The Right Way to Use a Free Business Directory Without Wasting Time
Businesses / Posted 3 days ago by Mia Wilson / 10 views / New
A free business directory seems like a no-brainer. Free means more visibility and exposure, so why not sign up for every single directory possible, right?
The issue is time, not budget. I’ve seen so many people waste their weekends applying to directory listings that don’t even exist anymore, filling out forms twenty different ways that all end up buried somewhere else online, and getting little to nothing in return.
The following tips have helped me in the past when I was doing this, and I’m sharing them below.
Tip 1: Not All Free Business Directories Are Worth Your Time
Before applying to a free business directory, check that the site is actually indexed and has traffic.
If a site looks dead or abandoned, skip to the next one. A listing on a dead directory won’t help you any.
Tip 2: Do Some Research First
While general directories are fine, directories specific to your industry or local area tend to carry more weight. A directory listing local to your area that your customers frequent will help you more than a generalized national or global directory with millions of listings that bury you on page twenty.
Tip 3: Keep Your Info Consistent Everywhere
This is a common issue for many people trying to apply to directories. Ensure that your contact information is consistent everywhere, and that you use the exact same formatting for addresses. Even a minor discrepancy can cause a listing to be rejected or not found by search engines easily.
Keep a document on hand with your exact contact information as needed so you can copy and paste whenever making a listing or applying to a new directory.
Tip 4: Don’t Forget the Optional Fields
When filling out a directory, it’s tempting, especially if you’re doing this in batches, to fill in only the required fields and leave the optional ones blank. You’d be surprised how often the optional fields are used when finding a directory.
Filling in only the required fields makes you appear lazy and unprofessional as it leaves the listing unfinished.
Tip 5: Write Your Description Once, Then Copy-Paste It With Minor Tweaks
Instead of writing an individual description for every directory, write one decent description, then tweak and edit that one for each directory instead of starting from scratch every single time. This way, you can get all the required words in naturally and it’ll feel less repetitive.
Tip 6: Keep Track of Where You’ve Been
A simple table or spreadsheet can go a long way in the listing submission process. Have a column for the directory name, the date you applied, your username/password for easy access, and what status the listing is in, whether submitted or approved.
Directories can take anywhere from a day to a few weeks to approve a business listing, so it’s important to have this information on file rather than having to remember or dig up old login information every single time.
Tip 7: Set a Time Limit and Stick to It
This one is the best time saver out of all of these tips.
I set a timer for thirty minutes whenever applying to a directory. If that timer’s up and the application form is still difficult or confusing, I move on and come back to it later if I want.
Think of it like time management; treating your personal time as valuable motivates you to stick to the task at hand, and a directory submission is no different, even if it does say “free business directory”.
Tip 8: Check It Off Your List Again After A Few Weeks
When using a directory, it doesn’t mean you’re done with it immediately after submitting.
Come back a few weeks after you published the directory to ensure it did indeed publish successfully, and that your information is all there and correct, especially in the event of any typos.
It happens more often than you’d expect, and it’s much better to fix a typo or incorrect address early before word gets out about incorrect hours of operation from your listing.
Tip 9: Avoid Directories Asking For Too Much Information
A few directories may ask for personal information that shouldn’t be necessary, such as credit card information. If a free business directory asks for more information than you feel comfortable giving, move on. Free business directories shouldn’t ask for much information other than relevant business information for the directory.
Tip 10: Quality Over Quantity
It’s easy to fall for the trap of thinking that more directories equal more exposure simply because it’s a numbers game. In reality, five listings on relevant, well-maintained directories will serve you better than fifty listings on irrelevant or low-quality ones. Focus on quantity over quality when it comes to directory submissions.
Now that all the best directory submission tips have been listed, it’s time to summarize everything. None of these tips require any special tools or technical expertise outside of a normal computer. What it takes is discipline to treat a free business directory as a serious endeavor and put time and effort into a few quality directories instead of rushing to put out dozens of lazy submissions across hundreds of useless directories.
As such, it’s also important to remember to revisit old directories every once in a while, as they do change over time. What may have been a low-quality directory a year ago may have improved now, and likewise, a high-quality directory may have declined in quality.
If you’re about to spend your Saturday wasting time on useless directories, take this advice with you now.
- Listing ID: 102320
- Country: USA
- City: Texas City