If you are actively working on SEO/SEM
initiatives to promote your business and improve your online marketing strategy,
you are already aware there are many directories and sites that are constantly
popping up with multiple lists of businesses. The great majority of them end up
not becoming a successful business directory, however they still may gather
your company information and publish it without your permission. On many
occasions they may list wrong contact information and negative reviews about
your business and there is not much you can do about it.
Some of them may allow you to update the information if you
pay, but others are not even reachable. If you have been in business for a
while you also know there are many unethical people and businesses that cause
more harm than good. Sometimes unfair or unfortunate events occur which affect
your company in a negative way, but it’s just part of the “business life”.
What seems to be not very rational is to see some successful
or bigger companies who seem to be misleading or inconsiderate with users and
small businesses. After talking to hundreds of businesses we find that companies
such as Yelp, Yahoo, Yext and other very prominent search engine and online
directories are on the business of “wasting your time”! Many local companies
and small businesses think these companies will help your business by adding
your information on local directories and business listings, but when you are
done you are not better off.
They make you go through a tedious process (for most people
and business owners) and, after wasting your time and energy, more often than
not they will not update changes to your business listings, nor let you verify
your business listing… unless you pay them... of course!
Many people are hesitant to invest on listing directory
services such as Yext because of the enormous price tag they entail. Still,
some might be tempted to pay the price when they find that claiming their listing
for free will not yield the expected changes. If you are one of those, keep in
mind that once you enter a contract with Yext, you can’t back down as easily as
many would like. If you ever leave their service, they will revert your
listings back to what they were before the contract started. This means that if
you want to keep the listings that Yext has created and updated for you, you
need to keep on paying them indefinitely.
This photo shows a sample of a message you get after
completing the free verification process on Yext. They tell you the process
takes 2 weeks, but don’t hold your breath unless you can hold it indefinitely.
This is especially a big concern for small businesses with
limited resources and limited marketing budget to promote and optimize their
online exposure.
All reasonable people understand businesses have to make money, and we don’t disagree with search engine and directories charging money. Most people will not have a problem with that.
The problem lies with the companies that promise something and do not deliver
the goods. For most business owners, the worst part is the aggravation and the
waste time.
On the other hand, you can find other search engines and
directories that will not list or update your business information unless you
pay them. But they don’t beat around the
bush, they just tell you like it is and if you don’t like it you can move on.
It is a refreshing approach to see when businesses are ethical and considerate
of other businesses.
What are the best search engines and directories to
advertise my business?
The top search engine is Google, followed by Yahoo,
Bing and others. Depending on your business and type of industry, you will find
several important local business directories where your business should be
listed. For example, if you are on the
health care industry you may not care about Cars.com, TripAdvisor, Dining.com
or other no so relevant directories. However, it would be important to be
listed on Helathgrades.com, Vitals.com, Webmd.com and other related medical
directories. If you are an attorney you probably want to consider Avvo, but not
so much if you are an electrician.
If you would like to get details about the best directories where
you can promote your business, contact the SEO/SEM professionals at Xperience Marketing
Solutions, and they will send you detailed information and suggestions to
help improve your online marketing communication and search engine
optimization.
How important is to claim and optimize my local business
listings?
Whether you live in Port Saint Lucie, Martin County, Miami,
Tampa, Florida, California, USA or other country around the world, if you are
in business and have a website, you should be paying attention to local
business directories and applicable search engines where your business may be
listed by other people or where you can add information about your company so
people can find you.
To learn more about online marketing and the importance of
claiming and optimizing local business listings, follow our Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn
and Instagram feeds, and we will let you know when other valuable articles are posted.
