Online directories are the low hanging fruit of online marketing. There are thousands of online directories, both free and paid, that will allow you to list your website.
As a result, it’s tempting to blast a bunch of directories with an automated link building tool so you can quickly acquire a number of inbound links to your website. This may help your site’s visibility in the short term, but it is not a good long term strategy.
Finding Directories
The first directory to start with is the DMOZ Open Directory Project which is a human-edited directory that feeds different reputable directories on the Internet including Google Directory. The value of a well-categorized listing in DMOZ is high quality inbound links from multiple websites. This doesn’t happen overnight and may take up to six months, but it is the first place to start.
Next, search for relevant industry directories on Google. Some of these directories will let you create a listing for free, if you link back to their site, and some have a paid option where you pay a fee for a one-way link to your site without having to create a reciprocal link. Depending on the site’s authority, it may be worth purchasing the one-way link.
Finally, do some backlink analysis on your competitors’ websites to see which directories are linking to them. You can use Yahoo! Site Explorer or Open Site Explorer to see which sites are linking to your competitors’ sites. Start by researching those competitors who appear on page 1 of Google because it’s likely they’re working with an SEO consultant, and they have already done the work to identify relevant directories.
Local Directories
If you’re a location-based business, then listing your business in multiple local directories is a no-brainer. Local listings on Google are now being featured more prominently than ever. An upcoming Google search results enhancement will actually display local businesses in the primary search results with information and reviews from the Google Places profile. This is fantastics for local businesses because it presents much more relevant data than just a business name and location on a map.
Yahoo! Local and Bing Local are also easy ways to create a local profile to list your website, but even better are local business directories that are specifically designed for that purpose. Two of the larger local business directories are Manta and MerchantCircle. You can create free listings on each of these directories to feature your business information and web site.
There really aren’t any tricks to finding good directories. You just need to put in the effort and research what others in your industry are doing. Directories are really just a simple first step to begin spreading the word about your website in places that are already receiving visitors and have prominence on the major search engines.
Next, we’ll see how social media marketing can help increase your site’s visibility as well.
Image by CJ Sorg
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