Marketers of tourism destinations and tourism business services often ignore the power of online business directories. Here are 8 good reasons why directories should be included as part of your marketing mix.
According to a statistical report, spending on digital classifieds and directories in the United States in 2017 amounted to $1.98 billion. Another study performed by Burke reports that 8 out of 10 people will use an online directory to find companies or products they are looking for. The same study also suggested that 8 out of 10 people who use these directories to locate a business do so with the intent to purchase a product or service from them.
Directory listings are a very effective form of targeted advertising. The customer already needs or wants your product or service and you can directly target them by listing your website in an online directory.
Here, then, are 8 good reasons why directories should form a part of
1. Exposure
Exposure is important for all business marketing strategies. After all, the more people who are exposed to your business the more people are likely to utilise your business’ services. If online visitors aren’t able to see your website or even know that it exists, then they probably aren’t going to purchase your products or services. Listing your business’ website in an online directory helps your website to gain exposure. Thousands of people use online business directories every day to find things they are interested in. These are people who are actively searching for websites that are directly related to your products or services. They are already looking – all you have to do is make it easy for them to find you.
2. Increased Traffic
There are several ways that online business directories can help you increase the amount of traffic to your website. For starters, the more exposure your website has, the more people are likely to visit it. But online business directories offer more than just exposure from potential viewers. They also offer exposure to the various major search engine crawlers like Google and even YouTube. This increases the chances that your website will appear on major search engine results pages, or SERPs, which will allow more people to see the website when they perform a regular search. Both search engine optimization exposure and exposure to more people who are searching for your website could result in increased traffic to your small business’ website.
3. Affordable Advertising
As a tourism destination executive or business owner, you already understand the importance of advertising. You know that it helps customers to find your business and recognize your name and brand. You probably have little room in your budget for more advertising right at this moment. That is one of the major benefits of listing your business’ website in an online directory. Online business directories are inexpensive to join and they offer a lot of exposure for the price. Some online business directories will allow you to list your business for free, while others will charge a minimal fee. Either way, you are getting a lot of exposure for far less money than you would spend on a TV or radio advertisement spot.
4. Professional Appearance
You want everything about your business to look professional in the eyes of your customers. A professional appearance enhances your status and makes customers more likely to patronize your business. Online business directories help you to look like a professional business. When an online consumer sees your business listing in an online directory, they will consider your business to be an authority on the subject and a professional place to do business. Unlike a search that is performed on a major search engine like Google, where there is little difference between the legitimate websites relating to a topic and the less than useful websites, online business directories are mostly legitimate websites. Online consumers are more likely to trust what they see on online business directories.
5. SEO Benefits
In addition to gaining exposure, online business directories will provide major SEO benefits, which will help search engines find your site. Increased exposure and higher search engine rankings will result in more traffic to your website, which will result in higher revenue. Firstly, these online business directories offer you more inbound links. When an online visitor sees your website link in an online directory, they will be able to click on it and be instantly re-directed to your website. This is a great way to increase traffic. It is a great way to improve your status in the eyes of search engine crawlers too. The more backlinks that a search engine crawler can find, the more relevant they will rank your website. This is especially true of authoritative online business directories. Being linked to a major online directory will give your website more relevancy in the eyes of Google’s search engine crawlers. This will result in a higher page ranking on the SERP. As you know, a higher search engine result page rank you get, the more people are going to click on your website link.
6. Increased Revenue
When more people are able to find your website it increases the chances that they will visit your website. When people visit your website they are more likely to purchase your goods or services. This means that online business directories can help you increase your revenue stream. Online business directories are good for your bottom line.
7. Increased Brand Recognition and Customer Interaction
When an online viewer locates your website via an online directory, they are more likely to remember your business’s name and directly interact with it. Online business directories can help your business stand out to customers as well. Overall, listing your small business in an online directory will help you to create a more comprehensive and effective online presence.
8. Return On Investment
Another reason why you should consider listing your business has to do with your return on investment, or ROI. Since the potential benefits of getting increased website traffic are great compared to how much you will have to spend to list your website in an online directory, you can see a great return on your investment in the form of increased revenue. You also want to keep your brand and your company name in the minds of consumers at all times, which, as mentioned previously, is something that an online directory can help with.
In conclusion, there are many different types of online business directories, from large global directories to small, niche and location-specific ones. Some examples of other types of online business directories can include reciprocal link directories, free directories, paid directories, Business 2 Business directories, theme-related directories, small business directories and many, many more.
