if they are browsing the directory by category name? If you reference the category you are listed in when putting up the listing, then you have a better chance of customers finding your business and clicking through on your listing.
4. Spell check your listing
Everyone makes mistakes and typos are expected to be found in one place or another on the web. But your directory listing is your advertisement on the Internet, not a research article, and if you have a sloppy listing, your potential customers will think that you have sloppy products as well.
5. Treat your directory listings like job interviews
You wouldn’t turn up at a job interview wearing torn jeans, an unwashed t shirt you slept in, come unprepared and then not be able to answer any of the questions you are asked. So don’t “turn up” at a directory listing like that either. Present your business in the best possible light and remember that directory listings are more than just potential backlinks to your site – they are advertisements for your business.
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