Listing Your Business in Directories is a Real Advantage for Local SEO

Author: Auggie Diaz

As a local business owner, have you ever asked yourself the question "if it's worth it to list your business in local directories?" Listing your business in the online equivalents is crucial for your business growth. No matter whether your customer base is national or international, you still need to list your office locations in local directories to assist in SEO as local searches are significant.

Here are a few statistics that help you understand how important it is to list your business in local directories.

  • 71% of B2B researchers start their research with a generic search.
  • B2B researchers do 12 searches on average prior to engaging on a specific brand's site.
  • Local SEO 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles.
  • 30% of mobile searches are related to a location.
  • 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase.
  • Local searches lead 50% of mobile visitors to visit stores within one day.
  • 78% of local mobile searches result in offline purchases.

Listing your business in local directories helps your website to perform better in search engine rankings. When it comes to local directories placement, consistency is the key. As search engines prioritize businesses in local searches, it is crucial to have the same information across many different business directories. When small business owners can't claim their own directory in Google, it is worth paying a professional who can provide you with more digital marketing ideas for small business. They know what directories work better for your business.

Why Should You Consider Local Directory Listing Service?

The primary benefit of opting for a local business listing service is, you can load information like your business name, address, phone number and web address quickly and efficiently. If you are a business person with several franchises or venues, then local directories listings are an essential option for you. But, the one thing you must have in your mind is featuring the right business name and contact details with clear identifiers. Otherwise, your customers couldn't follow you.

By setting up different local business directories for each location, you can start collecting reviews for each business location. Moreover, it allows your customers to see you as more successful than a stand-alone location. Adding good location information such as map capsules and driving directions in each business directory entry ensures that your customers can find your business easily.

How Local Business Directories Assist in Creating Good Local SEO?

Search Engine Rankings

The biggest benefit of listing your business in local directories is to improve your search rankings. It helps you to build valuable backlinks to your site and creates a positive impact on your audience. (Don't think backlinks are dead. They are still one of the top factors that Google uses to determine if a website should be listed towards the top or not. The more quality backlinks you have, the better.)

Improves Referral Strategy

If you are running a business that depends on referrals, then it's significant for you to ensure that your business is listed in local directories.

A person searching for products or services asks friends, neighbors, or posts a question on social media to find out the good service providers. If your past or current customers had a chance to come across these questions, they might refer you. As they can find your contact information online, there are more chances that this lead will get converted into a customer.

The appearance of your business listing may also make a bad or good impression on your customers. If your business directory has more number of positive reviews, the leads are more likely to call for a quote or buy a product from you.

In case, if there are many negative reviews or incorrect contact details, the leads may give up and move on to the next possible business.

Brand Awareness

Assume that if someone is using Google or local directories for a particular product, the chances are high that they may see your listing as your business will appear when they search for certain products or services. By this way, you can make connections even if you aren't directly taking any effort. The more someone sees your business, the more likely they will be to remember your business. They'll try to learn more about your business and the type of product or service you offer.

Local Visibility

Online business directories have suggesting capabilities and advanced filtering that allows you to connect with your targeted customers. They are truly beneficial as they build your business locally visible to your community.

Get Discovered

Get discovered not only by your customer but also by potential Investors and Partners who are searching for businesses to do business with. Featuring the right contact details, services, and more help them to give your business some consideration.

Cost-effective

Advertising your online costs you hundreds of dollars! But, most online business directories are free for listing your local business. Some directories require additional cost for some special features, such as more than one business listings, multiple locations, multiple categories, location map, and more.

How to Make the Most of Your Business Directory?

  • Add numerous quality photos of your business and ensure you've more positive online reviews. This gives people a reason to contact you and engage.
  • Ensure that the details entered in your local business directories are correct.
  • Check whether all the online sources related to your business have the same address, business name, and phone number.
  • Remove any old phone number or address in the listings.

For any new businesses or established business new to digital marketing, launching a local business campaign is a difficult task. The results cannot be expected overnight. Local business directories play a vital role in increasing the visibility of your business within the local search results and leads to more customers, more sales and more success!

If you are looking for any digital marketing ideas or lead conversion strategies for your small business, visit https://ask8.com/local-directory-marketing/

The author of this article is a local business expert who offers effective digital marketing and lead conversion strategies for small businesses. In this article, he explains what role local business directories have to play in strengthening local SEO. Visit https://ask8.com/ for more information.