Las Vegas Graphic Design, Printing & Marketing Blog

Those were the days: the business owner publishes their listing in the Yellow Pages and knows it will be seen by prospective customers once they are looking under a specific category. Nowadays more and more people prefer using the Internet to find the product or services they need. Online directories are the websites that list local and national businesses under many different categories, just like the Yellow pages. It makes it very easy for the customer to find the information they need, but very hard for business owners to be exposed to every one of those customers. The reason is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different “Yellow Pages”, and everybody looks in a different one.

So, what do you have to do to reach most of your prospective customers through online directories? You must list your business in as many online directories as possible. Good news is that most of those listings are free (unlike listing in Yellow Pages), unless you prefer to have a Featured listing within your business category, in which case the prices will vary depending on the directory popularity.

Here are some of the most popular directories:
YellowPages.com
CitySearch.com
Google Directory
Yahoo! Directory
Kudzu
CitySlick.net
ThinkLocal.com
SuperPages.com

You can also search for additional industry-specific directories by typing in Google “(your business category) directory”. For example, “landscaping directory”, or “doctors directory”.

Make a list of directories. I suggest you do so as it will be easier to keep track of your submissions (they will all look the same after the 5th one). Go to each website and look for “Submit your listing”, “Get Listed”, “Suggest URL”, “Business Owners”, “List Your Business”, “Add Business”, or similar type of link. Usually these links located on the top right corner or on the very bottom of the page. You may or may not have to register with each website. Keep track of usernames and passwords you assign to each website. Provide as much information about your business as possible. Under business description use words that outline your products and services, avoid using ALL CAPS, or excessive use of exclamation marks to keep it professional (one will do it). If you want to copy and paste the description throughout different directories, save it as a text document on your computer in a handy (like Desktop) place. This way you won’t have to write it over and over again. While some online directories do not have maximum character limit, some are very restrictive. Having two (or even three) versions will help you save time: short, longer and full business description.