From the beginning, local listings have been critical for local businesses. Starting with written local directories such as the TSTT Phone Directory (“Yellow Pages”), where your business would have been listed in the past. With technological advancements, business owners now have the option of listing their business online in a number of local business directories, whether they are applicable to their business niche, community or a general listing.
Today, however, listing your business on online local directories is extremely important, as most people’s first instinct when searching for a business in a specific niche is to search online. We’ve found several significant advantages of getting your small or large business listed on online local directories.
- Brand Awareness – Building brand awareness is a tricky job for any business, but it is especially difficult for small businesses competing against large companies with multi-location stores. As previously mentioned, when a customer is searching for local services, the first thing they do is search online. If your business isn’t online, it won’t be mentioned amongst its competitors. Not only do these online directories improve your chances of brand awareness, but they also encourage you to reach a wider audience.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – Search engines love well-built directory websites because they index businesses by category and geography. Google search ranks these sites very high, so if your business is listed on a directory like this, it will quickly receive a dramatic boost in search rankings.
- Useful Customer Feedback and Sharing – Online business directories are platforms that will validate your business’s credibility. The reviews are one of the most powerful aspects of a directory listing. Customers who are eager to tell the world about you are likely to happily share your praise online. Users can leave honest reviews about your business, whether positive or negative, giving your business the opportunity to engage with both current and potential customers. A customer review function aids in the strengthening of your business brand.
- Cost-effective – Online business directories can be a low-cost method of attracting new customers to your website or store. They are typically cheap to join and provide a lot of exposure for the money. You can list your business for free on certain online business directories, while others charge a small fee. If a business does not have a directory listing, it is effectively wasting free marketing, as marketing can be costly for many small businesses.
TriniBiz recognizes the value and advantages of listing your business online and has developed an online Trinidad and Tobago business directory where you can list your business for free or choose from one of the paid packages. TriniBiz goes the extra mile by cross-promoting business listings on our various social media platforms, blog posts and emails. We publish weekly helpful articles to drive more traffic to our site that in turn increases traffic to our directory. And we even got a mobile app to even further increase reach and accessibility.
Click here to get your biz listed today and create more opportunities for people to find your business.
