We couldn’t agree more. Sure, we might be biased, but this is good advise nonetheless.
We found this article by Brandon Leibowitz, president of SEO Optimizers, via Marketingprofs.
His ten reasons are below. Our comments are in italics. To read the full article in E-commerce News, which is excellent, click here.
1. New Directories Can Become a Dominant Web Site in the Future
True. You never know which one will take off, and there are an abundance of directories to choose from. Fortunately, it’s not too time consuming to enter your information. And, directories require less day to day interaction vs. a social networking strategy in which one should be actively participating, updating the profile, building a contacts list and rapport with other users (potential colleagues and clients).
2. Many New Directories Are Free
Thankfully, this is true. For a majority of them, including ours, the only cost is your time.
3. All Relevant Links Are Valuable in SEO
True. Check to make sure that the site is SEO friendly. Find someone in the network, then, go to a search engine and search their name. Does it show up? This is an important tip – don’t use a cryptic user name when entering information in the directory. If people search your company name, make sure that name is what you use in the directory, and be consistent across directories.
4. Many Directories Do Not Require a Link Back
We can’t speak for all, but ours doesn’t.
5. New Directories Are Not Cluttered With Links
Not yet!
6. Potential Clients Can Find Your Site Through Directories
This can be helpful if you haven’t had a chance to do a super duper job on your own Web site. Oddpodz also allows people to rate your company and recommend you which can amp up your rankings within our directory for added exposure.
7. Web Directories Are Highly Useful Resources for SEO
8. Qualified Visitors Will Find Relevant Information
A targeted directory (such as Oddpodz) is great for this. Imagine the confusion someone experiences if they go to Google and type in “Branding expert.” Yikes. Between all the natural search results and the paid results, someone with limited knowledge of the branding arena could have a meltdown. They wouldn’t know where to start sorting through this list, much less how to choose a professional or firm. When visitors go to a directory, some of the mystery has been removed. They know what is likely to appear in the directory. Likewise, entrants in the directory know that visitors to and searchers of the directory are looking for them.
9. Less Time to Edit and Approve Listings
We touched on this in #1.
10. Directories Help Search Engines Gather Information
Take a few minutes and search for some of your competitors and see where they turn up. Also search for directories in your business field and see what comes up. There should be quite a few to choose from. It’s also a good first step into internet marketing and more involved social networking. Give it a try!