Where to advertise online
Until recently, online directories such as yell.com or the yahoo
directory have been index based, allowing companies to list their name
and contact details. Costs can be smaller and more reasonable compared to other
marketing techniques. For local based directories it can often be free to list
your company, whereas national sites are likely to charge you a couple hundred
pounds a year. Inevitably bigger visible adverts will cost extra, as will
having your company listed under multiple categories.
Directories can be great for boosting your SEO, however
advertising using this approach will not guarantee custom, considering that your
business will be amongst hundreds of others on a page. Therefore it can highly
competitive and make it difficult for your company to standout when taking the
directory route.
If the directory is free, there is no gamble and your company
has nothing to lose out on. Nethertheless, depending on your target market it
may be more worthwhile to optimise your marketing potential on your own site
and spending money on targeted adverting via Google ad
words for instance.
Customer directory reviews
An increasing number of directories are offering simple
rating systems and customers the chance to post business reviews. It’s evident
that users are moving towards social based websites, combining business
listings with reviews allowing people to share their experiences. Free index is an example of a directory that has
customer reviews.
The target audience that you select can be of great
importance when choosing where to advertise. If you trying to target a
nationwide or global audience, it’s unlikely that a local directory will be of
much use other than to increase your link value and the position that your
company achieves within search engines. However, if your company is trying to attract
local clientele, submitting a website to a local directory can be worthwhile in
generating positive results. Picking a
sector specific directory site can also be useful in order to drive more
targeted results.
Writing a listing
It’s important to communicate as much as possible about your
business when writing a listing for a directory. Some directory sites only
require your business name and contact details, while others may provide more
space to write about the services that you provide.
When writing a listing put yourselves in your customers
shoes and try to include your unique selling feature. For example if your
company provides a 24 hour service, promote this clearly within your listing.
Finally, track your traffic to measure the effectiveness of
your listing. Do not solely rely on directory figures, especially when your
company is paying to marketing their services. Google
Analytics is a free and useful service, allowing you to track where your
traffic is coming from and whether it’s worthwhile to carry on down that
avenue.
To get you started, free directories that your company may wish to try out other than those already mentioned could be Thomson Local or the UK Business to Business Directory.
To get you started, free directories that your company may wish to try out other than those already mentioned could be Thomson Local or the UK Business to Business Directory.
