Getting your website listed in business directories
There are literally thousands of business search, directory and listings sites on the web, many of which will charge a small fortune to list your website. Generally my advice to clients is to concentrate their efforts and advertising budgets on the big boys (Yahoo, Bing and, most importantly, Google) as these search engines will be the source of the vast majority of traffic.
That isn’t to say other business directory sites aren’t worth bothering with. Quite the opposite.
Targetting a small set of high quality business directories that provide free listings will help drive traffic, while increasing the number of quality backlinks pointing to your website. Since the number of quality links help search engines determine the importance and therefore the search ranking of your website, this can only be a good thing.
The directories below are those I recommend UK-based clients list their businesses on. At the time of writing, all of them offer a free listing service.
Of course, this list isn’t necessarily the definitive answer for every business. But in my experience, it’s a pretty good starting point.
Google Places
Getting a good page ranking in Google is an entire book in itself. In addition to having a site optimised for the standard Google search listings there is also Google Places to take into consideration.
You will notice that when you search Google for a business and a location, say “Removal companies in Newcastle upon Tyne”, at the top of the search results page you will be given a list of local businesses with a map. These results are driven by Google Places.
The advantage of using Google Places is that you can add your own listing, enter your own information and mark your business on a map. When a user searches, your businesses listing is ranked in terms of relevance and distance from the location the user searched for.
Infoserve
As well as providing their own business search, Infoserve also supplies the core data to Yahoo Local. Since Yahoo is the second most important search engine, it is definitely worth adding your business with a free listing on Infoserve.
Thomson Local
One of the most popular and comprehensive business directory websites, Thomson Local offers a free business listing alongside a whole host of paid-for options.
Each week Thomson Local directories are used by 4 million people and generate 11 million referrals. Adding your business with a free listing will also get your details listed across Thomson Local’s network on partner sites and mobile applications.
Yell
Much like Thomson Local, Yell offers many paid-for services but also a free standard listing service to get your business details included in Yell.com, Yellow Pages and the 118 24 7 telephone service.
Market Location
This service provides data for Microsoft’s recently launched Bing Local UK and Multimap listings.
It’s free to add your business details.
Touch Local
TouchLocal is not just an online business finder. It also lets people review, rate and recommend businesses that they have used, enabling local consumers to make an informed choice based on the experiences of others.
With 4 million monthly users and 6 million searches, a free listing is definitely worth taking the time to set up.
Scoot
Creating a Scoot listing provides several methods of getting your business out to potential clients. These include searching via. the Scoot website, a 118 telephone service, Vodaphone service, iPhone application and targetted special offers.
Scoot was recently acquired by Touch Local, but it’s still worth setting up a free standard listing.
