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Using Directories to Attract People
to Your Website

 

Whether you list your product or business in a key directory or use the directory yourself to find clients, certain directories can be an extremely valuable part of your Internet marketing.

Of course, once a great directory brings clients to your website so they can evaluate you, you’ll need to make sure your website is designed and written to convert the most visitors to actually become clients. (See our Website sections for tips and ideas.)

So, why list in a directory?

There are two important reasons:

1. Being listed in the right directory could provide a steady stream of clients, and

2. Being listed in certain online directories could raise your rankings for the major search engines.

Of course, not every industry has a great directory. Still, many people are surprised at how often a valuable client-generating or search-engine rank-increasing directory can be found for their specific business.

 

How to Determine if a Directory Can be Valuable

First, some directories, like ServiceMagic for home improvement contractors, only charge you when they provide actual leads for your business. In these cases, the risk is low and the potential benefit is high, so it’s definitely worthwhile to get involved.

Second, some directories rank high in the search engines and show up at the top of the first page whenever someone is looking for your type of business. It may be a disadvantage if you are not listed in them.

At Google and the other search engines, try searching for your type of business and see what comes up. Don’t just look at the businesses. Examine the specific website URLs. For example, when searching for a local restaurant, the URL for CitySearch will often show up, indicating that advertising with them could be a great place for your business.

When you type “therapists” into the search engines, Psychology Today’s directory almost always comes up right at the top of the search results, sometimes with two or more listings right at or near the top. Although you’re competing with other therapists in this directory, not being there may be a disadvantage.

Part of the problem with directories is, there are so many to choose from, you could practically go bankrupt advertising in each one.

That’s why going to the search engines and seeing which ones are at the top can be so important. If only one or two directories show up, these may be all you really need to advertise in, especially if clients come from the Internet.

For other directories, you may have to experiment and try a few to find the one or two that are most valuable to you.

 

Low Tech and High Tech Client-Generation from Directories

A tech guy I know lost his job last year at a major biotech company, where he oversaw their massive computer network. He was their number one troubleshooter of network problems, helping adapt their systems to handle the ultra-high growth the company was experiencing.

The trouble was, even though he was a sort of tech guru, he was also highly abrasive, so they eventually laid him off.

Initially he was really scared. Frankly he had never been out of a job before, and he had also never considered the possibility of working for himself as an independent contractor.

But he quickly discovered a key industry directory with listings of major projects. Pretty soon he had far more work than he could finish himself. So he started hiring and networking with other tech people so he could handle all the projects he was bidding on.

Today he earns almost five times what his salary was in his old job, and enjoys more freedom and security than he’s ever had before.

All this happened because he discovered a key directory for his industry.

On the low-tech side, a Chinese immigrant with a small leather repair shop in Southern California discovered that buying ads in local media such as City-Search, Superpages, YellowPages.com and the Los Angeles Times’ online directory service have catapulted his business to the top of Google, where he has been getting a steady stream of new clients for years. In fact, it’s his only source of new clients.

These two examples are a tip of the iceberg of how directories, particularly online ones, could be a crucial part of how you generate a flow of clients to your website.

 

Some of the Many Directories to Consider

There are three main types of directories to consider. First are general interest directories. Second are regional (local) directories. And third are industry-specific ones.

Depending on the type of business you have, you may want to start with industry-specific ones. For example:

–       Manufacturers may want to be listed in The Thomas Register of Manufacturers;

–       Home improvement companies could get leads from HomeAdvisor.com (previously ServiceMagic), which only charges you when they provide an actual lead for your business;

–       1-800-Dentist is an example of a very specific directory that targets a specific industry;

–       eLance, oDesk and Freelancer.com provide clerical and tech projects for a wide range of professions, mostly work-at-home individuals;

–       Virtual Assistant sites like ContemporaryVA and AssistU.com let tech and admin people get easily found for individual projects and long-term engagements, where clients pay retainers to guarantee a minimum of 20 to 80 hours a month and more;

–       Fiverr.com lists businesses willing to do projects for five dollars. Although five dollars seems liks an embarrassingly small amount to make a living from, for certain services, it can be especially valuable. Many tech suppliers listing with Fiverr generate thousands of dollars a week through this site;

–       Specific magazine directories can also be valuable. Being listed in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise Directory is crucial for many businesses trying to find franchisees, as can a membership in the (IFA) International Franchise Association, which includes a listing in their  online directory;

–       If you’re a dog breeder, being listed in the (AKC) American Kennel Club’s directory and in one of their National Clubs’ directories can be one of the best ways to get your dogs sold, and for a premium price because of the prestige associated with being in this directory;

 

Next are regional directories, which can be valuable for certain businesses:

–       Chambers of Commerce have directories that may be helpful to certain businesses (although not as many as you may think). Make sure you type of clients use this directory to find suppliers before you blindly invest. Of course, if joining a Chamber could also be helpful as a networking source, that’s worth considering;

–       If you are a government-approved supplier, State and Federal Contractor directories can be useful, not just for being found and for identifying potential clients and projects, but also for finding partners who could help you win larger projects;

 

Sometimes a single client or contact could make all the difference for you:

–       When Kemmons Wilson was launching his Holiday Inns, he wanted a partner who knew enough about the construction industry that he or she could quickly help turn his dream into a national chain of hotels. So he recruited Wallace Johnson, who was the head of the local construction trade association, and the two turned his dream into one of the largest hotel chains on the planet. In this case, Wallace Johnson’s involvement with the trade association was responsible for his becoming one of the wealthiest people in America.

So, your involvement with the right directory or trade association could provide profound benefits beyond what you could ever envision.

 

For Local Directories… Start With Google Local

If you have a retail or service business that depends on attracting local clients, being listed in local directories can be especially valuable.

First, you must be listed in Google Local (also called Google Maps or Google Places). This is free and gets you onto the map listing that often appears on the right of Google when someone searches for certain businesses that are local-based.

To access this service, in Google type “google places” and a link will come up instructing you how to get your business listed. You’ll need a Google account. If you have a Gmail account, use that. Otherwise, you can quickly set one up from the links they give you here. It’s free.

Although the process of setting up a Google Local listing can be a little complicated, creating a Google Local listing could be crucial for your local business because it gets you showing up on everyone’s online search.

 

The Link Between Google Local and Other Directories

Once you’re listed in Google Local, you may notice that, when you do a Google search, certain businesses show up at the top of the list, and none of them is yours.

Here’s how Google identifies in what order businesses should be listed.

The more directories your business is listed in, and the more comments you get in many of those directories, the higher you will get ranked in Google Local.

Unlike the old Yellow Pages, where the more you paid the bigger your ad and the higher you got listed, with Google, they want the best businesses to be listed the highest, so users of their service will be happy at what they find. The only way they could tell if a business is any good is from how people comment on and rank your business. So they link your business to other local directories and electronically watch how people are rating you. Based on that, your business will rise or fall in their listings.

WARNING: I know a wedding clothing shop that ranked at the top of Google Maps because he had so many positive comments in Yelp and other review sites. From that high ranking he got a ton of new clients regularly streaming into his shop.

But then…

He moved to a larger location to accommodate all the business he was getting, and suddenly, he lost his ranking in Google and all the business stopped!

What happened?

As soon as he changed his address in Google Local/Google Maps, he lost all the links to his reviews and ratings.

You see, Google Local links the name, address, and phone number of your Google Local listing with the listings in the other sites. If one of those elements changes, like your address, suddenly Google does not recognize that all those listings and comments are for you, and the connection gets broken.

In essence, if you change your address, you’ll have to pretty well start from scratch, because Google disconnects you from all the positive comments.

So, as your listing rises in Google Local, make sure you change nothing, and your rankings will continue to rise.

 

Local Directories Are Crucial for Many Local Businesses

This leads to a discussion of which are the best local directories for your business.

If you have a local business, this is a difficult question to answer because so many directories can send you clients, directly because you show up in their directly, and indirectly because your being in their directory will often greatly boost your rankings in Google and the other search engines.

Besides Google Local, important sites to be listed on are Yelp, CitySearch, Yahoo Local, MapQuest, Local.com, SuperPages, WhitePages, Yellow Book, Bing Local, Ask City, AOL Yellow Pages, AnyWho, InfoSpace, Switchboard, 411.com, YP.com, FourSquare, YellowBot, HopStop, Live, ZipLocal, NavMii, Best of the Web, Topix, Show Me Local, InsiderPages and many more.

Although most of these directories have a component that lets you get listed for free, many also have a premium service that lets you list special offers and deals that make it easier to draw people to your business. Of course, the premium services also offer ranking and speed of posting advantages the free listings do not.

 

YEXT Simplifies the Registration Process… for a Price

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of filling out the forms for each of these online directories, there’s a terrific service called YEXT (http://yext.com).

YEXT costs about $150 to $500 a year, depending on which package you get, and gets you listed in the paid versions of key directories, where you get premium listings and other advantages.

The most important advantage of using YEXT is, you have a single interface, meaning you only have to fill in your information once, and it automatically gets posted to more than 30 of the most important directory sites, including Yelp, Yahoo, SuperPages, CitySearch, MapQuest and tons of others.

Also, your listing shows up faster on these sites than they would if you submitted them manually, which could take 36 hours to more than a week for some.

Plus, YEXT allows specials to be easily created and posted to the network of directories. In this way, you are able to create a special offer to draw people into your store or business, and suddenly it appears on directories all over the Internet.

 

Our Directory of Local Directories

Whether you use YEXT or do it manually, if you have the kind of service where being listed in online directories can be valuable, there are plenty of great directories to choose.

Here’s a list with many of the key directories you may be interested in.

We’ve also included a link below to a directory one of our sister companies created, with links to more than 40 top directories, which includes links to their free and paid services.

Although we took great care to make sure the links worked when we compiled the list, with a list of this size, there are bound to be changes and links that get broken over time.

For the most part, regardless of whether all the links work or not, this should still be a useful list.

Here’s the link: http://greatmarketingplantips.com/local/

 

SEE ALSO — VIDEOS AT THE TOP (right) OF THIS PAGE FOR…

>>Google Local & Shopping

>>Directories

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If you’d like details about another Website Magnet — click on a link below

How will you bring “qualified” prospects to your website or web platform?

Search Engines | Social Media | Directories | Press Releases, PR & Articles | Blogs | Posting Expert Comments on Forums | Article Directories / eZine Directories | Video and Blog Sharing Sites | Articles on Partner Sites / Partner Newsletters | Affiliates / JV Partners / TeleSummits and Alliances | Emails / Email Newsletters | Banner & Text Ads | Webinars / Teleseminars | Viral Marketing | Tell-A-Friend | Promotional Marketers | Offline Marketing

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