Consistent information on local directories are game changers
How the Pigeon update changed what should matter to you
So a 30k ft view of the use of directories today and how/why they are important:
- Primarily, they are the new yellow pages – except there is no one company with a monopoly like the Yellow Pages had. The issue with not having one company with a monopoly – instead there are hundreds of “Yellow Pages” that are used by different people. Even though you only use one directory or the other, doesn’t mean there aren’t a myriad of directories used by your current customers and prospects. It’s very important to have your presence be consistent and available on the directory/directories that people use.
- Consistency is also vital in this realm. If there is just one of the top directories that has the wrong phone number and someone (who uses that directory to look up information) looks you up and there’s an old phone number/no website listed/old email inbox/etc… they won’t assume that they should change which directory they like to use – they will just look for another company that does what you do and you will have no idea that you lost a lead that was searching you out.
- Consistency is also very important because each of these directories are links to your web presence. One of the top points that is weighted by search engines is consistency of web presence. What that means is that your website will show up lower on the list of options on a search result if your contact information is not consistent across multiple platforms.
- When it comes to SEO, the most recent Google Algorithm is call Pigeon (from July 24, 2014). Google completely shook up the local search results world with this update. Many website recognized a complete alteration of their traffic when this update was rolled out because they weren’t taking this local factor into consideration. The method with which Google handles and interprets location cues allowed Google to tie local algorithms and core SEO algorithms.
- An extremely important piece to the directory listing management is moderation of what people are saying. When someone gives a positive or negative review – the only thing that is truly destructive is to ignore them. This is why we include responding to reviews as service we do for you. Just like most other online platforms (blogs, social media, etc) the biggest issue is the time it takes to run it. This is why we respond and engage reviews for you.
- Many of the directories reward those who have used their directory recently by placing them at the top of the results. If you update your profile on whitepages.com or citysearch.com or any other directory, your company will rise to the top of the results.
- There is also a “verified” status that costs money (it’s a revenue stream for the directory), and if you’re “verified” you are listed as one of the top one or two in your industry. Each of these up-charges (that makes your listing “verified”) is included in our base pricing.
- Finally, what you do with the directory listings is also powerful. It is recommended that a promotion is posted (at least monthly or quarterly). This will allow you to have a Call to Action on each of the top directories.
If anything doesn’t make sense, let us know.