“Is it still worth submitting your site to the local directories?”
We hear this question quite often. Reason being that, people think directory registration is an old-school idea and should be avoided. However, this is contrary to the truth. As in the past, directory registration still performs a key role in SEO in 2021 and affects the positioning of the site. But, the key rule here is to search for high-profile directories and keep your format of adding address the same for every entry. This will not only allow Search Engines to remember your details, but increase the credibility of your information too.
Another good idea for directory submission is to target the keyword of your site's home page. For example, if you have a restaurant and your target keyword is “Italian food in Las Vegas,” then mention this same keyword in your title of the directory submission. This will work as a cherry on top of the cake.
Now, before we tell you how directory submission is good for SEO in 2021, let us have a look at what a directory is.
What is a Directory?
Directory, online directories, or web directories are the evolved versions of those yellow page- books that many of us know. In this case, these are platforms that have lists of websites organized by categories so that users who are looking for a specific place, product, or service can find a website of interest with greater ease, in addition to having a lot of options in one place.
Unlike traditional physical directories, a web directory can be more than just a large book full of contact information and phone numbers. For SEO, it is a useful tool that will probably serve to give your business greater reach.
Importance of Local Directory Submission In SEO
Needless to say, using local directories to submit a website for backlinks is definitely not the way to go anymore (it used to be long ago). However, the key idea here is to target only high profile directories. If you've been working with local directory submission since the earliest period after you launched your website or blog, you're already on the right track. Feel free to give some time and effort to make sure you are listed in all the major local directories. Include all the information you need, such as your business location, business hours, contact information, and more. In this way, you will not only get valuable backlinks but also improve your online presence for local searches, as well as the overall efficiency of the business on a scale.
Advantages of Local Directory Submission
Among the many benefits of directory submission, the ones that stand out are:
Directory submission expands the opportunity to be seen and considered by your target audience ... And by search engines
Complementing the above, registering your website along with your business data in an online directory will give you more opportunity to be seen by your target. Remember that these platforms usually categorize sites according to their category or industry, which ends up being ideal for you, since, for example, if a user is looking for a product that you sell, being listed in that category will make you more visible to him.
However, this advantage does not mean that you should not work to earn their attention: it is important to create an attractive, complete, professional, and trustworthy profile that shows users that you are the best option. An example of what a bad profile can cause is this report by BrightLocal, which found that 70% of the people surveyed said they lost confidence in a business that had inconsistencies or errors in their contact details.
In fact, search engines don't like mistakes, either. What we call the NAP, Name, Address, and Phone Number, plays a vital role for search engines like Google to validate your business. That is, the commercial name of the company, the telephone number, and the address must be consistently displayed both in the corresponding directories and on your website. If, at the time of indexing, the information does not coincide in any of the pages, this can affect your ranking in search engines, so it is essential to be careful that everything is in order.
Directory submission provides an excellent tool for link building
This point is delicate because - certainly - web directories take the links from all those websites to include them in their listings, and therefore, they are usually useful tools to develop a strategy for link building. However, despite the fact that they generate backlinks, if this strategy is not done correctly, it can become counterproductive ... or not produce anything at all.
What do we mean by this? Well, a while ago, Google's algorithm took into account websites that produced lots of links to position them in its search engine, and online directories were the easy way to create links quickly, so many used this technique to increase their SEO, regardless of whether these directories were - or not - related to what they were selling.
So, the tech giant, in an attempt to improve the user experience, made changes to its Penguin algorithm, which was tasked with penalizing misleading online directories, those that had links that had nothing to do with what that the user was looking for, that is, they only worked as padding.
Our point is that, when adopting the strategy linked to web directories, the indicated mentality is "quality and not quantity," that is to say, do a preliminary investigation about which are the most popular and beneficial directories that are related to your field or industry. This way, you will create organic links and trust. Google will appreciate that.
Likewise, before finalizing, it is important to point out that this process is not about going, creating a profile in one of the directories you chose for your company to have a presence, and then forgetting that they exist. Optimizing your online directory profiles will help you generate more traffic to your website and increase your sales. The more information — be it images, videos, or text — your page contains, the greater is the possibility that the user will consider you as a serious, honest, and professional company. So, ideally you should enter every directory often to clean your profiles, update information, or maybe add the promotion of the moment. You can even take advantage of any new function that integrates any of them. The key is to never leave your profiles abandoned!
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