How To Beat YellowPages.com & Other Online Directories

Every year businesses are convinced to spend hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars to advertise in their local online Yellow Pages or in some other type of directory.

While there are some businesses who swear by these directories, there are other businesses who don’t get the promised clicks, traffic, phone calls and sales.

Obviously, businesses believe they must advertise in YellowPages.com because their competition is listed. Or, they advertise because everyone is using the Internet and searching for their business’ services or products (or the Yellow Pages salesperson is a great salesperson).

Either way, there are more effective and inexpensive ways to beat the Yellow Pages and other directories.

So:

* Businesses are convinced they need to advertise in YellowPages.com.

* Hopefully, YellowPages.com is listed in the Top 10 in Google and other search engines on the best possible keyword.

* Hopefully, the potential customer can resist the other nine Google results and click the YellowPages.com listing.

* Hopefully, the potential customer can find your website buried within countless of other businesses that had the same idea.

The odds are obviously stacked against your business if you are putting all of your eggs into these online directories in hopes of earning higher rankings, traffic and sales.

Let’s take, for example, the keyword “Cincinnati plumbing” and see how YellowPages.com and other online directories stack up against each other.

Here are the results when conducting a search in Google for “Cincinnati plumbing:”

* There are 10 plumbing businesses listed in the Google map at the top of the search results page. There is no cost to be listed in Google maps

* No. 1 and No. 2 belong to local businesses that have their websites effectively optimized for the keyword “Cincinnati plumbing.”

* The SuperPages.com is ranked No. 3 in Google.

- The website is slow to load.

- There are 370 results for “Cincinnati plumbing”.  What are your chances of being discovered by a potential customer if your website is listed No. 300 in this directory?

- Current listings are ranked according to the number of reviews. The top business has 170 reviews and the second listed business has 1 review.

* Insiderpages.com is currently ranked No. 5 in Google.

- There are 257 results.

- The top listings are “sponsored links” meaning those businesses have paid to have top billing in this directory.

* Magicyellow.com is currently ranked No. 7 in Google.

- The layout and design of the site is messy and confusing.

- Plumbing businesses are listed by categories: Premier Advertisers, Preferred Advertisers, Sponsored Listings and Courtesy Listings. In all, there are 29 listings on the results page.

* Cincinnati.CitySearch is currently ranked No. 8 in Google.

- There are 8 results on the landing page.

- The businesses are ranked according to votes.

* Local.Yahoo is No. 12

* Shop.Local is No. 13

* Yellowbot is No. 16

* YellowPages.com is No. 25.

- This directory advertises how “powerful” they are in getting your businesses listed in search engines. A ranking at No. 25 on a local keyword is not that powerful.

- The chance of potential customers clicking through to the third page of search results is slim. Only 62 percent of all search engine users go past the first page of search results (Top 10) and 75 percent go past the second page of search results (Top 20).

- There are 314 listings for plumbers in this directory.

While a listing on any online directory helps in your one-way link building efforts, there are thousands of free directories willing to accept your website submission. The Yahoo Directory charges $299 per year and is highly regarded as one of the best paid directories.

Other directories, such as YellowPages.com, offer big promises, big traffic and big sales.

Do not fool yourself in thinking that a position in any of these directories is going to give you a big return on your investment. The odds are stacked against you. Why?

* Remember, the “directory” must first be ranked in the Top 10 in Google.

* Ask your salesperson how many other businesses in your field are going to be in the same directory and in the same category (i.e., 370 listings in the Super Pages and 314 listings in YellowPages.com).

* A higher ranked directory does not equal more traffic for your business.

Why pay to be in a directory that hopes to be ranked in the Top 10 only to find out that you are competing against 313 other local businesses?

Save your money and earn Top 10 rankings in Google for your own website by focusing on local keywords.

Here’s how you are going to do it:

* Focus on local keywords. A plumbing service in Cincinnati should be targeting keywords such as “Cincinnati plumbers” and “Cincinnati plumbing business” and other local and area keywords.

* Make sure your website uses local keywords in its content. If you’re located in Cincinnati, then say “we’re a Cincinnati plumbing business.”

* Use your targeted keywords in your Page Title. Instead of “Home” your Page Title should say “Cincinnati Plumbers, Cincinnati Plumbing Business” etc.

* Earn quality one-way links from other websites and free directories back to your website.

* Don’t be afraid to trade links with a few – not many – link partners. Perhaps, a plumbing business can trade links with a local heating and air conditioning business; an auto mechanic might trade links with a body shop, etc.

* Keep your content fresh. Update your content, including headlines.

* Go to Google.com and open a free account. Then, get your business listed in Google Maps (again, for free).

* Write and publish a “How To” article (200 to 500 words) on your website.

* Write and publish press releases. These can include new services, new products, new employees, new technology, new hours, etc.

There’s more you can do, but the above steps is a great start to getting your local website ranked higher in Google.