With everything moving so fast online, the days of looking up businesses in hardcopies of the Yellow Pages and news papers are just about over. These days searchers use Google and trusted online business directories to find the companies they want to work with or buy from – which is why adding your business or organization to these lists is often crucial for being noticed in the digital era, especially for specialized industries. There are often tons of different online directories for specific niches, industries, and regions, and the more your organization’s name appears on those directories, the better your chances to be noticed and contacted.
To help make the case why your business or service needs to be listed in online directories relevant to your industry, I’ll explain why these directories are so beneficial, and share 5 popular directories that businesses owners should list in:
3 Key Benefits of Online Directories
1. Improve Your SEO
While directories can help provide backlinks to your site, their biggest SEO benefit is providing a new listing in Google for every listing in a directory. Whenever someone searches for your company name online, your directory listings can appear in the first page of search results and help point them back to your site.
2. Increase Your Discoverability
Online directories are one of the first places today’s buyers look when they need to find a supplier or provider. By maximizing your visibility in these directories, you maximize your chances to be contacted by potential clients.
3. Strengthen Your Reputation
The internet has had an enormous impact on the discoverability of emerging businesses. With all the different options available, today’s buyers are extra cautious about which vendors they can trust online. This is where online directories can be extremely helpful, as they’re often seen as a reliable source for quality and trustworthy businesses or services. Having your company in these directories shows you aren’t a dodgy company hiding behind a fancy website, but rather a company that’s serious about what they do. Many directories even have customer review areas, which can really help strengthen your reputation and convince other prospects to buy.
Top 5 Online Directories for Businesses in New Zealand
Looking to improve the discoverability of your business and get more sales? Then here are 5 online directories every business should be listed on. These are even more critical when local SEO is important to your business model:
1. Google
2. Facebook
4. LinkedIn
5. Yahoo!