Posts Tagged ‘local business directory’

Creating Content For Your Local Business Directory

If you are contemplating building a local business directory to service your local community then it is highly recommended to create a viral point of reference.  Casual browsers and serious surfers can use this as a go-to point whenever they are seeking local information. Make it into a local news and information source.  The local information can be provided through selected RSS feeds pertaining to local news and entertainment. Other important categories include:

• food
• events
• local business news
• financial and economic news
• local weather reports
• surf, ski or other local sporting activity conditions
• latest shopping promotions
• sporting events
• latest local results
• the list is only as short or as long as your own imagination.

RRS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds allows a site to automatically gather information from all over the net which is topic related.  The results in a site to provide local content that local surfers regard as useful in one go-to location.

A word of advice though; when gathering information to use on your website recreate it without breaching any copyright laws (a disclaimer that we are not providing any legal advice here).  Be sure proper credit is given where required.  Better still give the original author or provider credit where credit is due and add your on take with a brief comment to complement the content thus making it original.  Read and understand all agreements made to carry the information on a given RSS feed and abide by them.

Don’t just provide content that can be found everywhere else on the Internet.  Present it in a manner that either entertains, enlightens and educates. Achieve this balance and you will ensure surfers will return again and again. Attach your personality and “voice” to the presentation of the content. This brands your site so it becomes the talk of the local community.

Brand yourself in a manner that others recognize, clearly promoting your message that basically sells itself.  If done well, local businesses seek you out for a listing on your directory. This is what will set you apart from the many directories that merely provide links with very little content.

The quality of the content you produce can also be syndicated out to other websites that deem it valuable enough to share with their visitors. This has the effect of greatly enhancing your exposure and your brand within the local community.  It also optimizes your site in order to gain higher rankings in the search engines.
Never dismiss the importance of quality content in taking your local business directory to another level. It is what creates a brand awareness that is recognizable.  This affords you the ability to network within the community to even greater enhance your brand.
Your brand is your ticket to riches if you create it with trust, maintain it with integrity and develop it with honesty.

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Developing A Local Business Directory Into A Thriving Web Portal

Creating local business directory that you can on sell for a lucrative profit or as the foundation to a successful Online – Offline Consultation Business requires you take a completely different angle.  The goal is to have it bringing profits on a regular basis while servicing your local community.  It must grow above the more generic type of local web directory.  These are portal type websites that flood the search engines with as many local long tail keywords to be found in the search engines.

Most local business directories are no more than link farms.  They offer little value outside of listing local businesses in their appropriate categories. Your local directory needs to be different.  It must be made attractive to entice local businesses to list with your directory at premium prices as opposed to the cheaper or free local directories.

How can you, as the local online – offline consultant provide that winning edge? You need a concept that will have local businesses seek you out opposed to a Yellow Pages(TM) utility type portal.  A first step is to create a full page description of the local business on the website. That is, from a generic A-Z category reference page – your links page – you redirect the surfer to a separate full page description which still resides within the website.

The enhanced page could well include a video interview with the local business owner to create a more personal feel.  This immediately starts to build trust and familiarity that that a casual local surfer will better identify with.

Also include a well placed link (or banner) on the page to make contact easy and intuitive. Include a strong call to action message directing the surfer to click the link (or banner) to instantly jump to the local business’ website. If the local business has not yet got an online presence, full address and operating hours details must be clearly shown.

The sky is the limit here.  Use your creativity and imagination to create a page that you would be proud to have on your own corporate website.  That way you know the owner of the local business will be profiting by displaying it.

The benefits of such a page to your local directory in the eyes of Google(TM) and the other search engines is greater exposure and higher rankings all around. Because you are providing relevant local content search returns will organically rank highly in any of the search engines.

With some basic search engine optimization for multiple appropriate keywords and phrases, as well as meta tags and some other tricks, the results for the business can be quite astounding.  This, in turn gives the local business exposure and positive results that they will be more than willing to pay a premium for the service.  It is demonstrably targeting responsive local shoppers that walk through the door from successful directory portal searches.

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Why Build A Local Business Directory

There are many compelling reasons to create a local business directory whether you are an Online-Offline Internet Marketing Consultant to your local community, an Internet Marketer looking to break out into untouched territory, or someone who recognizes the potential of servicing local businesses to expand their reach, exposure and brand outside of the traditional forms of advertising.

Building local business directories is quite simple if you follow the more generic utility sites that basically list links to businesses under specific categories much like an A-Z reference page.

Local business directories work in a similar fashion to local phone directories such as the Yellow Pages ™ so when an internet surfer enters a keyword for a product or service they are searching for such as Auto Mechanic Perth Subiaco, the likelihood of your listings for a local business on the first page of Google ™ for that specific keyword is rather high.

The surfer is then led to a page categorized by the nature of the business and once the links of choice are clicked by the searcher they are redirected to the local business via their website where the surfer can hopefully attain the relevant information they seek.

What the business does with the prospect once the visitor has landed on their website is not the responsibility of the local directory it has succeeded in performing its obligation.

This is a very basic and simple method to servicing your local business and community but still highly effective without the need for cold calling or hiring a sales force. An effective sales funnel, network system and multiple first page listings in the search engine for low hanging keywords will ensure local exposure that targets local shoppers.

It is these same local shoppers that local businesses will pay you a premium to have redirected to their online URL or to their offline brick and mortar address.

There are many advanced ideas to turn your local business directory in a full blown sales funnel that better services your local community and provides you with a regular monthly – yearly income while building a commodity that can be sold as an ongoing business for a handsome profit showing a very reasonable continuity income if so desired.

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