Over the last 12 months, I’ve worked on Search Engine Optimisation projects for different clients and part of this process involves listing them with online directories. Web direcotires provide a high quality link and they can sometimes generate traffic but the problem is choosing which online directories to list with.
It’s hard to tell how many online directories are out there but we’ve got to be in the 1000′s by now. It takes anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour to list a business on an online directory so the real question is which web directories should I list with?
Hopefully I will be able to explain in detail here which factors you need to consider before handing over your business details.
The first thing you need to do when trying to find the right online directory is find a directory that is relevant to your industry and what your business does. For example, if your business is a commercial cleaning company, you should try to find a few online directories that specialise in the cleaning industry.
Pay particular attention to the online directory’s Google PageRank. I was recently approached by an online directory who were asking for £9.95 a month to list a business in their directory, even though the directory had a PageRank of 0/10. The cheek of it! Obviously, this website’s PageRank will increase with time but until then, I’ll be steering clear. YOU SHOULD NEVER PAY TO LIST WITH A DIRECTORY. With the exception of Applegate but this is a completely different sort of directory.
My favourite web directory at the moment is FreeIndex and this is for several reasons. The first is that you can create deep links on your website that point to specific pages as well as your home page. At the time of writing, this directory ranks businesses based solely on the number of reviews they receive. The search engines pay a lot of attention to FreeIndex and often use their ranking system to influence their own algorithm for local searches. Give it a go.
Almost every web directory will provide you with a link to your website for visitors to be directed to. Sometimes they require a reciprocal link in return but as the search engines devalue links if they are reciprocal, it’s up to you whether you spend much time on optimising your profile with these directories. It certainly won’t do any harm but perhaps your time could be spent better on other things.
Another question I’m asked often is how many directories should I list with? I’m going to be a bit vague here and say that there is no right or wrong answer. Listing your business with a web directory is a great idea and can really help your Search Engine Optimisation campaign, especially for local searches. My personal advice to anyone thinking of listing their business with a web directory would be to spend time finding the directory that is right for you. Investing your time at this stage will ensure you’re not wasting any time on directories that aren’t going to work for you.