Many business owners are aware of the presence of online business directories but are not well-versed with the advantages of listing their business on an online business directory.
Many believe that online business directories are all the same; once registered never check back in and best to leave to some SEO guys, but that’s not true, and few are utilising the benefits of a listing on a directory.
They are comprehensive channels that allow prospective customers, business owners, and professionals to identify and contact businesses relevant to them. Here are 6 great reasons to go back and have a look at where you are listed:
1. Enhance your online presence
When you search for your business on search engines like Google and Bing, you may come across your business listings on several directories where you never submitted for business details.
This happens because many business directories and listing websites extract business details from larger directories and create listings. Getting listed on an online business directory automatically means getting listed in many more.
However, with quantity one of the most important factors for many business directories accurate details do not get updated on the listing websites and web directories due to sheer number of listings. To avoid such a situation, it is important to regularly check your listings and fix your online presence as you can.
Leads4biz is user managed and user added meaning we never uploaded tired databases and the owners themselves are responsible for their listing information. Close to 7,000 business owners found us on search engines and decided to register and add their information.
2. Improve your local visibility
Many large business directories offer advanced filter options that enable your customers to connect with you in your area. Local business directories are useful for targeting customers in your local community.
Leads 4biz has map filter options to find the businesses near you and even though they are global you can search within a particular country and then province, city etc.
3. Get discovered easily
By ensuring that your business details are accurate on different online web directories and listing websites, you can increase your chances of getting discovered whenever customers search for services or products like yours, even if they don’t search your business name directly. This comes in handy as a majority of customers don’t search for a business name when looking for a service or product. Examples of some search terms that customers use are “cosmetic surgeons near me” or “best Indian restaurants in Bangkok”.
Leads4biz asks for your relevant keywords when you add your business, even for the free ones so people search keywords and you shall be in the search.
4. Create your brand awareness
When customers perform a search in an online business directory, a list of matching results, each with a snapshot and business details are listed. To learn more about the business, you can click on it. In this case, even if the customer does not click on your business name, they still see your business. Each time a customer sees your business, it increases the awareness of your brand in the customer’s mind and improves your chances of getting business from them.
Few business owners really understand the power of branding, and some experts use Google Ad words and have a very remote keyword as they don’t want to be clicked quickly they want Google to show them as much as possible before using up their click budget as they understand the power of being seen as much as possible.
5. Boost your SEO
Search engine optimization is the technique of using your web content in such a way that search engines find it useful and rank it higher in relevant search results. Online business directories and listing are a great platform to supplement your already existing web content and give it extra validation to gain the trust of search engines such as Google and Bing.
The people that run business directories and their partners are experts at SEO let them help you with keywords they are happy to help you for free in many cases.
6. Don’t let go of your brand message
Business directory owners will tell you that too many people outsource their back linking and SEO to outside agencies especially those cheaper ones in the subcontinent. Many of the newer directories gather leads directly and send them to an account area for the owner of the listing which sadly in many cases is a not used email address created by the SEO guys in Delhi and your leads are going unanswered. Make sure to approach all the business directory owners and ask where do the inquiries from your listing go to?
The final thought
While having your business listed on online business directories is a great advantage, incomplete and inaccurate business details can affect your online reputation and frustrate customers who are looking for your business. Customers, if unable to contact you, will shift away from your brand and might end up landing on to your competitor’s perfectly updated listing and eventually doing business with them.
Register on leads4biz and we will keep in touch with you regarding your listing and performance and we can give you some digital marketing consultancy free.
