Are you looking to get your website seen for free? There is a simple method for doing this. The process being you need to rank high on search engines, such as Google and Bing. One way to help your business rank higher in the search engines is to get your business listed into online directories. These directories allow you to set up a personal page with a citation pointing back to your business website.
Think of a citation as a mention of your business name along with some other piece of business information. This can be your companies phone number, address, website, or even a combination of the three. This is a great way to start ranking higher in Google and Bing's search results. Citations are considered to be important, think of them as high-ranking city officials giving out personal recommendations for your local business. Hence, the more citations from quality sources, the better your business is likely to rank. Submitting your business to these top online directories in St. Louis will likely improve your rankings.
Best Online Directory Sources for Citations in St. Louis
Getlisted.org used Whitespark.ca local citation finder to search Google for the most common keywords. They did this search using 71 local search categories, which included 53 Large United States cities, 20 mid-sized cities, and 20 smaller cities. The sites were then scored inversely, using ranking position, combined with the overall number of occurrences. In the end the sites that appeared most often with the highest rankings obviously were deemed the best. As you’re going to see, most of these online directories do the same thing and have the same job in the end. They get your site listed highest in search engine rankings. Some are free and some are not, depending on the service.
Here are the Top 10 Online Directories According to Getlisted.org
1) YP.com - Yellow Pages is an online directory service that most of you should be familiar with. YP.com says, “that using their service will allow you to reach consumers searching for what you sell, and access valuable ad performance data”. They claim it's easy to sign up, set up, and manage.
2) Citysearch - Citysearch sounds familiar to some of the other services that offer a paid service, however not good when it comes to the free online directories. It seems as though their citation might not be free and your business would need to buy a package in order to promote your site and broadcast your business. They claim this will lead to an increase in business, so this sounds more like a marketing service.
3) STL Today – This is a local newspaper/website that offers a great business listing section. This is a free service and allows you to choose your business category and get a great citation from a local source. STL Today appears to have everything you need for a good optimized citation and what you would expect from these online directories.
4) Yelp - Of course we all know that Yelp is one of the top online directories; most likely you use it on your cell phone to check in or to write reviews. Yelp says that if you actually claim your business page you will be able to track and respond to those reviews of your business. You will even be able to create Yelp deals to help convert your visitors into paying customers.[pullquote style="right" quote="dark"]A business page will allow you to add photos and information about your business, as well as monitor views of your business page on Yelp.[/pullquote]A business page will allow you to add photos and information about your business, as well as monitor views of your business page on Yelp. Yelp is free and according to them, millions of people visit every month to find local businesses.
5) Yahoo! Local - Yahoo is the third of the three major search engines, however GetListed.org ranked them at #5 when it comes to the importance of being listed and getting a citation from major online directories. Yahoo says they can provide you perfect placement, as there are potential customers that visit Yahoo local frequently. This is another listing to get a great citation, adding descriptive information about your business. Yahoo listings will allow you a free phone number, address, store hours, website link, one photo, products and services.
6) Angie’s List – When it comes to normal online directories, Angie’s List is not one of them. As a business you can sign up for free and enter your basic information. Where Angie’s List changes is they only allow paid customers to review your business. So their website takes verified consumer reviews of businesses as a way to capture “word-of-mouth”. In other words the consumer pays to see what other people have said about your business. However, in the end your business will still receive a good online citation.
7) Facebook – This is the most obvious of all websites that you could use as an online directory. You can create a Facebook page for your business, which allows you to include pictures, links to your website, links to your products, an address to your business, and all other business information. However, until Facebook Graph Search is fully implemented, it will be hard to determine if this helps at all in any local search.
8) BBB – BBB or the Better Business Bureau is not exactly an online directory. When it comes down to it, an online directory is there for your business to list it’s own information. They allow you to discuss sales, put out promotions, and make sure all of your business information is up to date. You want everything current so your business will be indexed correctly. However, it is important to be listed on the BBB website as well, because you will in fact receive a citation. At the same time you will receive a rating, reviews, and people will see that you are a trusted business. Let’s hope so at least.
9) Superpages.com – This service seemed peculiar to me. The first thing the site talked about was Super Pages examining your unique business needs. Super pages talks about how your business is unique and how they can target your local marketing needs. They say they will take the time to determine exactly where your needs lie so they can offer solutions that address them. This sounds like a great place to get a local citation, however be prepared to see some ads trying to sell you on their premium services.
10) Indeed – Indeed offers a service for businesses to post jobs and job searches to post their resume. This is another unique online directory to me. I am not quite sure how this is useful in the long run as jobs are taken down, therefore I am not sure how a business would receive a long-term citation.
Citations and Local Search Engine Optimization.
As you can see, having citations in the top online directories can be a great help in your local search engine optimization plan. The great thing is that the free services will usually help just as much as the paid ones. Building citations and pages on all of these directories will take your business time and you might not be able to figure out how to do it yourself. That's where Leap Clixx can come into play and help get all of this set up, to put you ahead of the competition in local searches.
