Online Business Directory

Remember the days when you looked in the yellow pages for businesses or services you needed? For many people, those days are still here. Advertising your company in the yellow pages or in other local business directories is good for business. However, there has been a shift taking place in recent years to business directories that are based online. If your company is not listed on one or more of these business directories, you could be losing valuable customers and dooming your business to obscurity.

Listing your business with a business directory is easy and convenient. You simply select one or more business directories and sign up to advertise with them. The site will direct you as to the appropriate steps you need to take, and in exchange, you get a listing that allows your business to receive visibility. You can even customize and personalize your ad space with graphics and added features. In order for business directory listings to be visible - which translates into more customers - it has to stand out. Online business directories can help you do this.

It is easy and convenient. Why else should you consider listing your company in a business directory? Take a look at the benefits for your business:

• It provides exposure. This means more customers. People will not buy your products or use your services if they don't know who you are. It's that simple. Your business directory listing will contain important business information that customers are interested in.

• There is intense competition for most goods and services, and making a profit can be challenging. Being listed in a business directory is a good way to get your name out there. People overwhelmingly use search engines and business directories for help in selecting products. Yours needs to be listed in order for you to have a chance for success.

• The cost of running a business is high; advertising costs are high. Listing with an online business directory is a good, inexpensive way to gain exposure for your company. Often the cost is less than that of advertising in the traditional paper yellow pages.

• With traditional paper business directories, once they are printed, corrections, changes, and additions cannot be made until the new edition is released. With online business directories, you can make these important changes any time you need to.

• You can list your business in industry-specific business directories. For example, if you run a financial consulting business, you can list in directories designed for financial businesses. This allows customers to further narrow down their searches and allows your company to have more prominent placing.

There are also benefits to listing your company in a business directory that have to do with the medium itself, the internet. These are benefits that no paper business directory, no matter how effective or used, can offer.

• First, more than seventy percent of Americans use the internet to conduct searches for businesses. The Yellow Pages.com network alone handles about 100 million business-related searches per month. The internet is ubiquitous - people can access it at home, at school, wirelessly, and on their phones. The chances of having internet access when you need to look up business listings are greater than having a phone book around; this is why internet business directories can be so effective.

• People use the internet for local searches in increasing numbers. More than 640 local searches are done on the internet each second, making local business directories a great place to advertise your company.

• Depending on the business directory or directories you subscribe to, you may be able to get optimization services. This means that your listing will be enhanced to contain specific keywords that draw better search engine rankings.

• Better search rankings draw more customers to your site. This also benefits your company by generating ad revenue for you.

• Good search engine rankings ensure your company will have increased visibility and traffic. Rank is determined by the number of inbound links to a site. An online business directory lets business owners get these links. The more business directories your business is submitted to, the more inbound links it has. This increases page rankings.

• If you list on a business directory, your site will get picked up by search engines more often.

All of these factors draw visitors to your sites. Visitors often turn into paying customers. According to YellowPages.com, fifty-five percent of YellowPage.com users purchase from merchants they find there.

Is a paper business directory, such as the traditional Yellow Pages, good enough for your business? Here are some reasons why they may not be:

• Traditional business directories have pages and pages of ads (especially for topics like restaurants and attorneys). People get tired of flipping through endless pages looking for something to stand out. Internet business directories allow users to access the information they need more quickly.

• Traditional business directories also have to charge for printing and distribution costs. This is unnecessary online, meaning less cost to you. Online directories are also more flexible.

• People can now search local online business directories, so your business will be noticed, even if it is regional and small.

Listing your company's goods or services on an online business directory is a sound move. It provides numerous benefits for a reasonable cost. Once you've made the decision to join one or more business directories, there are a few things you should do to make sure it is working for you.