web directories

Web Directories: Make Them a Part of Your Overall SEO Strategy

/ Marketing, Running Your Business, SEO / By
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Web directories contribute to your website’s ranking. Therefore, you should focus a part of your SEO strategy on them.

Toward the end of this article you can find a list of high-quality web directories for you to consider. And you should. That’s because submitting your website to a renowned directory is guaranteed to improve your SEO.

 

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Diversify Your SEO Strategy

Search engine optimization (SEO) is by far the most important aspect of running a successful online business. Without a proper SEO campaign, neither your website nor your business will be able to reach their true potential.

Nonetheless, the biggest issue with SEO is that it is dynamic. This means that even if you think you’ve found the perfect solution for your business, everything about it could change overnight. Therefore, in order to be prepared for these potential changes, you must diversify your SEO strategy. One of the best ways to do this is by making use of listings in web directories.

 

Listing Your Business Online Will Boost Your SEO

The majority of large companies are already listed in various web directories. However, small business owners often don’t understand the importance of having their companies listed in this way. Many of them don’t realize that listing their business in one or more web directories can help their business to reach its full potential.

Even in a small town, it’s almost impossible to reach out to everyone. Your small local business could miss out on opportunities if you don’t have it listed online.

Moreover, if you live in a tourist-friendly area, you have even more reasons to list your business. That’s because the vast majority of tourists use their mobile devices to search for local businesses. Restaurants, auto shops, and gift shops are just a few of the businesses they search for.

Therefore, if your business doesn’t have an online presence and it isn’t listed in several web directories, people won’t find it as easily or won’t find it at all. This will cause you to miss out on hundreds of potential sales.

 

What Are the Advantages of Listing Your Business in Web Directories?

There are other advantages to having your business listed in one or more web directories, as well. These include:

  • Increasing Your Visibility

A link from one of these directories is easy to get and is a valuable backlink. Besides, more people will see your business.

  • Claiming Your Business

By taking ownership of your business online, you keep your competitors from having the advantage.

  • Protecting Your Brand

High-quality listings will often populate people’s search results. This means that your brand is less likely to be featured in negative mentions on the first pages of their search results.

 

Google My Business Is Critical for Your Business

Google’s own web directory is by far the most important one. That’s because Google is the leading search engine, with approximately 90% of all internet traffic going through its servers. Taking control of your business through a Google My Business account is crucial. If a competitor gets hold of your business online, you’ll lose traffic and money. You might even lose your reputation.

 

How to Choose the Right Web Directories

In short, there are six aspects that you should analyze before choosing a web directory:

  1. Authority – niche directories only have authority within their specific domain.
  2. Popularity – the number of monthly visitors is important because those are your potential visitors.
  3. History – a directory that has a good history and is constantly upgrading its listings is a top choice.
  4. Number of listings – the higher the number of pages indexed, the better.
  5. Page rank – a higher page rank means it might be more difficult for you to get your business listed.
  6. Reputation – check the Alexa rankings to see how your chosen directory ranks.

 

Some Web Directories for You to Consider

To save you time and effort, we’ve compiled a list of eight web directories that you should check out. Choose the ones that are most relevant to your company and that adhere to what we’ve discussed in this article.

 

Pay Attention to Social Signals

Online human interactions are quantified through social signals. All social platforms, including Google+, have these metrics. The number of likes, shares, and views on each one play an important role in the success of your business.

 

While having a strong social media presence is important for a business, you should know that social signals also have an indirect effect. This comes from the number of inbound links and citations that your website has. It also includes the number of positive reviews and other in-page factors. These are your bounce rate, the average time a visitor spends on your website, and other elements.

Listing your business in several web directories directly contributes to these social signals for your business.

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