Once your website is online, listing your business with online directories is the best way to to saturate the search engines with your business details. These local ‘citations’ go along way to letting the search engines and customers know your business is here and here to stay. The key is to keep your information consistent, such as phone numbers opening hours etc. If these are different it causes descrepancies which the search engines don’t like. So make sure your details are up to date and are kept that way.
You may already even be on some of them, if so, check all the data is correct and make sure you have access so you can manage them.
Be prepared for cold calling from these companies once registered as they will do anything to persuade you to take out their premium ‘paid for’ listings. This is of course your choice but the free listings are just fine for the purpose of merely exploiting your business name online. A firm ‘no’ will suffice, there’s no need to engage in any conversation other than that. Sales calls are annoying but I do however feel the advertising and SEO benefits far outweigh this minor inconvenience.
There are in fact many more good business directories/social networking sites to register yourself with than listed here but be careful, always register your business with sites that require a MANUAL registration, don’t be tempted to register yourself with directories that promise automatic listings/submission to 1000’s of search engines. They use tactics against search engine rules and have the potential to do real harm to your web presence. If in doubt, drop me a line.
Google My Business
www.google.co.uk/business – Listing Price: Free
Bing Places
www.bingplaces.com – Listing Price: Free
Yell
www.yell.com – Listing Price: Freemium
Yelp
www.yelp.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
192.com
www.192.com – Listing Price: Free
FreeIndex
www.freeindex.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Cylex UK
www.cylex-uk.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
UK Small Business Directory
www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Hotfrog
www.hotfrog.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Bizify
www.bizify.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Opening Times
www.opening-times.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Opendi
www.opendi.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Business Magnet
www.businessmagnet.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
My Local Services
www.mylocalservices.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
County Council Directories – Listing Price: Free
To find your local county council website visit: https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council
Don’t forget social media platforms too. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Linked in etc…
It is really important to make a note of all business directory listings you sign up to and to keep the information consistent. It’s important you notify all of them if you move address, change your phone number, social media accounts or other contact details. Keeping your details up to date and consistent is essential. Not only does it help with local SEO, but most importantly, it helps potential customers get in touch with you.