Imagine arriving in an unfamiliar town after a long day of travel. Exhausted and hungry, you do a quick Google search for “good pizza near me.” Instantly, a list of nearby pizzerias appears. Although there are many good restaurants to choose from, you choose the first option because you are too tired to consider the others.

This scenario highlights the importance of prominence in local searches. Prominence, defined as how well-established your brand is online, is one of Google’s top three ranking factors in local search engine optimization (local SEO) (Google, 2024). 

The concept behind local SEO is simple: establish your brand better, and make more money. The application, however, is much more difficult. 

Statistics show that consumers focus primarily on top organic search results. For example, 42% of local Google searches lead to clicks in the top three results, and the number one ranked (organic) profile had 19 times more clicks than the highest paid profile (Backlinko, 2023; Smart Insights, 2024). Additionally, the same study claims that the first ranked organic profile had more total clicks than profiles ranked 3-10—combined!

Given the intensely competitive nature of local SEO, companies must leverage all tools at their disposal to maximize local search effectiveness. Among these tools, online directories offer some of the highest returns on investment for time spent. 

Online directories are public databases of business listings that link to your Google Business Profile (GBP). By doing so, they act as an additional online endorsement, increasing online prominence by “recommending” your company to Google. Additionally, online directories help facilitate meaningful customer interactions.

This makes online directories a crucial component of local SEO—and an essential tool for fostering strong customer relationships.

Curious about how your company can use online directories to increase visibility and drive sales? Find your answers and start leveraging these powerful tools with this ultimate 7-step guide.

What is an online business directory? 

An online directory is a public database that hosts business listings, provides company information, and acts as a gateway between online consumers and businesses. Think of online directories as the modern Yellow Pages, but broader in scope, enhanced by digital accessibility, and vastly more impactful for your business.  

Listings database

Online directories allow businesses to set up and verify directory listings (also known as business profiles). While directory listings always contain basic company information, known as NAP (name, address, phone number), they may also include business descriptions, company logos, product images, QA (question and answer) forums, and more. 

A directory listing can help consumers understand:

1. What your business is
2. What services / products your business offers
3. The experiences of other customers with your business
4. Where you are located / how you can be reached

This information enables customers to quickly research options and make informed decisions between competitors in one internet location.

Citation host

Directory listings also enable companies to directly link their Google Business Profile. This process creates a citation, boosting your company’s online prominence and providing a seamless internet pathway for organic traffic.

Studies show a correlation between citations and strong local search performance:

1. The average business with a number one ranking had an average of 86 citations (BrightLocal, 2018)

2. Citations accounted for 13% of high-performing local businesses (Moz, 2017)

Without citations, your company may struggle to rank high in search results, risking obscurity. With citations, your company can achieve greater online prominence and digital marketing success. 

Why are online directories important? 

Online directories serve two important purposes: 

1. Externally, they offer businesses the chance to engage with qualified customers and improve their local reputation. 

2. Internally, they are key to establishing citations, resulting in improved website prominence, GBP ranking, and sales.

By carefully managing the operations of each listing, your business can significantly enhance its community presence and positively impact revenue processes.

Engage with qualified customers

Digital marketing can no longer rely on reaching a general audience. Instead, the increasingly diverse internet requires companies to attract the right audience to efficiently market themselves. 

Directory listings can facilitate this process. While search engines provide extensive results, online business directories excel in narrowing these down to specific company listings. As a result, companies can target specific market segments by carefully selecting relevant categories for themselves (see: Step 4. Categories).

Online directories are organized into categories and subcategories selected by the companies themselves. These categories are beneficial because they:

1. Maintain control: Give businesses full control over how their listings appear.
2. Promote grouping: Encourage companies in similar industries to group together within relevant categories. 
3. Simplify search: Streamline the search process for consumers.
4. Target segments: Help companies target specific consumer segments based on category selection.

While search engines rely on algorithms to determine relevance, online directories use human judgment. By carefully categorizing your business in online directories, you gain full control over your listings, position yourself to directly compete with industry rivals, simplify the user experience for customers, and place your business directly in front of target markets.

Establish local credibility

Online directories offer businesses and consumers the tools for direct interaction. This enables businesses to showcase their commitment to customer service and allows customers to share their feedback and recommendations.

For example, in addition to hosting basic company information (NAP), most online directories allow customers to:

1. Leave reviews
2. Ask questions
3. Post product images
4. Validate business verification

When managed correctly, these resources can provide engaging experiences for your customers and enhance your business’s credibility (see: Step 5. Encourage Customer Interaction) (“5-Star Visibility,” 2024). 

Improved prominence

Business runs on referrals, and your Google Business Profile’s ranking is dependent on them. Citations are like online referrals—if received from authoritative sources, your credibility will grow, and more people will notice you. And when more people notice you, more people buy from you.

More citations means more revenue. Interestingly:

1. 81% of consumers research products online before making a purchase (Oberlo, 2022)

2. “Only 1.62% of e-commerce website visits convert into a purchase” (Oberlo, 2022)

With millions of internet searches being conducted every day and only 2% translating to purchases, ensuring more customers can find your website should be of critical importance in your marketing strategy.

By providing authoritative citations to your GBP, online directories can enhance your online prominence, causing your company rank better in local search results. Higher rankings leads to increased traffic, which in turn boosts your bottom line.

Step 1: Create quality citations

Since not all sources are credible, Google does not weigh all citations equally. To maximize local SEO efforts, companies must ensure their citations have both the appropriate quantity and quality to achieve substantial results.

The importance of quality citations

When Google was first created, it used link-based algorithms to determine website rankings. However, it did not take long for unscrupulous businesses to exploit this system, manipulating the algorithm to artificially boost their rankings and position themselves ahead of honest competitors.

In response, Google began releasing algorithmic updates to identify and penalize artificial links. To maintain the integrity of their search engine, Google introduced bots that crawled websites, analyzing their inbound and outbound links. These bots then assigned rankings based on the quantity and quality of links.

While this issue is more relevant to traditional SEO, professionals still warn against excessive citation use for local SEO purposes. Although Google rarely imposes penalties, citations from too many low-quality websites can negatively affect the visibility of your Google Business Profile. 

To avoid these penalties, conducting Domain Authority research can help ensure your citations enhance, rather than detract from, your online prominence.

Research Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a concept created by Moz, an industry leading SEO software company, which “predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages (SERP)” (Moz, 2024). Ranked from a relative score of 1-100, higher scores indicate better Domain Authority and are commonly associated with higher profile websites. 

Receiving citations from high-quality directories will boost your company’s local search ranking more than citations from low-quality directories (Moz, 2013). With a better return on time investment and the avoidance of potential penalties, we recommend listing in online directories with the highest DA scores first.

Top 10 directories

At the time of this publication, the top 10 online domains by DA score, along with their associated directories and assigned DA scores, according to Moz, are as follows:

1. Google: Google Business Profile, 100
2. Apple: Apple Business Connect, 99
3. Linkedin: Company Page, 99
4. Facebook: Meta Business Suite, 96
5. Twitter: Twitter Professional Account, 95
6. Yahoo: Yahoo Business Profile, 95
7. Instagram: Instagram Business Account, 94
8. Bing: Places for Businesses, 93
9. Foursquare: Foursquare, 92
10. Better Business Bureau: BBB, 91

By beginning with these ten online directories, you can source quality citations from the internet’s most authoritative sources, minimize the chance of spamming penalties, and maximize local SEO for your efforts. 

Step 2: Complete your listings

Complete directory listings are essential for making a positive impression on the community and maximizing local SEO. Since directory listings represent your company’s online public image, false or outdated information can drive away potential client traffic. Additionally, inconsistent business listings may confuse search engine bots, potentially undermining the effectiveness of your local SEO strategy.

Check for accuracy

Accuracy in directory listings is extremely important for customer consideration. Studies show:

1. Incorrect information on a business listing would stop 63% of consumers from using that business (Business Listings Trust, 2021)

2. 85% of consumers found incorrect information on business listings in 2021 (Business Listings Trust, 2021)

To build customer trust and encourage sales, ensure all posted information is up-to-date and accurately reflects the current operations of your company. 

To achieve this, begin by reviewing the following information on your directory listings, as it is most prone to becoming antiquated with operational changes: 

• Business description
• Product offerings / available services
• Hours of operation
• Location

Additionally, it is important to regularly review:

• Product photos
• QA forums
• Customer review sections

Outdated content in any of these areas should be refreshed or promptly corrected. By updating information, you prove your business’s ongoing relevance and portray your dedication to transparent communication.

Note: If your business has physically relocated since your initial listing, ensure that images of the new location are prominently displayed. Additionally, consider deleting old pictures to avoid any confusion.

Ensure identicalness

While accurate business information is important for consumers, identical business information is essential for local SEO. Even simple mistakes, such as a missing dash in a phone number, can impact whether Google correctly associates your company with its citations or not!

To ensure identicalness:

1. Perform a listing audit. Begin by cataloging all of your business listings with their respective NAP details in a spreadsheet. By copying and pasting information from your listings directly into the spreadsheet, you can discover discrepancies and identify listings that require updates.

2. Standardize NAP Information. Next, create a master document of your updated NAP details. This document will serve as the definitive source for populating all your business listings. Make sure that this information is absolutely identical between directories.

3. Avoid extra spaces. In entering or updating information, be vigilant about unintentional spaces before or after NAP data is pasted into profiles. Although invisible, these minor errors can disrupt the identicality of your listings.

4. Regularly revisit listings. Make it a habit to routinely re-evaluate listings to ensure ongoing uniformity with your website’s data and your company’s operational status. If any changes need to be made, update the master NAP details document and repeat this process.

By ensuring consistency of information across directory listings, you guarantee that each citation can be correctly associated with your Google Business Profile, allowing your company to receive all possible local SEO advantages.

Step 3: Optimize listings for local SEO

The extensive resources offered by online directories present numerous opportunities for businesses. By understanding and applying fundamental SEO principles, businesses can enhance their listings’ rankings and boost their website’s visibility. 

Identify keywords

Keywords are essential for SEO (local and standard) because they enable search engines to group related content effectively. Defined as the terms most people search regarding a topic or industry, the strategic placement of keywords across business profiles is instrumental in attracting organic traffic to your listing and your Google Business Profile. 

To determine what the most important keyword is for your business as a whole (the primary keyword), complete the following statement:

• “Best_____near me” (whatever industry you are in). 

This word (or phrase) will be the primary keyword you should use most aggressively across all business listings. 

Note: While your primary keyword should encapsulate your business’s core identity, it is essential to replicate this process for each product or service you offer. This approach guarantees that your “keyword portfolio” presents a succinct yet thorough representation of your company and its offerings.

Utilize keywords

Once you have determined what your primary keyword is, aim to include it whenever possible. A rule of thumb is that whenever text associated with your business is posted online, you should use it as an opportunity to insert relevant keywords.

For example, if my primary keyword was digital marketing agency, I could write the following for a business description:

• “Green House is UVU’s student-powered digital marketing agency.”

Or, if a potential customer were to ask in a QA section, “Is local SEO included in your services?” I could respond:

• “Yes! We do offer local SEO and a variety of other digital marketing services.” 

Utilizing relevant keywords at every opportunity can establish your company’s authority, enhance local SEO, and increase online visibility. 

For more information on identifying and utilizing keywords, see our blog on How to Optimize Google Business Profile. 

Step 4: Categories

Choosing the right categories for your listings is essential for success in online directories. Since online directories are organized by categories, businesses should carefully select them to compete with competitors and strategically position themselves in front of consumers.

Importance of categories

In online directories, categories function like keywords in search engines: Both help group relevant searches together, while incorrect usage can lead to adverse consequences.

Take Green House for an example: we identify ourselves as a marketing agency. However, if we were to mistakenly select “business consulting” as our business category, we may find difficulty being found by those seeking marketing expertise and instead, attract consumers in search of services we do not offer. 

Inaccurate category selection can therefore result in customer dissatisfaction, reduced visibility, and a decline in consumer traffic. For these reasons, category research is vital to effective directory listings. 

Category research

To ensure that you are listing your business in the correct category:

1. Go to Google Maps (or any other online directory) and search for your primary keyword (see: Step 3. Optimize listings for local SEO).

2. Scroll through listed businesses, paying close attention to the labels competitors leave for themselves. These labels are what businesses have identified as their main categories.

3. Ensure that your company’s category matches the most prominent category listed by your industry rivals.

While selecting a unique category might appear advantageous in this process, it is important to remember that consumers don’t search for abstract categories. Instead, ensure your selected categories align with competitors and choose to differentiate your business through quality product offerings, genuine customer service, and diligent online operations.

Step 5: Encourage customer interaction

Online directories can provide your company with unique opportunities for direct customer interaction. Since directory listings act as the online face of your company, presenting a customer-oriented image is crucial to outpacing industry competitors, ranking higher in online directories, and increasing traffic to your website. 

Respond to reviews

Companies should prioritize responding to customers online. Doing so enables businesses to make genuine customer connections, strengthen customer loyalty, and mitigate reputation damage. Failing to respond can lead to negative public sentiment and harm product sales. 

For example, regarding the impact of customer reviews, research proves:

1. 95% of customers read online reviews before buying products online (Global Newswire, 2022)

2. 94% of customers say that bad reviews have caused them to avoid a purchase (ReviewTrackers, 2022)

3. One in three consumers expect companies to respond in 3 days or less (ReviewTrackers, 2022)

There is clear evidence that the sentiment of business reviews, along with how businesses respond to those reviews, greatly affects customer perception. In turn, this perception affects product sales and operational profitability.

By responding promptly and genuinely, businesses can maximize interaction opportunities, minimize reputation damage, increase the bottom line, and establish a positive reputation within the directory community. 

Create weekly content

Some online directories provide the option of creating weekly content. These resources can be helpful in establishing keyword authority, creating additional citations, and advertising new products or events. If available, these tools should be used often.

By creating and publishing weekly content across your directory listings, you demonstrate the active online presence of your company while encouraging customer interaction. 

Since all directories are different, be sure to check what resources are available for each one. Using a variety of tools, your company could include posts about:

• New products
• Giveaways
• Special events
• Updates on company operations
• Employee spotlights
• Customer shoutouts

If paired with keyword strategies (see: Step 3. Optimize listings for local SEO), regular content posts can be an excellent way for your company to build brand awareness and maximize local SEO.

Step 6: Analyze competitor listings

In the fast-paced digital marketing environment, careful analysis of competitor listings can provide valuable insights into industry trends, audience preferences, and successful strategies. This helps your company capitalize on market opportunities and compete effectively with rivals.

To analyze competitors’ directory listings, complete the following steps:

1. Identify Your Competitors

After searching the primary keyword of your company (see: Step 3. Optimize listings for local SEO), select the top five ranked competitors. 

2. Review Competitor Information

Carefully review the following information of your five selected competitors:

• Categories
• Business Description
• Product Offerings
• Product Pricing
• Keywords
• Images / Photos
• Customer Reviews 
• Review Responses
• Q&A

As you review these areas, note any discrepancies between your listing and theirs. Ask:

• How do they describe themselves?
• Are there any photos you like or dislike? If so, why?
• How have they responded to customer reviews or questions?
• Are there areas where they can improve?

Use these questions to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of your business. 

3. Create a SWOT Analysis

Utilize the previously gathered data to conduct a comprehensive SWOT analysis. This strategic tool will help you consolidate and compare the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your top competitors. By doing so, you can effectively identify areas for improvement, capitalize on market opportunities, and enhance the competitiveness of your directory listing.

4. Review and Adapt

After completing your SWOT analysis:

• Set objectives for your directory listing.
• Establish actionable goals to achieve them.

Record these directives and periodically review them to determine if any changes are needed. Repeat this process as needed.

Step 7: Consider B2B directories

Until now, our discussion has centered on online directories for business-to-consumer (B2C) applications. However, for companies with scalable operations or specialized industry services, exploring business-to-business (B2B) directories can be beneficial.

What are B2B directories?

B2B directories are similar to B2C directories in purpose and organization, but vary in audience and scope. 

1. Audience: While B2C directories are intended to help businesses market their products to individual consumers, B2B directories are designed to help businesses market their products to other businesses. 

2. Scope: While B2B directories are also organized by categories like B2C directories, they offer more options for a nuanced search experience. For example, while you might search broadly for “digital marketing services” in Google Maps, you could search for a subset of digital marketing services like “reputation management services” in a B2B directory.

Although B2B directories and B2C directories operate similarly, it is common for companies to utilize both in their marketing strategy, if possible.

Greater market share

There is a significant difference in sales volume between B2B and B2C transactions. While B2C marketing is generally more straightforward, the B2B sector presents a larger market share potential. Research indicates that:

1. In 2022, B2B e-commerce sales were estimated at $1.9 trillion dollars, while B2C e-commerce sales only accounted for an estimated $1.6 billion (Statista, 2021; GlobeNewswire, 2022)

2. B2B e-commerce is expected to reach over $3 trillion in sales by 2027 in the United States (Statista, 2021)

Given the rapidly expanding market share of B2B business, companies with relevant products or services should aim to penetrate the corporate market and position themselves among larger clientele. However, due to the highly competitive and strategic nature of B2B markets, it may not be feasible or economically viable for some businesses to pursue B2B avenues. 

Bonus: Consider online directory software

To maximize the effectiveness of online directories, it is crucial for companies to regularly review their listings to ensure accurate information, create weekly content, and maintain constant engagement with customers. However, managing each individual listing can be both time-consuming and financially demanding. 

A practical solution comes through online directory software, specialty tools engineered to streamline the management of business listings from a centralized interface. Through online directory software, you can list your business in relevant directories, quickly improve customer relationships, enhance operational efficiency, and maximize your local SEO efforts through automated resources.

It is important to note that many online directory software options come with substantial subscription fees. It is important to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before selecting a service to ensure it aligns with your company’s financial strategy.

At Green House Sales & Marketing, we utilize Synup to efficiently create and monitor 30 powerful online directory listings. We provide this service to all clients as part of our Fertilizer Package, a 12-week plan designed to set small business up for lasting digital marketing success. Have questions? Please reach out to us here, and we would be happy to address them.

Online directories: Just a piece of the puzzle

Online directories are pivotal elements of your company’s local SEO arsenal. By hosting citations, providing keyword opportunities, broadening marketplace visibility, and facilitating customer interaction, the monetary value of a successful directory campaign is difficult to overstate. However, these directories are part of a larger, more critical concept known as reputation management. 

Reputation management refers to the practices that help guide a company’s public perception. Reputation management helps bolster public relations and leverages a positive image to propel businesses forward.

As a cornerstone of digital marketing success, reputation management requires each of its components to be optimized. At Green House UVU, we can do this for you, or teach you how to do it yourself. To learn more about reputation management, its significance, components, and where it is headed in the future, explore our free eBook. 

For personalized assistance in implementing these strategies or other digital marketing endeavors, reach us here.