5 Ways to Dramatically Increase Traffic to Your Online Local Business Directory

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Local business directories are really popular. People are always looking up for places like stores, restaurant or doctors around them. They simply search using Google and if your directory ranks in the top ranks in search results, you can expect a whole lot of organic traffic.

But if your directory is fairly new or if you feel that the current traffic numbers aren’t great, you can do a couple of things to bump up your numbers.

Here are 5 proven tips attract more traffic to your online local business directory:

Build a Niche Directory

People looking for things online have a specific requirement. So they are more interested in sites that fulfill their requirement specifically. If you build a niche directory, SEO wise, chances of your directory ranking higher is more.

Besides, your visitors will also be more confident about going with your recommendation as they will think that you’re running a resource that is dedicated to their needs.

A niche site will have thousands of businesses from the same industry. And a generalized directory will only have a few businesses from thousand different industries.

If you already own a generalized directory, make sure to add proper categories and subcategories. Make navigation easy and simple for users.

Promote Your Web Directory

Promoting your website directory will make it reach thousands of people. Businesses often like to get listed in  directories that are very popular and have a good Alexa ranking. Because that’s where their users go.

Promote your directory on popular social media networks. Some directories start a blog and share their articles and build backlinks. You can also promote your directory using online advertising.

By promoting your directory on social media networks, Google can see your website. And your website’s chances of ranking higher will increase.

Your directory’s success depends mainly upon the traffic that you can attract and getting more visibility is the best way to get more traffic.

Allow Rating, Reviews, Comments and Feedback

People usually make purchasing decisions based on what they hear from other people. So they rely on ratings, reviews and comments about particular business listings.

Businesses also prefer those directories which allow their customers to rate, review, comment and let them give feedback.

This not only helps them improve their product/ service and business, but also gets more exposure for them when appearing on Google places – businesses with higher ratings or positive reviews have a better chance to rank higher. And thus end up getting more customers.

Allow Indexing of the Submitted Links

Most businesses intend to improve their traffic and customer-base through submitting to online directories. But some of them do not allow indexing of the links that these business websites submit to them. If search engines cannot index these links, their purpose is somewhat failed as they don’t get any backlink advantage.

For this reason businesses prefer to add their listings to only those directories who allow indexing of their links. Make sure that you directory allows indexing. This will not only help the businesses but also improve your web directories traffic.

Keep the Contact and Product/service Info Updated of Your List

Accept and list only quality links that are submitted to your directory. Thoroughly review the listings and accept only those businesses that provide quality service/product to your users.

Many businesses change their address or phone no, so make sure they are all updated for a better user experience.

This is necessary to build your reputation as a reliable source. If you can get people to trust you, you can be sure to develop a loyal readership.

Conclusion

The competition in the online directory niche is very steep. Anyone can easily launch a website directory these days, but it takes a lot of consistent efforts and planning to build a loyal audience.

So make sure that you put in the time and effort and continue to pursue your project and don’t just abandon it. Make sure that your site stands out. Be different. Apply new and impressive ways to promote your site. Put in extra efforts to get quality links and enhance user experience.

Do you know any other ways to increase traffic? Would be great if you could share them by commenting below.