Website Promotion Strategy

If you run a brick and mortar store or an online business that only serves people from a particular geographical location and are thinking about carrying out some advertising, you may have probably already thought about using a business listing directory. This is where you place your business details in a local business directory so as to get some leads back to your main site. The process of listing on directories may not be straightforward and may be quite time consuming. To make it easier and ensure successful listing on these directories, it is prudent that you instead use a business listing service.

There are many marketing companies that also offer business listing services since they know the important role that local business listings play to the success of your business. These companies have professionals who have been doing business listing in directories for a very long time and thus they know the ins and outs and dos and don’ts of directory listing. Some of the ways in which you could benefit by enlisting a business listing service for your business include:

* They will improve the exposure you get for your business. Since their business is to carry out directory listings, they have a comprehensive list of directories that they can use to make your business listings and thus they guarantee you more exposure than you could get on your own.

* They save you time, which is a valuable resource. Instead of wasting a lot of time finding directories and then making your listings and waiting for them to be approved, it would be prudent to use a business listing service since they know how to carry out the process and ensure that listings are accepted. Your listings could therefore be done and in operation in a matter of minutes.

* They will also help you to get value – adding customers for your business. Just by looking at your business and its description, these firms will be able to find a business listing directory that is likely to lead to value addition for your business. They don’t just do haphazard listings and thus they guarantee you quality in terms of the leads that they will help to generate for your business.

* By the way that a business listing service does its submission to directories, they make it easier for your business to be found in those directories, maps and GPS systems. Most of these services ensure that they use the appropriate listing formats and in addition they optimize your listing for the search engines by using keywords so that you can also be seen in search results.

Local business listing services are services that help you list your business in a local business directory such as Google Local Search, Yahoo! Local Search, MSN Local, Ask.com, and AOL Local. Hiring a pro to do this is advantageous in that you get professionalism and you get unparalleled convenience. Given the fact that there are many local business listing services, it is important that you know what makes a good local business listing directory, as this will help you make an informed decision. Some of the features that business local listings should have include:

The search feature – the listing directory should have a search feature. The search feature allows those who are searching for a business in your niche to do a comprehensive search without resulting to search engines, meaning they are more likely to find you. The directory should also allow for Web visitors to search for what they are looking for within your website. You should therefore go for a local business listing service that lists your website in business local listings that have search features.

Free listing and paid listing – the best local business listing directory is one that provides free listings as well as paid listings. The choice means you are more likely to get exactly what you want. Paid listings are important because they offer greater visibility.

Categories – the local business listing service you go for should list your site in business local listings that have categories and sub categories. Categories and sub-categories are important because you are more likely to get targeted Web traffic. Targeted Web traffic is advantageous in that you will not waste money advertising to people who are not likely to buy from you. The directory you go for should offer you a chance to add a new category should you so wish.

Discounts and free services – some local business listing directories today offer discounts and free services to attract new businesses to list and to retain old local business listing. You should therefore be on the lookout for such directories when searching. You should also consider the price for each listing, but do not let this consideration blind you from making other important considerations.

Go for a directory that has been offering the service for long since this is proof that it is credible and reliable. Consider the number of hits in the directory since this will directly impact the number of hits your business gets.

A local business directory is a directory that lists local businesses. These directories are descendants of traditional Yellow Pages. Some of the most popular local business directories today are Google Local Search, Yahoo! Local Search, and MSN Local, which includes Live Search Map, Ask.com’s Local Search Directory, Yelp, CitySearch, AOL Local, Dexknows.com, YellowPages.com and SuperPages.com. There are several reasons why you should go for local directory listings and these include;

Low advertising costs – local directory listings allow you to advertise your business at a fraction of what you would have used with traditional advertising methods such as newspaper classified ads and radio ads.

Increased exposure – listing your website in a local business directory exposes your websites to millions of people from around the world. More and more people are going online for all their shopping needs and local business directories are usually the first place they look. The increased exposure means you will get greater ROI or return on investment. Maps to your business location are important in that people will know exactly where you are.

Passing information across – a local directory listing will not only list your business’s name, it will also list your street address, your contact numbers, a brief description of the service or product you are offering, and a link back to your site. This is important in that those who see your listing are more likely to end up in your website.

SEO – local directory listings include one way links back to your website. This is important in that it leads to link popularity and search engine optimization or SEO. Link popularity is one of the factors that Google and other major search engines consider when determining ranking. A high ranking in a search engine results page (SERP) means increased visibility and consequently greater ROI.

Targeted Web traffic – local business directory listings enable you to get targeted Web traffic since only those who like what you have to offer will click on links to your website.

Changing and updating – In-bound paper directories do not allow for changes to be made, but you can make all the changes you want with online local directory listings.

Different options – you get to choose from Yellow Books, general business/regional directories, and specific industry directories. This means there is something for everyone. You do not require technical knowledge of advertising to do the listing.

If you run a business with products or services that are targeted to a particular region, it is paramount that you concentrate your marketing and promotion efforts to that specific area. While there are many ways in which you can achieve this, the use of local business listings is by far one of the most effective ways. This is where you make submissions to various business directories that specifically have listings for businesses in your area. This method is very effective given the fact that a large percentage of people looking for various products and services today usually search in directories for relevant businesses they can go to.

Apart from simply improving your exposure and creating an avenue for potential customers to easily find you, using local directory listings also fortifies your SEO efforts. By making submissions to directory sites you will be able to acquire high quality one-way links to your main business site, which will in turn be useful in improving your SERP rankings. In the long run you will end up achieving even more exposure as you tap into the immense power of the search engines. Unlike in the past when making directory submissions simply involved giving your business description and your contact details, the process today is quite different. Directory submissions also involve addition of:

* Photos – when making submissions to local business listings you can also include photos of your premises, or your products and services. This makes it easier for people to actually see what you have to offer and thus makes it easier for you to “reel in” new customers.

* Videos – these are even more effective tools for promotion than photos. You can include videos of your products or of a certain service being carried out. Videos are very engaging and they will make it easier for people to actually want to look at your listings and see what it is that you have to offer.

* Maps – since you will be making local business listings with the primary aim of making it easier for people to find you, the use of maps is very important. By adding a map to your local directory listings, it will be very easy for people who are interested in what you have to offer to find you. You will therefore not lose any customers due to the fact that they could not pinpoint your exact location.

To ensure that you effectively use these tools while making local business listings, it is prudent that you enlist the services of a professional directory submission firm. They have the expertise and the skills to guarantee you the best out of your directory submission efforts.

Local directory listing is today one of the top most ways for businesses to market themselves. Directory submission involves submitting your site to various online sites that contain related subject and content usually regarding a specific niche. To ensure that your directory submission is a success and helps you achieve your business goals, it is prudent that you use local directory services. These are firms that specialize in providing various services related to local directory submission.

So what exactly will you achieve by using a local directory service? Some of the services offered by these professional firms include:

1. Keyword research to update your listings – to ensure that your listings come up even in search engine searches, these firms will ensure that your listings are well optimized for the search engines by including keywords in them.

2. Update your listings to match current information – in case you change your location, telephone or mailing address the local directory service will update these details in your directory listings so that you don’t miss out on any business due to wrong details. Also, if you add any products to your portfolio or need to change any business information they will be instrumental in updating your listings within the shortest time possible.

3. Improve the value of your listings – when you use local directory services they will also be instrumental in ensuring that they add value to your directory listings. Apart from the basic business information and details, they could also incorporate videos, photos and location maps which make your listings more interactive. It would thus be easier for potential clients to find your business and engage you.

4. Monitor customer ratings, reviews and clicks – since local directory listings also act as a form of advertisement, the local directory services will also be instrumental in helping you monitor their effectiveness in this aspect and thus you can know whether or not your advertising efforts are bearing fruit for your business.

5. Achieve better SERP rankings – when you use local directory services, they will ensure that they only make submissions to directories that are reputable and have a good standing with the search engines. This will guarantee you high quality one-way links, which are useful in improving your SERP rankings. In addition, being listed on authority directories makes it easier for your site to be indexed by the search engines and this will mean more exposure for your business.