It doesn’t matter what you do or sell online, your ultimate goal is always the same here – get as many people as possible to visit your website.
More people equal more leads, which means more conversions. The whole idea behind it is actually quite simple.
Although essential to everyone interested in making a buck or two online, getting more traffic to their website has become a real nightmare for most businesses. Especially smaller ones. The competition is just insane these days. Everywhere you look or turn – you’ll see at least 5-10 brands spending a lot more money on marketing than you are.
Pure horror.
So, how does one compete with that?
By finding alternative ways on how to reach and engage your desired audience.
Despite the fact that the Internet has become quite saturated, there are still many ways on how to get more traffic to your new website. Like, for example, starting a company blog. Apart from generating new clicks, quality blogging actually helps businesses increase their brand awareness and even present themselves as leaders in a certain niche.
Nothing can build up faster credibility for your brand online like a smart and useful blog.
If you’re demonstrating how your products and services solve certain problems for your targeted audiences – then you’ll probably see a significant rise in traffic on your site in no time.
To increase traffic on their site, apart from blogging, most businessmen also create social media profiles, invest in advertising, post updates linking back to products or blogs on their website, generate excitement and create engaging material on their website through contests, discounts, free trials, etc.
They do whatever they can in order to rank higher on SERP.
SEO, in combination with content marketing, is probably the best way to drive traffic to your website, but it tends to get a bit pricey. Although it’s not the fastest technique out there, it’s certainly the smartest. Why? – Well, because you’re offering real answers to real queries.
It’s quite easy to earn quality backlinks when you produce well-written and detailed solutions to problems most people encounter on daily and weekly basis.
All that aside, there’s another great and highly effective way to earn valuable backlinks and position your brand on the very top of Google search engine page results. I’m talking about listings here, of course.
By listing your company in all sorts of relevant online business directories that cover your niche or industry, you’ll receive just enough exposure to see your customer base blossom.
What Are Online Business Directories?
The term is quite self-explanatory really. Online business directories are websites which list all businesses within some category. Firms can be categorized by business, location, activity, or size. It doesn’t really matter. They can be compiled either manually or through an automated online search software.
There are all sorts of different directories online to choose from. The best are the ones that get the most traffic because they have the highest probability of sending potential clients and customers to your business.
Listing your brand on these directories is really easy. All you have to do is find them and insert your information. Most business directories are free, but they all come with available options for upgraded listings or advertising.
Large, medium or small – every directory has its own unique following. Every directory that you submit to is another chance to get found by your ideal customer, so make sure you’re listed in every single one that could be of any use to you.
How to Effective List Your Business?
Every business directory works like any other search engine. You type in the keywords and location of a business you’re looking for, and voilà – there you have it. All that is left for you to do here is choose the one that best suits your needs. 
If you list your business in one or more (better more) of these directories, the chance of getting discovered by your local potential customers are quite high. Depending on how you list your information, of course. These sites can narrow down their search on the basis of the appropriate category and minimize their time while looking for your business.
When it comes to listing your business online you want to make sure that you’re doing it right. Before you go on and submit your information, always make sure that:
1. All your data is accurate. You don’t want to find yourself in a scenario where you’re losing conversions only because you wrongly wrote down your phone number.
2. Include as much information and media, i.e. videos & images, as possible. This will help your brand rise above the crowd.
3. Be consistent. As you already know, you can write you address in many different ways. Like, for example, Beechavenue 129, 1119 RB Schiphol-Rijk, Netherlands, or Beechavenue 129, 1119 RB Schiphol-Rijk, Amsterdam. To avoid any confusion, I suggest you always list your business the same across the Web. This goes for any other step here. Consistency will help your SEO. It’s better to keep that in mind.
4. Pay attention to detail. When listing your business in an online category, make sure that you categorize it right. Try to pick the category that best describes who you are and what you do. Start with a broad category, then slim it down to size.
5. Get as much reviews as possible. As I already wrote on this blog, customer testimonials are quite important for business. Reviews and testimonials build trust in you, especially if you’re a new business. People love hearing stories from other people. It helps them put things into perspective. If you have 5-6 great customers testimonials published on your website, your potential customers will start seeing you as a trustworthy source.
Thank you so much for sticking around to read my latest blog post from top to bottom. If you have any questions on this matter – I would be more than happy to answer them for you. All you have to do is write your thoughts down in the comments section below, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
That’s it for now,
See you soon again,
Goran @ AltusHost B.V.
The author is highly qualified and writes blog posts weekly.
