Directory Listings as a backlink source is a much debated topic when it comes to small businesses using them. Some will tell you that you absolutely must be in those online directories and others will tell you it can hurt your score from all of the possible spam sites. In this article, we will be going into the reason why you want to list your business in some online directories and providing you a list with directories that small business owners should consider listing their business on.
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are links on other websites that will direct visitors to your website. These are used by search engines to help them decide if a website is trustworthy or not to decide where it should appear on search results pages. However, if you read our SEO guide, then you would know that not all backlinks are created equal. Some will help your website more than others, while some could actually harm your rank.
Generally speaking, you want to make sure the backlinks that you obtain are:
- Earned or Editorial in nature
- Come from authoritative pages
- They should increase with time
- Come from a topically relevant source
- Use relevant, natural anchor text
- Bring qualified traffic to your site
- Be a health mix of follow and no follow links
- Be strategically targeted or naturally earned
How Search Engines Work
We have discussed this in prior articles, so we aren’t going to go to in depth into this topic today, but wanted to give a brief overview for those of you who are just tuning in.
Search engines use crawlers or bots to crawl through and inspect the code of all websites found on the entire. They then will index any web pages that they found during the crawl so they can refer to it later when searches are made. However, in order to decide which site they should show on the first page, search engines will analyze the data they found during their crawl and assign the page a rank. The better that your page ranks, the higher chance you have of being displayed on the first page of search results.
While crawling websites, search engines can see any links that are placed on a page. Those links help them to find new pages, understand your websites hierarchy, and even find new websites that they didn’t previously know about. All of that information is then cataloged, or indexed, so they can see how many other websites are pointing towards your website.
That data is then used somewhat like a vote. The more links, or votes, your website has, then search engines will assume that your website has credible information on it and will rank you higher in search results. However, there is a catch.
There is a vast number of services out there that will let you buy links for hundreds of websites to try to boost your rankings, which made search results inaccurate and the voting system no longer valid. To combat this, search engines had to become more sophisticated and look at the other data on the page to determine if the backlink is coming from a valid source or not.
Should You List Your Business on Directories?
We have mentioned a few times now that links pointing to your website must come from topically relevant sources to be counted as a vote by search engines. So, it would be natural to question if you should be listing your business on online directories since they often contain multiple different industries within on site. However, some directories you do want to make sure your website can be found on because search engines see them as a credible source of information.
You should also consider the fact that not everyone uses Google when searching the internet and search engines usually don’t share data with one another. For example, Bing is the second most often used search engine on the market with, but if you wanted to research a business’s credibility you still might end up on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
You should also take social media into consideration since it’s so widely used these days. With their search features and AI being directly built into many social media sites, it only makes sense to make sure your business can be found on their websites.
And let’s not forget about apps such as Apple Maps, Google Maps, or even MapQuest when you are needing directions or looking for things nearby. These are all search engines with most of them operating with their own site crawlers.
As you can see, there are countless different places where your business should be present if you want to increase traffic to your website, but how do you choose which ones?
Which Directories Should Your Business Be Listed On?
Knowing which directories your business should be listed on involves knowing your customers. Essentially, anywhere your customers are, you want your business to be. This helps make it easier for customers because they can find you through channels that are normal for them to use and that they are comfortable with.
However, for local businesses or brick-n-mortar type businesses, there are some that you want to make sure you are listed on regardless of your industry. Below we have outlined some of the top websites for local businesses to add their business to for you to consider.
Google Business Profile
In case you didn’t already know, you can claim your business on Google to help you show up on Google Maps as a local business. This allows you to control what information is being published on the map when someone searches for things nearby to them. It’s also where people who are researching your product/industry can go to see your reviews to help them decide if they want to work with you.
Bing
Unless you have an Apple or Chrome computer, most desktop computers come installed with the Microsoft Edge browser on them. Which sets your homepage and search fields to Bing. It’s an important site to list your business on for this reason.
Apple Maps
With the popularity of the iPhone, Apple Maps lands a top position for where to list your local business. Having your business listed in their map data will allow you to show up in the “Nearby” information they display to their users.
As the most widely used social media site on the market today, Facebook is one of the top places you want your business for it to be found. It’s also a great way for you to connect with your customers on a more personable level and allows other people to refer their network to you.
Yelp
Yelp is a widely used review and concierge service to match businesses with service providers in their area.
Instagram is the second most popular social media site on the market in today’s world.
NextDoor
NextDoor is a social media site for your neighborhood.
Better Business Bureau
The BBB website is a widely recognized site to see if any businesses have complaints filed against them.
LinkedIn is another popular social media site that has seen an uptick in users in recent years.
Angi
Formerly known as Angie’s List, this site lists home services for locals to be matched with.
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet is one of the business credit bureaus that track your businesses credit worthiness, however, they also have directory listings available on their website and their overall domain authority is quite high.
Managing Your Listings
The biggest reason people don’t have their business listed on numerous sites like the ones listed here is because they don’t have the time to go add themselves to all the different sites. However, another thing to consider is that with each listing you give customers another place to leave you a review. This is another big reason why some small businesses for go adding their business to the different directories. However, if you are trying to grow your business, it’s important to be on these sites so you can be easily found. So, how do you manage the reviews?
The first option is to do it yourself, of course. The second is hiring someone to manage it for you, but bringing in an additional staff member just to monitor reviews is a lot of overhead to consider. However, there is another option: Outsourcing it.
There are companies out there that will help you list your business on the different directories and manage any incoming communications from clients. For example, here at Dynamyte Digital Lab, we are Directory Listings & Reputation Management with our Local SEO services. We will add or update your listing with relevant search engines to your industry and then monitor those channels. If a review is received, we will then forward it to you to determine if and how you would like to respond to it. This is just one of the many ways we can help your business succeed.
Conclusion
To answer the question on if you should be listing your business on directory websites, the answer is yes, but proceed with caution. Remember, at the end of the day your primary goal is reaching your customer so you can help them. In this instance, that simply means making it easy for your customers to find you by being where they are already hanging out.
If you would like help with your directory listings or managing your reputation online, you can send a request to us here.
