Showing posts with label Local Citation Sites. Show all posts

Saturday, December 31, 2016

The Ultimate List of 50 Online Local Business Directories

As a local business, attracting new customers can be a major challenge. Quickly disappearing are the days when people go to the Yellow Pages to find local businesses. Today, people are turning to the internet as a way to find trusted business recommendations.

One way local businesses can get found is through inclusion in online directories. Adding a listing to these online directories is easy, but if you only list in a few, you're really missing a huge opportunity to get found by online searchers.

Download our free SEO guides here to learn more about how to use local SEO for your local business.

Every individual directory that you submit to is another chance to get found online, so it's important to make sure you're listed in every directory possible. I have compiled a list of many popular local directories available on the internet. Filling out the forms over and over again can be a big pain, so here's a link to an autofill add-on for Firefox that should help prevent carpal tunnel.

50 Online Local Business Directories/Listings for Local Marketing

Making sure that you have a presence everywhere your potential customers might find you is critical to any local marketing plan. Don't wait! Add your local business to these directories today! Are there any local directories I missed? Let me know in the comments below or ask me on quora.com!

Note: This post was originally published on blog.hubspot.com and has been updated for accuracy.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Local Business Directory Listing Benefits

Directory Listing Benefits

Business Directory is aimed at promoting businesses however possible. Promoting your business through an online business directory listing is a smart as well as time-saving and cost-effective business move. It positions your business among the leading providers. WDD Business Directory listing is a great way to promote your product or service directly to a focused audience. For a flat fee, your product or service will be listed for a lifetime.

Link Popularity

Link popularity refers to the number, quality and relevance of inbound links from other websites to yours which is an important variable in determining search engine rankings. WDD Business Directory can improve the link popularity of your website and draw continuous traffic into it.

Generate Targeted Traffic

Submissions in WDD Business Directory will expand your website more admired over the Internet and wait on you to drive a high-quality flow of traffic to the website from those who are interested in your website services which will successively improve the business.

Increased Visibility in Search Engines

In order to formulate a website more popular between the web surfers, web masters seek any advertising and exposure they can get. Submitting links to search engines is one of the ways to achieve this goal. Listing in our directory will improve your search results position in major search engines and your site will get picked up by search engines more frequently.

Direct Advertising Exposure

Addition of your business web page in WDD Business Directory will provide direct advertising exposure for your business or organization to a large demographic in a variety of ways and will enable additional people to find your business and its products or services.

Get Noticed

Making a profit is provocative where competition for most goods and services is intense. Being listed in WDD Business Directory is a good way to get your name out there. People enormously use search engines and business directories for help in picking out products. You need to be listed in order to have a chance for success.

A listing in WDD business Directory makes your website popular, generate targeted traffic and reach new customers. We want your business to grow and gain exposure, so take the next step to make the best of this opportunity and submit your web site to WDD Business Directory.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

The Top 20 Places Your Local Business Needs to Be Listed

Remember when you had to find a phone book and flip through hundreds of pages in order to find a local business?

The use of Yellow Pages has declined over 50 percent in the last five years. People now conduct quick searches on one of the many popular online directories. Since Internet search is the primary tool to finding businesses today, it’s vital to make sure your business is listed on all applicable online directories.

To get you started, here’s a quick guide to the top 20 online directories and links to their sign-up pages:

Google Places for Business

Listing your business on Google Places for Business should be at the top of your priority list. Google outperforms every other search engine by a long shot. In fact, Google receives nearly 6 billion searches per day.

Advantages

Registering for a business listing on Google is easy and free
Business listings appear in Google Maps
Happy customers can leave reviews on your Google+ page

Create your Google Places for Business listing.

Bing Places for Business

Bing is the second most visited search engine on the Internet. If people aren’t searching on Google, chances are, they’re searching for your business on Bing.

Advantages

Quick, easy, and free to register
Add multiple business locations at one time
Include other content in your business listing like photos, videos, and more

Create your Bing Places for Business listing.

Yahoo! Local Listing

Yahoo is the Internet’s 3rd most popular search engine, bringing in millions of searches per day.

Advantages

Yahoo Local Basic listing is free
Include photos, company description and more for $9.95/month
Get maximum exposure and listed on 40+ other directory listings for $29.99/month

Create your Yahoo Local listing.

Yelp

Yelp is one of the best places on the Internet for consumers to find a quality review. If you’re looking to tap into the word-of-mouth advertising world, then Yelp is the perfect place to start.

Advantages

Create deals for loyal customers right in your Yelp account
Send messages to your customers, publicly or privately
View business trends in Yelp’s reporting tool

Create your Yelp listing.

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It’s easy to use and free to get started. Sign up and start sending emails today.

MerchantCircle

MerchantCircle is an online directory that helps small businesses connect with local customers, and other local small businesses. They offer free marketing tools to help you build your business.

Advantages

Geographically localized to your target audience
Ability to advertise to boost your listing
Host a business blog on the site

Create your MerchantCircle listing.

Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages is the online version of a modern day phone book. Besides listing your business in an organized directory, Yellow Pages also offers advertising, lead generation services, and online payment options.

Advantages

Well-organized interface
Detailed ad performance data
Receives millions of searches per day

Create your Yellow Pages listing.

White Pages

White Pages is the online equivalent of the white pages in a phone book. It’s a great way to make your business contact information available to over 200 million people.

Advantages

List your business among 30 million other businesses
Premium text message service for mobile marketing
Sponsored advertisement opportunities available

Create your White Pages listing.

Superpages.com

Superpages.com is another online directory that is easy to navigate. Superpages.com includes some unique features like cars for sale, lottery results and helpful tips for finding business services.

Advantages

Local weather listings right on the home page
Facebook sign-in option
Popular search categories listed on the home page

Create your Superpages listing.

Top 20 Places Your Business Needs to be Listed Online - online directories

Yellowbook

Yellowbook.com is a subsidiary of Hibu Business, and allows you to create an easily searchable business listing on their network. Listings come with access to a full profile that includes business information, a link to your website, product descriptions and more.

Advantages

Information distributed across yellowbook.com network and partner sites
Display and video ads available
Cool map feature included in every listing

Create your Yellowbook listing.

YellowBot

YellowBot is yet another online directory similar to the yellow pages in a phone book. YellowBot provides basic contact and location information about businesses, and allows online reviews from customers.

Advantages

Easily sign in with Windowslive, Google, Facebook, Yahoo or Twitter
Premium Listing opportunity for easy account management
Ability to add searchable tags to your listing

Create your YellowBot listing.

Manta

Manta is an online directory that receives over 30 million unique visitors per month. According to Inc., it is one of the fastest growing business sites on the Internet.

Advantages

A fantastic way to increase your website traffic with paid business optimization packages
Get set up within minutes
Highlight your products and brands on your business profile

Create your Manta listing.

Citysearch

Citysearch is an excellent network for restaurants, bars, spas, hotels, restaurants and more. It’s free to get a listing and easy to update your profile once you’re listed in their search results. Citysearch also offers city guides for the most popular cities in the United States.

Advantages

Vast partner network including Expedia, Urbanspoon, MerchantCircle and more
Profile includes a fun welcome message for viewers
Customers access business listings through popular Citysearch mobile app

Create your Citysearch listing.

MapQuest

MapQuest is a web mapping service to help bring local customers right to your business doorstep. This listing is great for businesses that are trying to get customers to visit a physical location.

Advantages

Detailed driving directions to your business are available
Only $3/week
One central dashboard to manage business listings across multiple sites (paid service)

Create your MapQuest listing.

Local.com

Local.com is a free business directory powered by Yext.com. Local.com offers searchers detailed information about everything going on in their city, including events, deals and information on popular businesses.

Advantages

Additional advertising options available
Add a coupon to attract customers
Resources available to make sure your business is listed correctly across the web

Create your Local.com listing.

Foursquare

Not only is Foursquare a popular business directory, it’s a popular social networking site. Customers can check in and comment on your business — ultimately leading more potential customers to your business.

Advantages

Connect your Twitter handle, so visitors can Tweet you
Add a map so people can “check-in” to your business
Popular mobile app available

Create your Foursquare listing.

DexKnows

DexKnows is a popular online directory that not only allows a business listing, but provides a way for you to track how your customers engage with your profile, thus allowing you to track your online reputation.

Advantages

Identify places where you can advertise both online and in print
Detailed lead information available through reporting tools
Monitor your ratings and reviews

Create your DexKnows listing.

The Business Journals

The Business Journals is a local listing that has 4 levels of service options— free, bronze, silver, and gold. Each service option displays your listing in the directory, but the more you pay, the more opportunities you have to receive targeted traffic to your website.

Advantages

8 million monthly searchers
Searchers have an average income of $97K+
84% of searchers shop online

Create your Business Journals listing.

Hi! I’m an Online Marketing Consultant Specializing in Local Search Optimization & Business Listing Creator. It is my focus to work with small and medium sized businesses to help them create and/or enhance their online presence while integrating the best of digital marketing practices in all my initiatives.

Angie’s List

Angie’s List is one of the most well respected online directories for services, and is touted for its ability to provide accurate and reliable reviews for readers. If you’re looking to establish an online reputation through positive reviews, Angie’s list is a must.

Advantages

Online reputation management services
Ability to read and respond to reviews
Access to additional helpful business tools

Create your Angie’s List listing.

Hotfrog

Hotfrog is a free online directory whose aim is to help get your website listed in Google’s search results.

Advantages

Registration takes less than 5 minutes
Add as much detail to your profile as you would like for free
Create coupons to incentivize your customers

Create your Hotfrog listing.

Kudzu

Kudzu is free and geared toward homeowners that are interested in making renovations. If you offer any type of home improvement services, make sure you list your business on Kudzu.

Advantages

93% of Kudzu users are homeowners
74% of those homeowners are interested in home renovation projects
Enhanced profiles come with a dedicated account manager to help you boost your website in search results

Create your Kudzu listing.

Need some help getting your business listed? Get a free audit of over 50 online directories, social sites, and search sites. See where your business is listed, if it is listed correctly, and find other listings to maximize your visibility.

This guide was created by Deluxe and republished by https://localseocitations.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Citation Sources Canadian Local Business

Local Search in Canada isn’t nearly as developed as in the US, but we’re getting there at a fast pace. Due to economies of scale, carrying out a good local seo campaign in Canada isn’t particulary challenging, but isn’t necessarily easy either. There’s a couple of good reasons for this, one being a complete and utter lack of Canadian specific local citation sources.

The Local Ranking Algorithm is generally centered around the regular on-page and off-page factors attributed to traditional or organic seo, in addition to an all important factor around local business citations. David Mihm provides a great explanation about why Citation is the New Link in Local SEO, and also provides a great resource in his BCS of Local Search Engine Optimization for our friends south of the border.

As local search becomes increasingly more social, user reviews and local business citations are becoming very important in securing top local ten-pack listings. Let’s look at some of the hand-picked citation sources I’ve researched that influence Canadian Local SEO on Google Maps.

Local Citation Sources for Canadian Hotels

TripAdvisor – TripAdvisor provides unbiased hotel reviews, photos and travel advice for hotels and vacations. It’s not only a great resource for travellers, but also a significant source of all of the reviews cited by Google Maps results for local search times such as ‘Toronto Hotels‘.

Virtual Tourist– Similar to TripAdvisor, Virtual Tourist hotel reviews pop up frequently on Google Canada Map results. Sign up, and leave an honest review of businesses you’ve dealt with.

Igougo – Igougo has vacation and travel reviews, and features third in line after TripAdvisor and Virtual Tourist on Google Map reviews for Hotels.

General Citation Sources

WCities – WCities has a North American base covering businesses of all kinds from restaurants, to night life establishments, and more. You can review businesses by navigating to your respective city and clicking on the appropriate business profile.

Toronto Life -Toronto Life isn’t a UCG site, but does count as a citation source in Google Local. The best way to get featured is for your establishment to offer something sensational, whether that be a unique dining experience, or world-class service.

Where.Ca -Like Toronto Life, Where.ca is not a user generated content network, but does figure prominently as a citation source.

Frommers.com -The perennial paper-back favourite Frommer’s guide is equally popular online, and covers everything a traveller needs to know about their destination, including hotels, attractions, restaurants and more. Leaving a review for an establishment is a matter of navigating to the appropriate business and adding to the mass of exisiting reviews.

Zip Local – Zip Local was recently featured on a popular Canadian TV network, Cable Pulse 24, and is ideal for hyperlocal UCG content. Want to find reviews for a trendy bar in the posh Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto? Not a problem. From a small business standpoint, this is an ideal way to get cited as the neighbourhood go-to business for what you offer.

Yelp – Yelp was the original hybrid between Yellow Pages listings and UCG from what I can recall. While Yelp does have listings in the organic search results, they are a definite contender to be considered as a local citation source as well. Leaving reviews on Yelp is easy, and doesn’t even require a user login. That said, if you’re a small business owner, you can claim and modify your existing listings to include more information about your products or services.

Unsure about how to move forward with your local search marketing? Contact us via UpWork or Quora

Monday, December 12, 2016

Best UK Local-Business Citation Sources

You chaps and dames in the UK may drive on the wrong side of the road and confuse beer with cocoa (only one of which should be served warm!), but at least the challenge of getting a business visible in Google Places is the same across the pond as it is here in the States.

OK, fine, so maybe even the Google Places / local-search-visibility puzzle is different in the UK from how it is here. That is, you need to list your business on different third-party sites in order to get maximum local visibility (which isn’t news to you).

The first step, of course, is to know what those third-party sites are.

Enough of me mates have asked me to cough up my list of UK local-search citation sources. It’s about bloody time I do so.

Here’s the full monty:

(extra-important sites in bold)

118Information.co.uk

AgentLocal.co.uk

ApprovedBusiness.co.uk

BizWiki.co.uk

Britaine.co.uk

BTLinks.com

BusinessNetwork.co.uk

City-Listings.co.uk

City-Visitor.com

CityLocal.co.uk

CompaniesintheUK.co.uk

Cylex-UK.co.uk

DigiBritain.co.uk

FreeBD.co.uk

FreeIndex.co.uk

Fyple.co.uk

GoMy.co.uk

HotFrog.co.uk

It2.biz

Local.TrueKnowledge.com

LocalDataCompany.com

LocalDataSearch.com

LocalMole.co.uk

LocalLife.co.uk

LocaTrade.com

Manta.com

MarketLocation.com

MiQuando.com

MisterWhat.co.uk

MySheriff.co.uk

Opendi.co.uk

Qype.co.uk

Recommendedin.co.uk

Scoot.co.uk

SmileLocal.com

TheBestof.co.uk

TheDirectTree.com

TheDiscDirectory.co.uk

ThomsonLocal.com

Tipped.co.uk

TouchLocal.com

UFindUs.com

UK.Uhuw.com

UK.WowCity.com

UK-Local-Search.co.uk

UK-Locate.co.uk

UKSmallBusinessDirectory.co.uk

Wampit.com

WheresBest.co.uk

WhoseView.co.uk

Yalwa.co.uk

Yell.com

Yelp.co.uk

Zettai.net

Now comes the fun part: listing your business on all the above sites. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, links to the “Add business” pages are on the right, so at least you don’t have to hunt around for them.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

The Best Local Citations Sites

As the search engines continue to evolve there is one element of search that continues to remain at the focal point of personalization, and that’s local. Now more than ever it’s crucial for small businesses to stand out amongst the local competition, but to get there you need to make sure the search engines know you belong. The first way to do this is to claim, optimize, and complete your local listings on the big 3.

The next step is to begin gaining local citations that not only work to help search engines identify where you are located, but also to help drive external reviews and ratings. To help get the ball rolling I have put together and essential list of nearly 100 local citations sites that you can begin submitting your small business to in order to give it a boost in it’s local citation profile. (download the entire list in a spreadsheet at the end of the post)

While this may seem overwhelming at first, it’s important to recognize that by no means should you complete all of these in one sitting. Like link building for SEO it’s good to build up slowly over time. After claiming your local listings on the big three, you can then branch out and do a handful of these at a time. I personally shoot for the big players in the local search ecosystem a month or so after claiming the core business listings. Then from there I do a handful more each month.

As you work through this list, or any list of local citations sites, it’s important to remember that keeping your NAP information consistent is crucial. I personally open the claimed Google Places listing for the business I am working with and work directly from that so as not to mess up any of the information associated with the business. The slightest deviation can be costly in that it may not count as a citation and in many instances may cause the search engines or other local portals to generate duplicate listings for your business.

The list of citations sources above is compromised of general local portals, as you work through this list be sure to integrate niche specific sites as well. For instance in the medical field some of the key players are sites like Vitals.com or HealthGrades.com. Once you’ve exhausted this list you can turn to tools like Whitespark ’s Local Citation finder or simply run queries like [“Your Street Address” -site:yourdomain] to find potential new opportunities to list your local business information.

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