A web directory or link directory is an online list or catalog of websites, whereas search engine listings are put together by machine or automated systems & lack a navigable structure. Much of the confusion stems from the plenty of hybrid models that have developed over time, as search engines have incorporated directory features to assist with concerns such as categorization and site quality.
In the simplest form, we can say that Web directories are an online directory that provides information on websites, companies, or industry-related content. Even though, in the past, web directories commonly focused on general website links, modern web directories now focus on specific industries like local businesses, travel, and secondhand products, among many others.
Directories place an emphasis on linking to website home pages & try to minimize deep linking. This makes web directories more useful for finding websites instead of individual pages. By partnering with a search engine, a few web directories attempt to solve this shortcoming for supplemental listings.
Web directories are quickly becoming a growing part of vertical search, as most directories have a search engine on their site.
There are multiple reasons for using the directories and free business listing sites, which include an improved search experience, more relevant search results, and more variety within a broader topic. In marketing & SEO, their main advantages include driving traffic to a website, boosting an industry's reputation, and boosting a site’s visibility in the SERPs.
Earlier, web directories were a significant part of the link-building process as they permitted the creation of backlinks to a site. Nowadays, they’re used more for building local citations and boosting topical relevance as opposed to solely for building links. Nevertheless, they remain a significant part of off-page SEO.
Business listing sites are websites that contain details about your business, such as your address, name, phone number, hours, and other data.
Most platforms that provide this detailed information are free to use, but users require to add manually their information or maintain their business.
The objective of business listing sites is to make your local business more accurate & more visible.
Small businesses that have information listed often have better SEO and are seen as trustworthy & authoritative on the Internet.
There is a big list of free business listing sites available on the internet. However, it is extremely vital to filter out good business listing sites. So, what’s the correct way to filter out the business listing sites!
Imagine you are on a site to find some data. You see annoying & irrelevant ads everywhere and it makes it tedious for you to find the information you need. Immediate action is to exit the website. So do your prospects. So, there is no point in listing spammy websites.
Getting a backlink from new local business listings websites with high domain authority will pass on high-value link juice to your site. There are plenty of tools available to check the domain authority of the new business listings websites. We have covered the top business listings in India with domain authority.
In order to get the link juice passed to your site, it is crucial for it to be a do-follow link. Not every new business listings site provides do-follow links, but one requires to ensure there is a balance of do-follow and no-follow links to their website.
The 3rd most popular review website on the web is none other than Yelp, Yelp is used daily by millions searching for local businesses, especially restaurants.
Most shoppers use the most popular search engine for information about & directions to local small stores. For everything. It’s the main street of the web. As per Google, 50% of all the mobile consumers who use Google for local searches in a day visit the businesses they search.
One of the leading free business listing sites is the great website directory which is giving the optimum results to small and local businesses to grow by providing high-quality backlinks.
4 out of 7 people on the planet are on Facebook, and they’re actively checking out the 65 M plus local business pages listed on the biggest social network ever. Creating a Facebook presence for your local or small business takes a few steps.
Another top 5 review website, TripAdvisor’s 415 M monthly users have smoke coming from their keyboards — over 535 M reviews have been published on the site. Your local business, especially if it’s in the hospitality space, is missing out on a windfall of digital awareness and feedback if you’re not on TripAdvisor.
If you are wondering, why is this on our list, then here is the answer… Twitter might not “sell” your products to your potential customers or didn’t recommend you to come into your shop, but it surfaces at the top in searches & presents one of the easiest and fastest ways for valuable customers to reach out to you. Also, Twitter is a location-based tool that lets you search for customers in your area.
As per a recent study around 82% of customers research before they come into the store to buy. Nowadays, especially if you’re marketing to younger demographics, photography-based Instagram is a visual invitation to come in and see for oneself.
Most people nowadays like visual content instead of reading the reviews, scrolling through a website or combing through social media posts. A video is easy. Just hit play. A YT video (even just one) is a solid small local business marketing vehicle to reach over 30 M customers who are watching almost 5 B YouTube videos a day.
Foursquare has a passionate following of 55 M monthly local business fans. The check-in, share where they are, & leave tips for others to follow.
It might seem like LinkedIn is just a matter for national or global brands, but a local small business can show researching consumers more of who they are, from owners to employees. Use LinkedIn to showcase yourself as a reputable, well-connected owner with years of relevant experience, especially for finance-based businesses.