Submitting Websites to Local Web Directories
For decades, business entities as well as regular consumers have depended on yellow pages and other local telephone directories to find suppliers for whatever it is they need. On the World Wide Web, local web directories leverage on that behavior. Such directories exist as online counterparts to yellow pages as listings are organized in a similar manner. Consequently, they have become popular among internet users searching for suppliers of products and services that cater to their area.
Because of the market that local web directories attract, including such platforms in link building campaigns tend to generate hyper-targeted traffic. They allow suppliers to attract users who are not only within the geographical areas they can cater to but also are already actively searching for specific products or services. When they find websites in such directories, they are more likely to make a purchase or avail of a service.
Apart from directly generating hyper-targeted traffic, link building efforts in local web directories also benefit search engine optimization efforts. For one, such directories already rank highly in search engine results pages and so its pages can easily be found by search engine users, especially those who include locations in their search terms. Furthermore, such directories with high pageranks offer high-quality backlinks and so those who list websites in them gain valuable assets for SEO. In time, such websites will also rank highly in SERPs for users in the targeted area.
Tips for effective usage of local directories will vary between types of suppliers. In general, though, suppliers should choose human-edited directories that have high pageranks. Also, for the purpose of SEO, they should submit different variations of anchor texts and descriptions in each listing and make sure they include search terms they target.
Suppliers catering to limited areas can benefit greatly from including local web directories in their link building campaigns. For one, the costs of getting listed in such directories are significantly cheaper than buying advertising space in local newspapers. Furthermore, such platforms are able to generate highly-targeted traffic and valuable assets for SEO.