Online Directory Listings are the Next Wave for Local Business Promotion
Estar Holmes, print and online content creator at South Lake Promotions Inc.
Online directories offer you an opportunity to do some well-researched targeted advertising. So, get out of the habit of tossing your advertising dollars out in a shotgun approach.
My close friend and business associate, Bobbi Doupe’, remarked how nice it would be to update online posts in one convenient place, rather than having to constantly refresh a steadily growing cadre of various sites and programs. I agree, so when I saw a related ad on my Facebook page, I thought I’d navigate through it and report on my findings.
FIX YOUR LISTINGS EVERYWHERE
I clicked on the ad and came to the Yext Powerlistings landing page. It says: “List Your Business Everywhere! Fix your online listings everywhere in minutes.” Everywhere, according to the logos at the bottom, include: Yahoo, Mapquest, Yelp, Citysearch, Superpages, Yellowbook, Foursquare, Topix, and more.
I see that Yext offers a “Free Listing Scan” that allows me to instantly diagnose how my business appears in major directories across the Net. There are two big fields in which to enter the business name and website. I typed South Lake Promotions and www.southlakecda.com and hit the “Scan Now” button.
Of course, they want to sell you something because nobody can afford to do business for free, and down at the bottom is a notice that says I can sign up by phone at 1-888-921-8247, Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm ET.
Hitting the “Scan Now” button brings up another set of big fields asking for more information. Take away one star. Scan Now means scan now, not later, after providing more information.
NO PO BOXES
So, I fill in my phone number, business address and zip code…ooops. Yext doesn’t like my PO box. This is a recurring problem with the new trend in place-based searches. City people who create this stuff don’t realize that many rural folks have home-based businesses and use a PO box for their business address. We do not want to list our home address, but might if there was an upfront assurance that we could block it so it doesn’t appear on maps all over cyberspace.
I don’t have a brick and mortar storefront, so I enter an old physical business address, just to get on with the exercise. Hitting “Scan Now” this time results in a Listings Report with my dismal local search scorecard.
My business shows up on Yahoo! without an address, which is good. But it is not found, and of subsequently not standing out, on any other pertinent sites or mobile apps, except for Merchant Circle, which apparently doesn’t have a problem with PO boxes, because mine is listed there.
FIX YOUR ONLINE LISTINGS
Just for fun I click on the big FIX IT ALL button at the bottom of the page. I’m hoping a salesman will call so I can ask about getting listed with a PO box. My only option right now is to enter wrong information in this “fix it all site,” which seems rather counter-productive. A page appears that says “Build Your Power Listing,” with more fields to fill out, including email, special offer, business category, and description.
ENTERING BUSINESS DESCRIPTIONS IS LIKE FISHING
If you decide to take advantage of this service, or alternatively, if you go into local directories yourself to update business information — which you can certainly do — be strategic when filling in the business description. The descriptions should be keyword-rich by using the words that match your services with people looking for them. Therefore, the more you know about the search strings people are typing in to find you, the more calls and business you will get for your efforts. Don’t waste this space with chatty small talk about how much you appreciate people stopping by and how nice it is that the sun is shining. Save that for when you are actually talking to potential customers. This is the place to be found. It’s a lot like putting the proper lure on your fishing line.
I also notice a progress bar top of page right. The next step, after “fixing” is “checkout,” which means paying, but there is no clue yet about how much any of this will cost me.
JUMP BEFORE YOU KNOW THE COST?
You may have noticed that clicking through stuff and jumping through hoops before knowing how much it will cost is a trend that many e-commerce sites are using these days. The reason they are using it is that people end up buying more that way. Shame on the people, because everybody could stand their ground and say: forget you. If you want me to buy something, tell me how much it costs upfront. I’m being asked to take my precious time and give up information, and feel it’s rude not to know how much money somebody is going to want in the end. But, I’m also the type of person who, when shopping in a brick and mortar store, will leave if prices are not displayed. If you want me to buy something, tell me what you think it’s worth. So, ordinarily, I would click the closing “x” at this point, but I’m pushing on in the name of research.
THE COST OF POWER LISTING REVEALED
I have reached the pricing page before they lost me. The page explains that Yext PowerListings premium service gets my business information on more than forty leading local search engines and mobile apps. It says: “The business will appear in the most possible local searches with guaranteed presence, stand out and look great with enhanced listings, and you’ll be able to track everything with full analytics and review monitoring. Yext PowerListings will get your business amazing local search results… and your money back if you’re not satisfied!”
I believe wholeheartedly in the product these people are selling. Place-based search results are the upcoming trend in all computer and smart phone searches, and failing to appear in these directories will put a business way behind their competition. So, let’s look at what it can cost a business to take advantage of this service.
I see a chart with top directories, a short description of the service and cost, and a “Fix Now button.” Let’s take a look at three samples.
First on the list is Yahoo! A “PowerListing & more” on Yahoo! costs $10 a month, (billed $120 annually). I am given a link to view a sample PowerListing on Yahoo!
YAHOO! POWERLISTING FEATURES
A Premium Listing Placement includes:
- Yahoo.com search, Yahoo.com profile, Basic Listing Info: Update your business name, phone number, listing categories, and address.
- Special Offer: Highlight your business listing with a bright green Special Offer icon and up to 50 characters of custom text. Change the Special Offer message and it will update on the site within four hours.
- Enhanced Content: Add your business description and website, as well as business hours and photos, to your Yahoo! profile.
- Tracking: See the total number of impressions and clicks on your business listing.
- Restrictions: PowerListings on Yahoo.com are not available for Yahoo.com paying advertisers.
If you think about how much your time is worth, or how long it will take an employee to enter all this information, keep it fresh, and track the effectiveness of your investment, $10 a month seems very reasonable.
YELP POWERLISTING FEATURES
Let’s check out the next directory, Yelp. Yelp is the leading online local business directory and social networking site. It features business reviews by users and more than 41 million people a month turn to Yelp for information on local businesses. Being on Yelp is particularly important if you run a restaurant.
MANAGE WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU
This brings me to another important feature of Yext and similar services: they give you tools to monitor what reviewers are saying about you on numerous directories scattered across cyberspace. You can learn how to be proactive about responding to negative reviews, and reach out with thankfulness to those who are being kind.
The charge for a Powerlisting on Yelp is the same as for Yahoo! The tags in mobile searches are a particularly useful feature.
CITYSEARCH POWERLISTING FEATURES
When looking for a business in a certain area, you will see that Citysearch often appears on page one of major search engines, so let’s take a look at that one. The cost for a Powerlisting on Citysearch is $99/year and the Powerlisting features are similar to the ones we’ve already seen. A lot of these directories give you a place to post your hours. I see the sample here has a spot for restaurant managers to also upload a menu.
It is obvious that the ability to list and renew your business content, add new pictures, change menu items, and promote various features, all from one dashboard, is a huge convenience for busy business owners. (There’s a reason it’s called busy-ness!)
WHAT SERVICE SHOULD YOU USE, IF ANY?
Updating and refreshing the listings on ten major directories, the ones that come up on top of the three major search engines for most of your relevant keywords, is a smart business decision. Even if you don’t agree, the fact that your competitors with the most marketing savvy are doing it, should tell you something.
Upon reviewing the Yext Powerlisting offerings, I notice there are several popular directories that don’t appear in this package, such as Google+ Local, dexknows.com, and of course, the mighty Facebook itself. Therefore, if you are thinking about using automatic directory listings, you should type your business name, major services, and service area, into the top three search engines, Google, Bing, and Yahoo! to see which directories are coming up. You might need more than one strategy for getting your business on pertinent directories that will do you the most good.
Online directories offer you an opportunity to do some well-researched targeted advertising. So, get out of the habit of tossing your advertising dollars out in a shotgun approach.
The Yext Powerlisting service includes a few less popular directories, such as Local.com and Foursquare, and these cost $48/year each. Down at the bottom there is also an “Emerging Package” deal that places PowerListings on over 20 lesser-used websites, mobile, and navigation devices, including YellowBot, HopStop, Topix, Co-Pilot, and more, for $199/year. This is more like owning Baltic Avenue in Monopoly® instead of Park Place.
THE BOTTOM LINE
If you want to appear with fresh and relevant content on all the directories listed by Yext, you will have to budget $1000/year of your overall advertising budget. Unfortunately, most small business owners I talk to don’t have an advertising budget. Well, they spend money on advertising here and there, but it’s not well thought out.
Yext Powerlisting is offering a 50% off deal for the complete package that costs $499 for the year in a lump sum. This, as they point out, requires you to budget $42/month for their total coverage plan. Even if you have a $10 an hour employee fill out and update ten online business directory listings, it’s going to cost more than $42 a month. And chances are, unless you have a communications professional on staff (worth way more than $10/hr), this important task will fall through the cracks.
Nevertheless, here is an important reason to consider paying a real person to post your information on Internet directories, one by one. Google, as it turns out, is not at all impressed when machines set up things online. It is an accepted fact that you want to keep the mysterious Google bots happy.
Even if you do use an automated service, you may need more than one. IMAP Professionals specialize in Google+ Local listings, but also include Yahoo! Bing, and numerous others. They charge $199 to set up and enter the required information for you and offer some personalized services, such as contacting your clients and encouraging them to post nice reviews on directories. The costs range from $1800 to $5400 per year. The nice thing about IMAP Professionals, is their month-to-month service with no annual contract required.
READ THE FINE PRINT
As with anything, especially that which entangles your business in a legal agreement, read the Terms and Conditions. Nobody really wants to do this, but do it anyway. This is where you find out that your listings may be rejected, that participating third-party directories may be removed or added at any time, that the billing period you signed up for could change, and that you give Yext worldwide royalty-free, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to your intellectual property. None of these stipulations are unusual as far as similar services go, but knowing what you are getting into will limit future surprises that feel like slaps in the face.
BUDGET SOMETHING FOR ONLINE DIRECTORIES
All things considered, you should expect to budget something for online presence and reputation management, even if all you can afford is $120 a year to get a good representation on Yahoo! Yes, most of these directories offer free basic listings, and it will cost your time or staff time to get you there.
Looking at the price range for online promotions reminds me a lot of print Yellow Pages advertising. Many mom and pop businesses I speak to will grudgingly pay $120 for a bold listing in the Yellow Pages, and are aghast that people actually spend $5000 or even $20,000 per year — year after year – for their print directory advertisements. Those with larger ad programs consider it an accepted cost of doing business and staying competitive. My guess is that more business people will be reinvesting half or more of their ad budgets in online directories in the coming years.
If your small business budget doesn’t have a line item for advertising, you need to add it, and spread some of your resources to getting listed in online directories.
Here is what some other writers say on the subject:
helpwithpromo 