3 benefits of online business directories
Posted: October 29, 2019 - By Elizabeth VelezOnline business directories draw in direct consumer traffic, proving their weight in gold next to your business’s website and social media pages. Although there are upwards of thirty business listing websites that a prospect may stumble upon, Google My Business, Yelp and Bing are among the top, as well as Facebook and Foursquare. Whether a potential customer is searching for your business by name or conducting a general search of similar businesses in their local area, they’re more likely to come across your business listing than your website. This is because your listing profile’s information significantly impacts local SEO as business listings are an important factor in Google’s search ranking.
The data housed within online business directories plays an important role in shaping your online presence. Here are 3 benefits for your business.
Improves mobile and voice search results
Out of almost 75,000 businesses, only 4% are voice search ready. If your business isn’t optimized for voice search, this can be a blow to your bottom line as voice search happens predominantly on mobile devices with a high percentage of requests for local or offline business information. Often, voice search queries are for quick pieces of information like business hours or an address. With a listing management strategy and tool, your business can successfully answer any mobile voice search request for your hours, phone number, address or website from more than 30+ business listing sites.
Increased website traffic
When a consumer lands on any one of your business listing profiles, they are likely going to be drawn to your website URL. With more than thirty directories showing consumers your website URL, this will undoubtedly increase your website traffic. They’ll be in the research stage, and your website will answer any questions and curiosities they may have. But don’t forget that online review sites like Yelp and VetRatingZ.com are included in the list of profiles that need to be managed consistently. User searches could vary from a service, your business name, or a service + reviews, so a variety of relevant sites have the potential of displaying your business and it’s website as an option.
Boosts SEO
Since user searches vary so widely, having your business listed on directories and review sites alike could help boost your website’s SEO. One of the core principles of SEO is backlinks – also known as a link one website gets from another website. Another core principle is relevant keywords, so be sure that your profiles describe your business services correctly. Always write your profile copy using popular keywords potential customers may use in their search instead of the industry vernacular that’s more popular among you and your peers.
Your business can’t afford to have inaccurate listing data, so they need to be managed. With a listing management tool, you can save time and avoid losing business by maintaining up-to-date listings, removing duplicate listings, and cleaning up your overall online presence.
