Have you ever wondered where to list your business? Sure back in the ‘old days,’ you would make sure you had a listing in the phone book and maybe specifically in the yellow pages. Perhaps you had your business listing with an industry-specific association or a business like which is like a clearinghouse of information for anyone planning a wedding.

As a small business owner, you are probably wondering ‘how much is this going to cost me?’ I know that was my first instinct when I started to look into online business directories in general for Blue Shutters Web Design, LLC and even more so as I started to create this particular blog piece. I naturally went and put the phrase ‘does it cost anything to get a business listing?’ in my favorite search engine and I found a blog piece from Spire Advertising and they discussed various price options that they had encountered and here is part of their final paragraph:

Bottom line, if you are paying one or more monthly fees to have a listing on somebody else's website, please consider the alternatives...

Any type of listing you have is a form of advertising, and of course, you want to find cost-effective ways to advertise and get your business name out for public consumption. There is another reason that you would want to be included in business directories:

Local search experts agree that your business listing is one of the critical factors that impact your ranking in local search results, along with reviews, social media activity, incoming links, user actions and more. ...When your business is listed on a search site, review site or business directory, this is typically referred to as a “citation”. Citations are thought to be important for ranking in Google’s local search results. The more links from established sites you have to your website the better because this increases the certainty that the contact information is correct.

3 Key Benefits of Online Directories

• Increase Your Discoverability - Online directories are one of the first places today’s buyers look when they need to find a supplier/partner/provider. By maximizing your visibility in these directories, you maximize your chances to be contacted by prospective buyers.
• Improve Your SEO - While directories can help provide backlinks to your site (with some being better than others), 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 results and help point them back to your site.
• Strengthen Your Reputation - The internet has had an immeasurable 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 high-quality, trustworthy businesses. Having your company in these directories shows you aren't a shell 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.

Local search engine results are important for local businesses, and you will want to do what you can to have your local SEO results be high to help you establish your authority and start to build trust.

Anybody can build a website and say they launched a business. But if there’s no other trace of that business anywhere else on the internet — no page on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, no reviews on Yelp, no listing with the local chamber of commerce, no LinkedIn business page — it doesn’t make that business look very authoritative, both to humans and to search engines.

There is more information within the Thrive Hive piece about crafting your listing and I will be consulting it as I expand my presence in different online business directories. I will also be making a list of which directories are most relevant to my business and adding my listings in a methodical approach. If you are wondering where to find directories below are places you can find them.

Are you overwhelmed yet? Yeah I get it I am too, so right now I am taking a deep breath and developing a plan because then I can break this down into smaller pieces and I know I will be more effective doing smaller tasks consistently rather than a huge effort done only sporadically. The first thing that I did was I looked at the town I live in the Chamber of Commerce is part of a regional chamber but my town had a business directory on their .gov site and I submitted my information to be listed.

As I read more about business directory listings I realized that consistency is very important, this is one of those facts that you read and think well, of course, they should be but seeing it in print really adds authority to something that seems like it would be common sense. Another common sense bit of information found in the Thrive Hive piece is:

Be sure include your website link in your listings, not a Facebook link. Consumers expect businesses today to have a website and sending them to Facebook is an easy way to send them away.

There is more information within the Thrive Hive piece about crafting your listing and I will be consulting it as I expand my presence in different online business directories. I will also be making a list of which directories are most relevant to my business and adding my listings in a methodical approach. If you are wondering where to find directories below are places you can find them.

• Top 10 Online Directories for Businesses (I have quoted from this piece above (Wiedart))
• 65 Business Directories (I quoted from this piece above (Bliss Drive))
• Breakdown of the various free business listing sites your business can and should get listed on. This piece also has tips about what to put in your listing.
• The Ultimate List: 57 Online Local Business Directories

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NOTE: I am not being paid for my mentions of people, articles, products, or books I used above nor do I receive referral compensation unless it is disclosed within the post itself, the links are for convenience.

Unless otherwise indicated I sourced the links provided while researching a post. Links that I provide at the request of another person/business will be noted, and if I am paid to provide a link I will disclose that information on the post in which it is applicable. All opinions are mine, regardless of whether or not I am compensated, and are not in any way influenced by the requesting party.

DISCLAIMER: This advice is general in nature and not to be taken as personal professional advice. This blog does not provide legal advice if you need legal advice, please contact an attorney directly.