Is getting listed on local directories useful for an online web site?
-
I recently came across Yext. Seems like a convenient service to get listed on local directories. Why I thought this would be useful are the backlinks, not necessary local searches. Are link juice good enough to justify spending the time to get listed?
And what about getting listed on BBB.org?
-
While I agree in general with what the others have said, I would say that the new MozLocal is worth pursuing for this, at $49/year. Presuming you have your G+ page set up correctly with your business address, a local phone number, etc., it'll take you just a few minutes to make the CSV file and submit it.
-
Given your goal is link acquisition versus gaining exposure and solidifying your presence in your local market, I agree with Miriam that "your efforts would likely be better spent earning links that are relevant to your industry rather than your geography." Directories don't pass along a lot of link juice and Google doesn't value them highly.
I'm also not a fan of the paid directory submission services.
- They're expensive.
- They're time boxed, meaning your listing disappears when you stop paying.
- They're limited in their distribution - not every service hits every directory.
- They don't deal with duplicates.
- You still have to do some of the work anyway - the better directories require manual verification to ensure the requester is an authorized representative of the business.
Whitespark is the exception. They're reasonably priced, get you permanent, quality listings, and because they're manually built listings, they address data inconsistencies and duplicates along the way.
As to the BBB, that's a judgment call and the thread Miriam points out will help you decide which way to go.
-
The only directories that I would pursue are relevant, human-run, curated lists. Ignore those junk directories that accept every submission (paid or not).
Think about it like this. Say I'm a local restaurant. I find a local food reviewer and blogger who publishes a list of his favorite restaurants in my city. I would naturally want to be included in his list because it is authoritative and valuable. I would not want to be included in a junk directory that contains every site in my city.
The more selective that a list or directory is, the more authority that Google is likely to ascribe to it.
-
Hi Huisjames,
Yext and other local submission services are intended for physical businesses rather than virtual ones. They really are not a good fit for location-less businesses and your efforts would likely be better spent earning links that are relevant to your industry rather than your geography.
The BBB is a different story as they do have categories for e-commerce companies. You might like to read this Moz Q&A thread on a similar topic:
http://moz.com/community/q/at-what-point-does-bbb-accreditation-become-a-good-investment
Hope this helps!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google+ Local City Centroid Bias
It's well-known that Google has a bias towards businesses located closest to the center of the city being searched in. How can you tell where exactly Google considers to be the center of the city? I think that the way is to just search the city name on Google Maps and the marker will appear at where they consider the center of the city to be but just wanted to double check on that first.
Image & Video Optimization | | ChaseCameron0 -
Any tips for optimising for Local Search/Google Places
I have a client that used to come up on Google Places consistently for some very competitive keywords - when they ranked quite low for them through their normal website - places would see them above all the organic results in normally number 2 position - whereas they would rank between 16 - 26 normally We have optimised the site and have 'A' grade keywords for the ones we are interested in google placing for and just recently we are out of it all together, even though we have improved their optimisation for that word with SEO Someone said that their phone number on the website had to match perfectly with google places and so does their address. Is this true? Is there anything else that will help them keep their position in places ? ie. setting up a Google + page etc., Any advise would be appreciated thanks
Image & Video Optimization | | intermingle0 -
Additional listings in directories
Hi Everyone, I have been listing our website on various directories . We have a total of 70 stores though out New Zealand and I was wondering if there are any additional SEO benefits from listing each of the 70 stores and including the web link. Or will Google not acknowledge the additional links from the same site? Thanks, Pete
Image & Video Optimization | | Hardley10 -
Would listing an address on a location page for a franchise count as a citation?
If a small franchise with 15 locations implemented location pages for each location including address and phone then made them crawlable by the search engines and also accessible through a store locator, would this be counted as a citation for the location?
Image & Video Optimization | | JoshuaRich60 -
City/Town content pages for a local business
Earlier this month I asked a private question on the use of schema for service area pages on a home improvement contractors website. The question led to Miriam Ellis giving me some great ideas about creating content for pages specific to the clients service area. The goal here would be to rank for [roofing contractor + city] using a URL similar to: mycompany.com/service-areas/city-state A great idea Miriam gave me for creating content for these pages: Showcasing a previous project in that city/town with a well-written project description, photos, videos and client testimonials. Her advice is excellent and I wanted to share it with you. I also wanted to open up the discussion and see what others have had success with. If the company is relatively new, and doesn’t have the work history to create pages such as this, what would you do?
Image & Video Optimization | | WilliamCarr0 -
Which Local Listing Should I Delete
I have a client that has two local listings in google for one suburb. My client only has one office in this area. In the below two local listings no information has been completed except for information scraped from the yellow pages by google Option A
Image & Video Optimization | | VivaArturo
One listing has a review that is 8 months old and shows in the blended local search results position A. However the address details are incorrect as info is from an old yellow pages ad. To verify this address it can only be completed by postcard as does not provide a phone number option. Option B
This listing has the correct address as per the yellow pages listing and has been verified and has no reviews. in position I All other competitor local listings are not placed except for one Should I edit Option A's address to update to the current address and delete Option B from the local listings. Verification can be completed by mail only Or should I delete Option A with the incorrect address with one review and keep Option B as has just been verified and can start woking on this listing immediately. I think I should use Option B, as in the 2 weeks I would wait to be verified I could gain more ground with the current listing. What are your thoughts?0 -
Local Ranking Factors Question
Local SERPS continue to confuse me. I feel like I can tell what's going on but I'm never right. How do these two listings rank for "best bar" in the local Chicago SERPS? It's the same if you search for "best bar in chicago". http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&biw=2109&bih=1218&noj=1&gs_upl=3495l4209l0l4335l8l5l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=best+bar&fb=1&gl=us&hq=best+bar&hnear=0x880e2c3cd0f4cbed:0xafe0a6ad09c0c000,Chicago,+IL&cid=17128325649974296516 or http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&biw=2109&bih=1218&noj=1&gs_upl=3495l4209l0l4335l8l5l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=best+bar&fb=1&gl=us&hq=best+bar&hnear=0x880e2c3cd0f4cbed:0xafe0a6ad09c0c000,Chicago,+IL&cid=455944883716881589&ei=aQPqTo7mN4mIgwe4oc3fCA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=placepage-link&resnum=5&ved=0CFgQ4gkwBA This has had me stumped for months. I've analyzed everything and there aren't any good indicators as to how this was done. The former doesn't even have a website. The latter example has some category keyword stuffing, which I don't get why they're account hasn't been suspended because of it. It also has a very small and not very powerful link profile. Any insights would be much appreciated!
Image & Video Optimization | | MichaelWeisbaum0 -
Local EZE Reviews?
Is anyone here a channel partner with Localeze or has subscribed? Any thoughts? http://localeze.com They want a yearly fee and to me this doesn't make sense as all it is doing is sending information to the local listing sites and this should be a one-time deal.
Image & Video Optimization | | qlkasdjfw0